Curbside recycling can put additional collection trucks on the road. But the recycling process ultimately brings environmental benefits that far outweigh the extra vehicle emissions, according to a study from Waste Management.
The growing smiles you see among recycling collectors and processors are because of continuing market improvement.
The value of curbside-collected paper and steel is down slightly at the start of April, though some plastics have experienced boosts.
A pair of bills in Massachusetts could have some impact on recovery. One mandates reductions in statewide per-capita waste generation and another requires state government offices to divert a host of materials.
China’s imports of some categories of non-ferrous metals, including copper, have gone down because of import quotas. | Andrew b Stowe/Shutterstock
Reports from the Bureau of International Recycling shine a light on non-ferrous scrap metal markets as we enter the new year, particularly in China.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on Jan. 8 issued the penalty against Hydro Extrusion USA. | naughtynut/Shutterstock
Oregon regulators issued a $1.3 million penalty against an aluminum recycling firm, accusing the processor of violating its air quality permit by melting dirty feedstock.
An expansion at JW Aluminum’s Goose Creek, S.C. site will result in a significant uptick in the company’s scrap consumption. | Courtesy of JW Aluminum Company.
JW Aluminum Company says it will be increasing its annual intake of UBCs and other forms of recycled material by at least 100 million pounds when it finishes an expansion project in the Southeast U.S. next year.
The past few months have seen significant upticks in the value of recovered materials.