The COVID-19 pandemic has made consumers re-evaluate their wardrobes and the fashion industry is listening. It turns out greenhouse gas emissions from textile and clothing factories has reached 1.2 billion tons per year and the impact on the environm Read More…
The association’s position encourages use of recycled plastics in manufacturing of new goods.
Source: ISRI adopts position on minimum recycled plastic content – Recycling Today
Few pros in the recycling industry will say it’s impossible to recycle glass. But many questions remain about this practice, from how glass impacts contamination of the rest of the stream to whether there’s money to be made in working with glass.
Wi Read More…
Recycled paper mill leaders recently weighed in on the factors behind market shifts, how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting generation and demand, and where markets are headed in the future. A July 29 virtual event hosted by Resource Recycling featured …
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The post What to expect in domestic recycled paper markets appeared first on Resource Recycling News.
A proposed California bill addressing organic byproducts used for livestock feed has triggered ongoing dispute among multiple stakeholders.
Under AB 2959 jurisdictions could require grocers, restaurants and other retail food establishments to use a Read More…
The food-technology company Treasure8 is joining forces with PA Consulting, a global innovation and transformation consultancy firm, to battle food waste and improve access to affordable, nutrient-dense food options.
“Our ultimate purpose is and always has been to Deploy Nutrition for Humanity, and so, we’re grateful to have partners that are going to be the perfect fit for us to make Nutritional Security happen in this time of crisis,” says Timothy Childs, founder and co-CEO of Treasure8. “If COVID-19 has shown us one thing, it is that we need to systemically rethink and rebuild a new food system.”
Named a 2019 World Changing Idea by FastCompany, Treasure8 uses technology to redirect food waste and make quality nutrition accessible for all. The organization holds a patent with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a dehydration technology called SAUNA. Using SAUNA, they are able to dehydrate fresh, surplus produce in a way that preserves the nutritional value of the products better than conventional methods, according to Treasure8.
With a team of over 3,200 specialists with backgrounds in design, science, engineering, and more, PA Consulting will help Treasure8 scale up their work. The firm will use its networks to help share Treasure8’s technology with more food companies and manufacturers.
“It’s inspirational to find a like-minded, motivated, and purpose-driven partner like Treasure8. We look forward to joining them in creating the rapid sustainable growth they require to have a positive impact on people and the planet,” says Wil Schoenmakers, Global Head of Consumer Products and Manufacturing at PA Consulting.
Together, Treasure8 and PA Consulting hope to create a better food system. “Part of our company’s strategy and path to creating change is through an extensive network of global partnerships. And we are very excited to show the world along with PA just how much impact can be accomplished by working together,” Childs
In a year upended by major challenges, corrugated boxes are emerging as a potential bright spot for recyclers. But shifts from industrial and commercial volumes over to residential collection have generated quality concerns.
A bill recently signed by Gov. Jared Polis directs state staff to study creating a new market development program and launching a statewide education program, among other items.
A report from activist organization GAIA claims processing strategies that have been heavily promoted by the polymer industry amount to a “greenwashing tactic” undermining efforts to ban single-use plastics. Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), a group that opposes waste-to-energy …
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The post Environmental group takes aim at chemical recycling appeared first on Plastics Recycling Update.
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Redding, California-based TechniSoil Industrial has provided an asphalt binder made with recycled-content G5 polymer to a Caltrans highway repaving project in Oroville, California.
“By incorporating G5, this new stretch of highway contains a recycled-plastic content equivalent reaching 150,000 bottles per lane mile,” states Caltrans (the California Department of Transportation).
According to TechniSoil, the newly formulated asphalt “has five times the tensile strength of [traditional] asphalt and will last two to three times longer, and the incorporation of recycled plastic bottles into a better-performing road has positive long-term cost and environmental implications.”
Caltrans says the piloted use of the additive was part of a cold in-place asphalt recycling and repaving project on a section of Highway 162 in Oroville. Caltrans says it marks “the first time the department has paved a road using 100 percent recycled materials.”
The pilot project features work on three lanes of a 1,000-foot highway segment. The department is testing the material for later use throughout the state. The $3.2 million paving project has Lamon Construction Co. Inc. of Yuba City, California, as the prime contractor.
“This pilot project underscores the department’s commitment to embracing innovative and cost-effective technologies while advancing sustainability and environmental protection efforts,” says Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin.
Caltrans currently has a cold in-place asphalt recycling program that uses large machines to remove 3 to 6 inches of roadway surface and grind up the asphalt while mixing it with a foamed binding agent made of bitumen, a leftover sludge from oil refining. With this traditional technique, the recycled material used only is durable enough to serve as the roadway base. Trucks need to deliver hot-mix asphalt from an offsite production plant and place a final layer over the base.
Using the new technology developed by TechniSoil, a recycling “train” of equipment grinds up the top three inches of pavement and then mixes the grindings with the G5 liquid plastic polymer binder, which is made in part of discarded plastic bottles. The new asphalt material is then placed on the top surface of the roadway, eliminating the need for trucks to bring in outside material for a paving operation. By eliminating the need to haul asphalt from the outside, this process can cut greenhouse gas emissions, says Caltrans.
“Using plastic that was otherwise destined for a landfill will not only reduce the cost of road repair and construction, but also increase the strength and durability of our roads,” says state Sen. Ben Hueso, who Caltrans says has advocated for the agency to test this material.
“We’re excited about introducing a new sustainable technology and helping pave the way for utilization of recycled plastics throughout the state,” says Caltrans District 3 Director Amarjeet S. Benipal. “This process is better for the environment because it keeps plastic bottles out of landfills and helps reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.”
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