There are now only a few types of scrap plastic shipments not subject to the new Basel criteria. | Go_Legacy/Shutterstock
Experts with the U.S. EPA say there are a number of potential outcomes from upcoming shifts in global rules governing scrap plastic shipments. Under one possibility, trade in scrap plastic will no longer be allowed between the U.S. and most other countries.
According to one analyst, domestic demand for OCC was up about 6% during the first five months of 2020. | digitalreflections/Shutterstock
Supply and demand realities for key curbside materials are evolving fast, impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, domestic processing capacity increases and other key trends, according to two experts. Continue Reading
Officials in both China and Hong Kong have recently signaled stricter controls over the flow of recycled plastics into the region. | Barks/Shutterstock
Recycled plastic pellets are facing greater scrutiny upon import into China, international recycling stakeholders recently reported. Meanwhile, Hong Kong moved to incorporate upcoming global regulatory changes in the plastic waste trade into its domestic legal framework. Continue Reading
Major global food and beverage company Nestlé announced a $30 million investment in the Closed Loop Leadership Fund. | JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock
After announcing a plan early this year to buy a massive volume of recycled resin in the coming years, Nestlé has begun investing in the U.S. to support that goal.
Interpol found that plastic waste fires, both accidental and deliberate, have increased since Chinese import restrictions took hold. | MOHAMED ABDULRAHEEM/Shutterstock
Improper management of scrap plastics in Southeast Asia and elsewhere has increased sharply in the wake of China’s National Sword policy, according to international law enforcement body Interpol.
Senate Bill 54 would have tasked state regulators with developing and adopting rules requiring all single-use packaging and “priority single-use products” sold in California to be recyclable or compostable by 2032. | SerPhoto/Shutterstock
For the second straight year, a California proposal that had broad recyclability goals did not make it through the legislature.
Federal funding has been announced for research looking into sorting scrap plastic and using enzymes to clean material, among other recycling-related efforts. | paul prescott/Shutterstock
The REMADE Institute announced it will provide $6 million to fund several recycling research projects. The same day, it declared it’ll provide up to $35 million for its next round of grants.
California Assembly Bill 793 requires that all plastic bottles covered by the state’s container redemption program average at least 15% post-consumer resin starting in 2022. | Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
California lawmakers approved legislation requiring beverage companies to use recycled plastic. If signed, the bill will usher in the first recycled-content law of its kind for plastic bottles in the U.S.
An initial round of investments has been made toward a major plastics sortation facility, to be located in Erie, Pa. | create jobs 51/Shutterstock
Startup recycling firm International Recycling Group is moving forward with a $100 million plastics recovery facility in the Northeast.
In the U.S., dozens of brand owners, retailers, government agencies and nonprofit groups have joined the U.S. Plastics Pact. | Nagy-Bagoly Arpad/Shutterstock
A program called U.S. Plastics Pact, associated with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, will pursue strategies to eliminate unnecessary packaging, increase recyclability, and ensure packaging contains recycled plastic. It has more than 60 industry backers.