Improving solid waste collection and management is the top short-term solution for reducing the amount of discarded plastic entering waterways across the globe, according to a United Nations report. The document notes plastic waste management improvements are especially important in developing economies. But it also says the ultimate solution to the marine plastics problem will come through smarter consumption. "A...

Sector exports recently experienced another sizable month-to-month increase in volumes. In March, the most recent month for which figures are available, scrap plastics exports totaled 359.27 million pounds, an increase of 16.2 percent from February 2016 levels. That marked the second straight month of volume gains over 15 percent. When matched against March 2015 levels, however, the volume of plastic...

China's appetite for rPET fuels infrastructure in Pakistan, and Taiwan continues to propel recovery of a wide range of material. China: China's growing demand for recovered PET has led one Pakistani recycling company to quadruple its processing capacity. According to Plastics News, Shazil Pakistan completed an expansion of its facility in January that will enable it to produce roughly 50,000...

Get an inside look at how the music industry is combating plastic waste at concerts, and hear about the details on a recently unveiled set of standards for recovering e-plastics. Rocking a reduction: Rolling Stone covers efforts by musicians and venues to reduce the use of single-use plastic cups and utensils at major concerts. Jack Johnson and numerous other musicians...

The ringleaders of a major container deposit fraud scheme will spend time behind bars and pay more than $1 million in to the state of California. According to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), authorities raided Los Angeles-area storage facilities on May 4 and found workers unloading semi-truck trailers full of used beverage containers from outside the...

Scrap plastics export figures saw another month-to-month rise in volume, but the ferrous and aluminum categories both declined. In March, the most recent month for which figures are available, scrap plastics exports totaled 359.27 million pounds, an increase of 16.2 percent from February 2016 export levels. That marked the second straight month of volume gains over 15 percent. When matched...

Wyoming is renowned for its cowpokes, but the results from a recent aluminum recycling competition show students in the state also excel in another type of roundup. Two small schools in the least populous U.S. state collected the most aluminum cans per capita during an annual recycling initiative that ranks the efforts of participating schools across the nation. Riverton Alternative...

A processing contract in Iowa is expected to boost one county's recycling tipping fee by 88 percent, and plans for a recycling facility in New Jersey have been shelved over toxic chemical concerns. Fargo, N.D.: City leaders are considering a contract that would switch the community to single-stream recycling, according to WDAY.com. The City Commission will consider a deal for...

Regulators in California bring the hammer down on a Los Angeles-area redemption center for alleged labor law violations, and Minnesota moves to revoke a metals recycling company's air quality permit. Labor law: Government regulators cracked down on an Orange County, Calif. recycling company, alleging it cheated its employees out of pay they were owed, according to The Orange County Register....

The UN's top environmental scientist tells a group assembled in Kenya that biodegradable plastics are a false solution to the marine plastics problem, and a Dutch city uses a full suite of technology to optimize its collection routes. Kenya: The United Nations' top environmental scientist said biodegradable plastics are not a solution to the world's marine plastics problem. The Guardian...