» Only 5% of plastic waste generated by US last year was recycled, report says
Americans discarded 51m tons of plastic in 2021 – of which almost 95% ended up in landfills, oceans or scattered in the atmosphere
By Nina Lakhani, The Guardian
October 24, 2022
» The Plastics Industry Searches for a ‘Circular’ Way to Cut Plastic Waste and Make More Plastics
Environmentalists smell a ruse, saying the industry’s talk of “advanced recycling” is nothing more than a fancy approach to a dirty business, incinerating plastics.
By James Bruggers, Inside Climate News
September 30, 2022
» A New Plant in Indiana Uses a Process Called ‘Pyrolysis’ to Recycle Plastic Waste. Critics Say It’s Really Just Incineration
After two years, Brightmark Energy has yet to get the factory up and running. Environmentalists say pyrolysis requires too much energy, emits greenhouse gases and pollutants, and turns plastic waste into new, dirty fossil fuels.
By James Bruggers, Inside Climate News
September 11, 2022
» A Houston Firm Says It’s Opening a Billion-Dollar Chemical Recycling Plant in a Small Pennsylvania Town. How Does It Work?
Gov. Wolf touted jobs and less plastic pollution when the plans were announced in April, but a professor from Carnegie Mellon who’s studied the technology says it can lead to “sustainability fraud.”
By James Bruggers, Inside Climate News
September 6, 2022
» Senate passes bill that would clear the way for plastics-to-fuel plants in R.I.
[Rhode Island] Senate votes 19-14 for legislation for ‘advanced recycling’ facilities using a high-heat process that environmentalists call ‘highly polluting, energy-intensive, unproven’
By Edward Fitzpatrick, Boston Globe
June 7, 2022
» In South Korea, an Emphasis on Recycling Yields Results
Ambitious goals, messaging and enforcement put the nation at the top of the sustainability pack, serving as a model as the World Economic Forum pushes to end plastic waste.
By David Belcher, New York Times
May 21, 2022
» Exxon doubles down on ‘advanced recycling’ claims that yield few results
The petroleum company is under investigation for misleading the public while exacerbating the global plastic pollution crisis
By Amy Westervelt, The Guardian
May 11, 2022
» Energy Department slammed for funding ‘false’ plastics solutions
Advocates say the agency’s efforts to develop chemical recycling are a “waste of tax dollars.”
By Joseph Winters, Grist
January 14, 2022
» Recycled plastic won’t solve tech’s waste problem
It doesn’t get at the root of the problem
By Justine Calma, The Verge
October 6, 2021
» California Aims to Ban Recycling Symbols on Things That Aren’t Recyclable
The well-known three-arrows symbol doesn’t necessarily mean that a product is actually recyclable. A new bill would limit the products allowed to feature the mark.
By Hiroko Tabuchi and Winston Choi-Schagrin, New York Times
September 8, 2021
» The Recycling Industry in America Is Broken
By Tiffany Duong, EcoWatch
April 20, 2021
» John Oliver Takes on the Plastics Industry
By Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch
March 23, 2021
» Countries Tried to Curb Trade in Plastic Waste. The U.S. Is Shipping More.
Data shows that American exporters continue to ship plastic waste overseas, often to poorer countries, even though most of the world has agreed to not accept it.
By Hiroko Tabuchi and Michael Corkery, New York Times
March 12, 2021
» Coca-Cola Introduces New 100% Recycled Bottle in U.S., But Is It Enough?
By Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch
February 16, 2021
» Chemical Recycling Is No Silver Bullet for Eliminating Plastic Waste
Chemical recycling projects are attracting massive investments but, so far, the ROI is negligible.
By Clare Goldsberry, Plastics Today
February 13, 2021
» The Plastic Myth and the Misunderstood Triangle
By Dr. Kate Raynes-Goldie
October 23, 2020
» New super-enzyme eats plastic bottles six times faster
Breakthrough that builds on plastic-eating bugs first discovered by Japan in 2016 promises to enable full recycling
By Damian Carrington, The Guardian
September 28, 2020
» How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled
By Laura Sullivan, NPR
September 11, 2020
» This ‘solution’ to the plastic crisis is really just another way to burn fossil fuels
By Joseph Winters, Grist
August 3, 2020
» Plastic pollution: why chemical recycling could provide a solution
By Alvin Orbaek White, The Conversation
April 21, 2020
» Is turning waste plastic into fuel the answer to our waste management and energy woes? Probably not…
By Steve Ahlquist, Uprise RI
March 13, 2020
» America’s ‘recycled’ plastic waste is clogging landfills, survey finds
Many facilities lack the ability to process ‘mixed plastics’, a category of waste that has virtually no market as new products
By Erin McCormick, The Guardian
February 18 2020
» The Great Recycling Con
The greatest trick corporations ever played was making us think we could recycle their products.
By Tala Schlossberg and Nayeema Raza, New York Times Opinion
December 9, 2019
» New Factory That Uses Enzymes to Recycle All Plastics At Once Has the Backing of Major Corporations
By Good News Network
October 27, 2019
» Leaked Audio Reveals How Coca-Cola Undermines Plastic Recycling Efforts
Sharon Lerner, The Intercept
October 18, 2019
» In this “biorecycling” factory, enzymes perfectly break down plastic so it can be used again
The process lets any plastic—say a polyester shirt—be recycled into any other plastic (like a clear water bottle). It could fundamentally change the market for recycling.
By Adele Peters, Fast Company
October 17, 2019
» Recycling Is in Crisis. Could These Innovations Be the Answer?
Now that China is turning away the world’s recyclable waste, Australia wants to ban export of the materials and increase domestic processing. Here are some techniques being pursued.
By Livia Albeck-Ripka, New York Times
August 12, 2019
» Recyclers Cringe as Southeast Asia Says It’s Sick of the West’s Trash
By Mike Ives, New York Times
June 7, 2019
» Cold Plasma Pyrolysis: How We Can Turn Plastic Waste Into Clean Energy and Useful Products in Seconds
By Anh Phan, Newcastle University, UK; Article republished in Newsweek
October 2, 2018
» The Conflict of Interest That Is Killing Recycling
Some of the biggest recycling operations are owned by landfill companies whose profits improve when recycling doesn’t work well.
By David Bornstein, New York Times Opinion
August 15, 2018
» The Chinese import ban and its impact on global plastic waste trade
By Amy L. Brooks, Shunli Wang, Jenna R. Jambeck; Science Advances
June 20, 2018
» Recycled plastic could supply three-quarters of UK demand, report finds
By Sandra Laville, The Guardian
June 14, 2018
» Infinitely Recyclable ‘Plastic’ Has Been Invented by Scientists
By Aristos Georgiou, Newsweek
April 27, 2018
» Can I recycle ANY plastic bags at the grocery store, including thicker packaging plastic and ziplocs?
RecycleCoach.com
December 2017