(left to right) ISRI Chair Mark Lewon of Utah Metal Works, Mike Peters of Genesee & Wyoming Railroad, and Bill Sullivan of the American Trucking Association
The sessions at last week’s ISRI2018 Convention & Exposition in Las Vegas covered the latest on China, fiber recovery, contamination and more, with speakers providing a number of perspectives on recycling’s future.
Facing rock-bottom fiber prices, Waste Management’s recycling revenues experienced a 16 percent decrease during the first quarter of 2018.
Chinese authorities plan to halt imports of more scrap categories by the end of the year, including post-industrial scrap plastic and a variety of scrap metals. The country also announced a list of even more imports it will ban by the end of 2019.
Mathy Stanislaus, who served under President Obama, says current U.S. EPA leaders aren’t fully valuing materials recovery and are harming the industry by putting a singular focus on deregulation.
Canadian equipment manufacturer Machinex has introduced a “self-aware” sortation robot, which uses artificial intelligence to quickly remove materials from processing lines.
Many recycling associations are preparing for their biggest gatherings of the year, and three group leaders recently explained how China-related market disruptions will be tackled at their events.
A major portion of the single-stream mix has fallen sharply from record high prices a year ago. Industry stakeholders recently opened up on the factors behind the shift, and how it’s impacting U.S. recycling operations.
North Carolina-based Plastic Revolutions is expanding to separate certain resins from mixed plastic bales, a response to growing supply as China’s import policies take hold.
The value of a ton of mixed paper has hit a new low, trading for less than a large latte at Starbucks. But some key curbside plastics have continued their upward pricing trends.
Recycling market issues and market development were the focus of a one-day meeting last week in Maryland sponsored by the Northeast Recycling Council.