Switching to compostable food-service packaging can dramatically increase food scrap diversion rates, but only if it’s coupled with sufficient infrastructure and instruction. That was a chief takeaway from a study the Foodservice Packaging Institute released Jan. 19.
An industry training and awareness program focused on vehicle safety kicked off Monday, just weeks after a report showed that occupational deaths among collectors were on the rise in 2015.
The statewide recycling and composting rate for California fell to 47 percent last year after hovering near 50 percent during the previous three years.
The U.S. recovery rate for old corrugated containers hit 92.9 percent in 2015, according to the Corrugated Packaging Alliance.
The Closed Loop Foundation launches a grant program to take aim at food waste, and Massachusetts provides funding to give recycling businesses a boost.
Dow Chemical Co. has developed an advanced barrier pouch that can be recycled through retail PE collection streams.
Garbage and recycling haulers had the fifth-highest death rate of all civilian occupations in 2014, with 27 people losing their lives, updated federal statistics show.
When Energizer developed a battery with 4 percent recycled content, company officials agonized over whether to market the achievement to the public. The concern was the 4 percent figure would leave consumers asking, “Why not more?”
The federal government will invest up to $70 million in a new research institute focused on reducing recycling costs and boosting recycled content in manufacturing.
Even in this era of fake news, people haven’t grown distrustful of their community’s recycling system, a study indicates.