Juri Freeman of Resource Recycling Systems (left) moderated a plastics-focused panel consisting of (from left to right) Michael Sangiacomo of Recology, Zeina El-Azzi of Brightmark Energy, Kate Bailey of Eco-Cycle and Tim Ponrathnam of Berry Global. | Resource Recycling Conference/Brian Adams Photography
Should some types of single-use plastic be banned? Or is infrastructure improvement a better answer to current plastic waste concerns? A varied group of industry leaders tackled those questions last week.
A California PET reclaimer that launched last year has grabbed plenty of attention for its $100 million price tag and the extensive capabilities of its processing and production line.
Indorama Ventures plans to make significant investments in its recycled PET production capabilities. | Kwangmoozaa/Shutterstock
Citing the need to meet rising demand in the near future, plastics producer Indorama is investing $1 billion in its recycling operation.
Coca-Cola has a goal to make its bottles and cans with an average of 50% recycled material by 2030. | Sundry Photography/Shutterstock
Coca-Cola will use recycled PET and plant-derived plastic in a Dasani water bottle, creating a package known as the “HybridBottle.” The move is one of several recycling-related changes being rolled out.
Historically, companies have used post-consumer resin (PCR) because it was a lower cost feedstock than virgin. In recent years, however, pricing for virgin plastic (mostly “wide spec” resin) has fallen below that of PCR (mostly high quality PCR that is suitable for food contact).
During the first six months of 2019, India brought in 156 million pounds of U.S. scrap plastics. | Avigator Fortuner/Shutterstock
Recovered plastic has largely stopped flowing from the U.S. into India, which until recently has been among the top importers of the material.
U.S. exporters shipped out 773 million pounds of scrap plastic in the first half of 2019. | aapsky/Shutterstock
Federal trade statistics released last week show U.S. export volumes for the first six months of 2019. Recycled plastics have seen a major drop when compared with figures from a year ago.
Argentina-based Arqlite’s first gravel products were sold to customers earlier this year. | Courtesy of Arqlite.
Consulting firm B-Green was helping consumer brand owners reduce waste to landfill, but the companies’ packaging lacked a diversion solution. So B-Green went to work developing a recycling technology and end product.
Trex uses millions of pounds of PE film annually. | artgray/Shutterstock
Already North America’s largest consumer of recovered film, Trex plans to use considerably more in the future, according to the company’s CEO.
