Exports of key recovered materials continued recent trends from July through September of this year, with paper exports declining modestly and plastic exports flat. | apiguide/Shutterstock
Recovered fiber exports have continued a multi-year decline in 2024, both in the third quarter and in the first nine months of the year as a whole. Plastic exports, however, have stayed steady and even slightly increased throughout the year. Continue Reading
The first Trump administration brought proposed EPA budget cuts, large tax cuts, withdrawal from international environmental agreements and more, all of which touched the recycling sector. | Orhan Cam/Shutterstock
The clear ballot-box victory of Republicans across the branches of U.S. government could affect the municipal recycling world in a number of ways. It’s early, but some signs from the past – and some recent analysis from industry observers – offer a glimpse of what’s to come.
A judge ruled PepsiCo isn’t legally liable for the pollution its packaging can become, and that the responsibility rests solely with the person who improperly disposed of the product. | LuqmanLutfi Photography/Shutterstock
Under current New York law, PepsiCo can’t be held legally responsible for consumers improperly disposing of its packaging, a state supreme court judge has ruled. And now, a California court will test similar legal theories. Continue Reading
Experts from PMMI, the Flexible Packaging Association and more offered insight into the roadblocks and projections for implementing recycled content. | Antoinette Smith/Resource Recycling, Inc.
As companies work toward meeting regulatory requirements for sustainable packaging, they will significantly increase usage of post-consumer resin, compostable materials and certified recycled paperboard, an industry analyst said at Pack Expo International this week in Chicago. Continue Reading
Rebound members can now trade more recycled materials on the platform, including plastics, metal, glass, OCC and e-scrap. | New Africa/Shutterstock
After starting in plastics, an online recycled material trading platform is expanding into glass, metal, rubber, OCC and paper and will soon add e-scrap. Continue Reading
Amazon announced it has removed all plastic air pillows from delivery packaging at its global fulfillment centers, replacing them with paper filler. | Photo courtesy of Amazon
Online e-commerce giant Amazon released an update on its sustainability goals, announcing it has hit its goal of replacing plastic air pillows with paper filler throughout North America.
Bloomberg’s latest Circular Economy Company Ranking reported on corporate sustainability pledges, finding a theme of costs outweighing target progress. | Aykut Erdogdu/Shutterstock
A new report from Bloomberg’s market research division provides further evidence of brand owners struggling to meet stated recycled content goals due to a lack of available material and cost pressure.
The new leader of the pact discussed his vision for the organization and how he plans to tackle the many challenges ahead. | HappyStockPhoto/Shutterstock
In July, Jonathan Quinn was named CEO of the U.S. Plastics Pact, succeeding Executive Director Emily Tipaldo. Continue Reading
A natural disaster and a potentially catastrophic dockworker strike have highlighted weaknesses in the supply chain. | TajdidProtik/Shutterstock
In the past two weeks, the U.S. East Coast has experienced the double punch of a massive port strike and a devastating hurricane, exacerbating already uncertain market fundamentals. While the dockworker strike was very brief, storm-related destruction in the Southeast will last for weeks – if not months or years.
Fiber exports continued their multiyear downward trajectory overall, though Canada and Malaysia marked double-digit increases on the year. | F-Armstrong-Photography/Shutterstock
Recovered paper exports angled downwards during the first half of 2024, as major overseas buyers decreased their purchases by as much as 30% year over year. On the plastics side, more than half the material that left the U.S. stayed in North America.