A struggling recycling industry faces new crisis with coronavirus
4 years ago

A struggling recycling industry faces new crisis with coronavirus

LA Times  

Even before coronavirus arrived on U.S. shores, California waste recyclers were reeling from the collapse of global markets for used plastics and other scrap materials — a predicament that diverted the contents of many blue recycling bins to local landfills. “This is the horror story that’s coming at us,” said Kreigh Hampel, recycling coordinator at Burbank Recycling Center. When material is exported from California, it is counted as “recycled,” even though there is “no way of tracking when we export those materials if they’re actually getting recycled in those countries,” said Zoe Heller, deputy director of policy development for CalRecycle at a state Assembly hearing last month. “Brands revert back to using virgin material because it’s generally always going to be cheaper,” said Pete Keller, vice president of recycling and sustainability for Republic Services. “It’s a financial shock to the system.” This year California passed the nation’s first law requiring recycled content in plastic bottles in an attempt to keep recycled plastic in the running.

Pet Pandemic Materials Facilities California Recycling Los Angeles Month Waste Californians Plastic Staff Recycled Zaldivar Mixed Plastic  recycling  waste  staff  materials  facilities  pandemic  industry  plastic  recycled  struggling  crisis  coronavirus  month  faces  california

History of this topic

Coca-Cola is dramatically scaling back its plastic promises
2 weeks, 5 days ago

Coca-Cola is dramatically scaling back its plastic promises

CNN  

New York CNN — Coca-Cola is scaling back its packaging sustainability goals, igniting outrage from environmental activists. The beverage company, which has long been criticized for being one of the world’s top producer of plastic pollutants, changed its “voluntary environmental goals” this week. “These challenges are complex and require us to drive more effective and efficient resource allocation and work …

Effective Recycling Supply Chain Crucial for Sustainable Consumer Goods Trade-in Programs
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Effective Recycling Supply Chain Crucial for Sustainable Consumer Goods Trade-in Programs

China Daily  

Trade-in programs are gaining momentum in China, with a focus on effective recycling supply chains to mitigate the environmental impact of waste materials. The government is setting ambitious targets for recycling and circular utilization, aiming to double scrap car recycling volumes, increase used car transaction volumes, and increase waste home appliance recycling quantities by 2027. While there are regulations in …

California is suing ExxonMobil, which is accused of lying about their plastic recycling
3 months ago

California is suing ExxonMobil, which is accused of lying about their plastic recycling

Salon  

ExxonMobil, a fossil fuel company that conspicuously touts a commitment to fighting plastic pollution, is being sued by the State of California as of Monday for allegedly misleading the public about the effectiveness of the various anti-pollution tactics that they advocate. In the first lawsuit ever to be filed against a large oil company for spreading this type of misinformation, …

Has a UC Berkeley chemistry lab discovered the holy grail of plastic recycling?
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Has a UC Berkeley chemistry lab discovered the holy grail of plastic recycling?

LA Times  

Despite the planet’s growing plastic pollution crisis, petroleum-based polymers have become an integral part of modern life. “So by making one product or two products in very high yield and at much lower temperatures, we are using some energy, but significantly less energy than any other process that’s breaking down polyolefins or taking the petroleum resources and turning them into …

Biden EPA rejects plastics industry’s fuzzy math that misleads customers about recycled content
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Biden EPA rejects plastics industry’s fuzzy math that misleads customers about recycled content

Salon  

Series: Selling a Mirage: The Deception Behind Plastic Recycling More in this series The Environmental Protection Agency has taken the first ever federal action against a system that misleads consumers about the recycled content in plastic products. A ProPublica investigation in June showed how the plastics industry uses a controversial accounting method called mass balance to advertise plastic products as …

To boost recycling, California will fund 250 new sites for returning beverage containers
3 months, 3 weeks ago

To boost recycling, California will fund 250 new sites for returning beverage containers

LA Times  

At the Burbank Recycling Center, a bundle of aluminum cans are packed and ready to be sold on July 26, 2019. Responding to a shortage of places to recycle cans and bottles, state officials announced that residents in 30 counties, including Los Angeles County, are getting modernized recycling centers or completely new ways to turn their beverage containers into cash. …

Why reusable plastics can’t fix the climate crisis
3 months, 4 weeks ago

Why reusable plastics can’t fix the climate crisis

The Independent  

If you’re anything like me, you probably have very good intentions when it comes to packaging. While the EMF estimates that over a thousand uses, reusable bottles will result in 69 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a thousand single-use plastic bottles, that is less impactful than swapping out single-use plastic for single-use cartons. A 2020 study found that …

Few small plastic bottles are recycled, 90% target still far off
4 months, 1 week ago

Few small plastic bottles are recycled, 90% target still far off

Dutch News  

Consumers are still reluctant to recycle small plastic bottles and they account for just 25% of bottles handed in via supermarket and railway station recycling points, according to collection agency Verpact. Some 74% of all plastic bottles were collected for recycling last year, Verpact said on Tuesday. Every year, one billion small and 700 large plastic bottles end up in …

The plastics industry says chemical recycling could help banish pollution. It’s ‘an illusion,’ critics say
6 months, 3 weeks ago

The plastics industry says chemical recycling could help banish pollution. It’s ‘an illusion,’ critics say

CNN  

CNN — A squat, light-colored building in Tigard, Oregon, was supposed to be part of a game-changing new solution for the global plastics industry. “Chemical recycling transforms used plastic and gives it value,” said a spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council, a trade association for US chemical and plastics companies, adding “we must eliminate plastic pollution without eliminating the benefits …

Over 700million pounds of Amazon's 'recyclable' plastic packaging is dumped into environment each year - where chemicals infest livestock, human organs and even clouds
9 months ago

Over 700million pounds of Amazon's 'recyclable' plastic packaging is dumped into environment each year - where chemicals infest livestock, human organs and even clouds

Daily Mail  

It's the environmental disaster hiding in plain sight - a new report finds that Amazon's 'recyclable' plastic packaging generates 709 million pounds of waste each year. Adding insult to injury, the new report found Amazon's so-called 'recyclable' plastic requires customers to drive their waste packaging to special 'store drop-off locations where plastic film is accepted.' The new report, from US …

Amazon claims its packages are recyclable. Much of the plastic ends up in landfills
9 months ago

Amazon claims its packages are recyclable. Much of the plastic ends up in landfills

LA Times  

Although the plastic packaging delivered by Amazon is stamped with recycling arrows, a new report suggests that only a fraction of it actually gets recycled. Although the paper and cardboard items Amazon uses for packaging can be placed in curbside bins and generally get recycled, plastic packaging must be brought to drop-off locations, such as those at Safeway or Target …

Plastic experts say recycling is a scam. Should we even do it anymore?
10 months ago

Plastic experts say recycling is a scam. Should we even do it anymore?

Salon  

When the Center for Climate Integrity released its report about plastic recycling, one might have expected the environmentalist non-profit to encourage the practice. Yet the title of Center for Climate Integrity's report — "The Fraud of Plastic Recycling" — reveals a very different point-of-view. "Even if plastic recycling rates were higher, recycling alone could never come close to solving the …

California’s war on plastic bag use seems to have backfired. Lawmakers are trying again
10 months, 1 week ago

California’s war on plastic bag use seems to have backfired. Lawmakers are trying again

LA Times  

It was a decade ago when California became the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags, ushering in a wave of anti-plastic legislation from coast to coast. “Basically what happened is that plastic bag companies invented these thicker plastic bags that technically meet that definition of reusable but are clearly not being reused and don’t look like …

Clinks for cash? Wine, liquor bottles can now be redeemed at California recycling centers
11 months, 1 week ago

Clinks for cash? Wine, liquor bottles can now be redeemed at California recycling centers

LA Times  

Broken remains of earthquake-damaged glass wine bottles sit in a bin in Napa in August 2014. California recycling centers will now redeem wine and liquor bottles — as well as pouches, boxes and cartons — for cash as part of the state’s Beverage Container Recycling Program. Supporters say expanding the program to include wine and liquor bottles, which was authorized …

REDcycle founder says she had 'no doubt' stockpiled soft plastic would eventually be recycled
1 year, 4 months ago

REDcycle founder says she had 'no doubt' stockpiled soft plastic would eventually be recycled

ABC  

In short: The founder of collapsed soft plastics recycler REDcycle says she always thought stockpiled soft plastic stores would be spared from landfill The founder of collapsed soft plastics recycler REDcycle says she always thought stockpiled soft plastic stores would be spared from landfill What's next? Speaking to the ABC's War on Waste program, REDcycle founder Liz Kasell said she …

Editorial: The new anti-trash mantra should be reduce, recycle — and repair
1 year, 7 months ago

Editorial: The new anti-trash mantra should be reduce, recycle — and repair

LA Times  

One of the most pernicious sources of plastic waste will never be welcome in our blue recycling bins because, well, they are supposed to last. Right-to-repair laws, which have popped up around the country in recent years, require product manufacturers to provide consumers and independent repair shops reasonable access to repair manuals, parts and software so they have more options …

Editorial: California is leading the nation on cutting plastic trash. But it still needs to do more
1 year, 11 months ago

Editorial: California is leading the nation on cutting plastic trash. But it still needs to do more

LA Times  

Last year was a good one for trash. But in 2022, they went big and broad, enacting Senate Bill 54, a revolutionary law that will start phasing out all varieties of single-use plastic in 2025 — basically everything on the shelves of grocery and other retail stores — through escalating composting and recycling requirements on consumer products packaging. But even …

Think those bags are recyclable? California says think again
1 year, 11 months ago

Think those bags are recyclable? California says think again

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Since California adopted the nation's …

Think those bags are recyclable? California says think again
1 year, 11 months ago

Think those bags are recyclable? California says think again

LA Times  

Rob Bonta says manufacturers can’t back up their claim that the thicker, more durable reusable bags are recyclable as required by the 2014 law that banned single-use plastic shopping bags. Since California adopted the nation’s first ban on single-use plastic shopping bags in 2014, most grocery stores have turned to thicker, reusable plastic bags that are supposed to be recyclable. …

Why Most Plastic Ends Up As Trash In A Landfill : Short Wave : NPR
2 years ago

Why Most Plastic Ends Up As Trash In A Landfill : Short Wave : NPR

NPR  

The Myth of Plastic Recycling Enlarge this image toggle caption Laura Sullivan/NPR Laura Sullivan/NPR For many, recycling feels like a tangible way to personally combat climate change and to positively affect the environment. That's partially because of decades of public environmental campaigns, But the reality is that only a small fraction of plastic is ultimately recycled. A recent Greenpeace report …

REDcycle's collapse is more proof that plastic recycling is a broken system
2 years, 1 month ago

REDcycle's collapse is more proof that plastic recycling is a broken system

ABC  

This week the federal government joined an international agreement to recycle or reuse 100 per cent of plastic waste by 2040, putting an end to plastic pollution. The recent collapse of the soft plastics recycling scheme is further proof that plastic recycling is a broken system. Australia's plastic recycling bottleneck Photo shows Bales of plastic waste next to a bobcat …

Australian government pledges to recycle all plastics by 2040
2 years, 1 month ago

Australian government pledges to recycle all plastics by 2040

ABC  

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says despite the collapse of a major soft plastics recycling scheme, the federal government has set a target to recycle or reuse 100 per cent of plastic waste by 2040 and end plastic pollution. Key points: The nation currently recycles about 16 per cent of plastics The environment minister says Australia is a "large producer of …

Just 5% Of Plastics Were Recycled In The U.S. Last Year, And Things Are Only Getting Worse
2 years, 1 month ago

Just 5% Of Plastics Were Recycled In The U.S. Last Year, And Things Are Only Getting Worse

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Just 5% of plastic products are recycled in America and many common items just aren’t able to be recycled at all, according to a damning new study released Monday by Greenpeace USA. The government estimated at the time just 9% of all plastics had been recycled that year, with the remaining 91% winding up in landfills.. Shockingly, …

Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse
2 years, 1 month ago

Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse

NPR  

Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse Enlarge this image toggle caption Laura Sullivan/NPR Laura Sullivan/NPR The vast majority of plastic that people use, and in many cases put into blue recycling bins, is headed to landfills, or worse, according to a report from Greenpeace on the state of plastic recycling in the U.S. Greenpeace …

Advanced recycling: Plastic crisis solution or distraction?
2 years, 2 months ago

Advanced recycling: Plastic crisis solution or distraction?

Associated Press  

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The plastics industry says there is a way to help solve the crisis of plastic waste plaguing the planet’s oceans, beaches and lands— recycle it, chemically. The process doesn’t involve oxygen so there’s no combustion or incineration of plastics, DeBenedictis said, and their product is trucked as a synthetic oil to petrochemical companies, essentially the “building blocks …

Industry: Advanced recycling is a solution to plastic crisis
2 years, 2 months ago

Industry: Advanced recycling is a solution to plastic crisis

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “What we are trying to do is really create …

Inside the industry push to label your yogurt cup 'recyclable'
2 years, 2 months ago

Inside the industry push to label your yogurt cup 'recyclable'

Salon  

Plastic recycling labels are everywhere: The ubiquitous "chasing arrows" symbol adorns everything from plastic bags and water bottles to kids' toys. This summer, How2Recycle declared a big victory for the companies it sells labels to: It now considers a wide set of products made from polypropylene, or PP — the resin corresponding to the number 5 — to be "widely …

Quitting single-use plastic in Japan
2 years, 4 months ago

Quitting single-use plastic in Japan

BBC  

Quitting single-use plastic in Japan Charly Triballeau / Getty Images Single-use plastics which cannot be recycled are difficult to avoid in Tokyo Japan is one of the world's biggest plastic waste producers, thanks to its love of packaging - but a week of going plastic-free in Tokyo reveals surprising solutions. 63% of plastic waste was processed as "thermal recycling," which …

Brewers need cans. California’s broken recycling system is making them hard to find
2 years, 5 months ago

Brewers need cans. California’s broken recycling system is making them hard to find

LA Times  

Aluminum cans make their way down the canning line at Almanac Beer Co. in Alameda. With California’s aluminum recycling system in disrepair, Le has struggled to source enough cans to keep the company supplied. “The problem that we have, particularly in the United States on cans, is that we don’t recycle them enough,” said Matt Meenan, vice president of external …

California sets the toughest plastics reduction rules in the United States
2 years, 5 months ago

California sets the toughest plastics reduction rules in the United States

Firstpost  

Major legislation passed and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, aims to significantly reduce single-use plastic packaging in the state and drastically boost recycling rates for what remains Sacramento, Calif.: Companies selling shampoo, food and other products wrapped in plastic have a decade to cut down on their use of the polluting material if they want their wares on California store …

Editorial: California has a chance to lead the nation on cutting plastic trash. If we don’t blow it
2 years, 5 months ago

Editorial: California has a chance to lead the nation on cutting plastic trash. If we don’t blow it

LA Times  

Plastic trash lies on the beach after heavy rains near the Santa Ana River in 2018. The last few years have seen one distressing news story after another about the scourge of plastic waste: Single-use plastic packaging dumped in the ocean is killing sea animals who mistake it for food. The bill requires that 65% of all single-use plastic must …

Carpet industry’s recycling arm works against expanding mandates
2 years, 6 months ago

Carpet industry’s recycling arm works against expanding mandates

Politico  

The episode illustrates the tensions that emerge when an industry group regulates itself. “The carpet industry runs the stewardship program in California because they have to, but they don’t want it anywhere else because they think it will hurt carpet sales.” After recyclers advocated for the New York and Illinois bills, CARE leadership said they had violated the group’s conflict …

Coca-Cola introduces attached caps to cut litter and boost recycling
2 years, 7 months ago

Coca-Cola introduces attached caps to cut litter and boost recycling

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. More businesses are finding innovative ways to tackle harmful …

Trash or Recycling? Why Plastic Keeps Us Guessing.
2 years, 8 months ago

Trash or Recycling? Why Plastic Keeps Us Guessing.

New York Times  

Why Plastic Keeps Us Guessing. Trash Drag each item where you think it belongs Milk jug Peanut butter jar Water bottle Shampoo bottle Snack bag Diaper Plastic bag Bubble mailer Foam cup Single-use utensil Yogurt cup Takeout container Berry box Recycling The universal symbol for recycling, known as the “chasing arrows” logo, is stamped on so many things. “We don’t …

Australia's plastic recycling industry changes are fast taking effect
2 years, 8 months ago

Australia's plastic recycling industry changes are fast taking effect

ABC  

If Australians haven't noticed the changes being made to how, when, and where they recycle plastic, they will in the coming months. Key points: More changes to Australia's plastic export industry will come into effect from July 1 Australia will increase its domestic capacity for plastic reprocessing from 227,000 tonnes in 2020–21 to at least 420,000 tonnes by 2025 There …

Businesses back plans to bill them for recycling, drawing skepticism
2 years, 10 months ago

Businesses back plans to bill them for recycling, drawing skepticism

Politico  

Under the Maryland proposal, the state would study how much funding is needed to upgrade local recycling systems and reduce waste. It differs from Maine and Oregon’s bills by giving more control to industry: Maine’s law directs state regulators to design the program and set packaging fees through a public rulemaking process, for example, while Maryland’s would let companies set …

Govt notifies extended producer responsibility norms for plastic packaging waste
2 years, 10 months ago

Govt notifies extended producer responsibility norms for plastic packaging waste

Live Mint  

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the Guidelines on Extended Producers Responsibility on plastic packaging under Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. The guidelines on extended producer responsibility coupled with prohibition of identified single use plastic items, which have low utility and high littering potential, with effect from 1st July 2022, are important steps for reducing pollution …

Greenpiece: Let us shift to greener ways in the fight against Covid-19
2 years, 11 months ago

Greenpiece: Let us shift to greener ways in the fight against Covid-19

Hindustan Times  

Just when we assumed Covid-19 was under control, Omicron popped up globally. While we collectively battle the Covid family, we must also battle the endless plastics from this pandemic. Second, government procurement can play a key role by creating market linkages, increasing confidence in the new products. And finally, some sectors, such as small, private healthcare institutions and manufacturers of …

Reusable packaging, container deposit schemes, apps and enzymes: Is Australia's waste and recycling sector growing up?
3 years, 1 month ago

Reusable packaging, container deposit schemes, apps and enzymes: Is Australia's waste and recycling sector growing up?

ABC  

Australia's recycling sector is in the middle of an overhaul, sparked by a major policy shift by China, followed by a policy shift by the federal government and the creation of new recycling targets. "There was actually a Prime Minister who looked at the problem that had been created at state government level and said it's our waste, it's our …

Problem not with plastic: VP calls for responsible use of plastics
3 years, 11 months ago

Problem not with plastic: VP calls for responsible use of plastics

Hindustan Times  

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday asked research institutes like the CIPET to focus on the development of eco-friendly products like biodegradable plastics as durability and longevity of plastics have posed several challenges to the environment. Improper littering habits and lack of awareness on plastics waste management have resulted in many hazards,” he pointed out. Venkaiah Naidu noted that the …

Why ‘The World's Largest Recycling Plant' Won't Solve The Plastics Crisis
4 years, 1 month ago

Why ‘The World's Largest Recycling Plant' Won't Solve The Plastics Crisis

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING In September, Loop Industries, a startup with backing from several giant consumer brands, announced it was partnering with French waste management giant Suez to open the world’s largest recycling facility, somewhere in Europe, by 2023. It was touted as the world’s first Infinite Loop recycling facility, using Loop Industries’ proprietary, “game-changing” chemical process to break down PET, …

Recycling sector sees huge potential amid global trade interruptions
4 years, 4 months ago

Recycling sector sees huge potential amid global trade interruptions

ABC  

The recycling industry is talking up the opportunities brought on by the pandemic to convert Australia's vast plastic waste into regional jobs and value-added products. Key points: A project to make a plastic-timber composite in north Queensland is set back six months by COVID-19 The recycling industry says now is the time to invest in domestic manufacturing to create jobs …

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