Once stay-at-home orders and business closures took hold across the U.S., OCC generation declined very sharply. | AdamBoor/Shutterstock
The coronavirus pandemic has sharply diminished OCC collection from established commercial channels and some residential programs. An analyst describes how the virus hit the paper sector, and mill operators offer perspective on how they’re reacting.
Novelis consumed 2.17 million short tons of recycled aluminum in 2020. | Fotosr52/Shutterstock
Novelis saw less financial benefit from using recycled material last year due to low virgin aluminum pricing. Meanwhile, the company is experiencing recycled material supply disruptions due to COVID-19.
Republic Services is among the haulers that experienced year-over-year decreases in first-quarter recycling revenues. | Rosamar/Shutterstock
Two years after China’s imports ban upended material flows, recycling revenues are still falling for the largest waste and recycling companies in North America.
Officials estimate that 20 projects receiving grants will collectively divert nearly 44,000 tons of material from landfills each year. | ImagineStock/Shutterstock
North Carolina recently awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to help divert mixed recyclables, organics, paper, plastic and other materials from landfills.
An industry analyst recently noted that low virgin resin pricing means challenges for ensuring end users choose to use recycled plastic. | batuhan taskinkaya/Shutterstock
The coronavirus pandemic has piled on top of existing plastics recycling market strife to cause pricing fluctuations and create uncertainty about how end users will meet their sustainability commitments.
Residential recyclable materials have become an increasingly important feedstock for manufacturers since the coronavirus outbreak. | RawPixel.com/Shutterstock
As the coronavirus impacts continue throughout the U.S., manufacturers are highlighting the importance of curbside recycling as a feedstock supply channel. Meanwhile, processors are seeing changes in demand for their material as consumer spending shifts.
California’s glass bottle and fiberglass insulation manufacturers continue to use less recycled cullet in their products, state documents show.
The value of OCC increased by 62% over the past month, reaching its highest level in 20 months. Meanwhile, curbside metal prices have taken a dive.
Business challenges related to the wider market are likely to pop up again and again in the coming months. | Poring Studio/Shutterstock
Packaging Corporation of America is a major end user of recovered paper in the U.S. | noomcpk/Shutterstock
A Packaging Corporation of America mill that uses recycled fiber will suspend operations for two months as the coronavirus pandemic keeps schools and businesses closed.
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