Protecting the Great Lakes: The Imperative of Recycling Agricultural Plastics
When the topic of plastic pollution arises, images of bottles, straws, and bags in our oceans often come to mind. Yet, plastic pollution is not exclusive to marine environments; freshwater sources, notably the Great Lakes, are similarly under threat. While the vast majority of shoreline plastic pollution is made of common consumer items like those […]
Are National Standards Around Recyclability Claims on The Way?
Research shows how much, how often, and how well consumers recycle depends on their trust in the recycling system. Most of them – 78 percent –turn to labels to try and determine if a material will actually be recycled. Yet nearly two-thirds of them say they are confused by the label, found a survey of […]
Rewarding Recycling
Learnings from the World’s Highest-Performing Deposit Return Systems A series of trends are disrupting recycling and waste management conversations worldwide. The first is a growing awareness that plastic waste is polluting even the far reaches of our planet. Scientists have determined that plastic waste including litter is leaking into the oceans at a rate of […]
Transforming Organic Waste and Generating Economic Benefits
Discovered in 1980 [1], nanocellulose is a nanomaterial derived from cellulose, the most abundant organic polymer on Earth and the major ingredient in organic waste streams. It is composed of nanofibers which are smaller than the width of a human hair, making it extremely lightweight [1]. It is also 4 times stronger than stainless steel […]
Rollout of the First Major Residential Plastic Film Recycling Program in the U.S. is Kicking off in the Great Lakes Region
WM and Dow announced the launch of a bold new collaboration to improve residential recycling for hard-to-recycle plastic films by allowing consumers in select markets to recycle these materials directly in their curbside recycling. According to The Recycling Partnership, currently, only 1.9% of U.S. households(1) have access to curbside plastic film recycling, which is the […]
Making Recycling Fun
When students actively learn through fun and engaging experiences, they have a better chance of retaining that learned knowledge and incorporating it into various aspects of their lives. And when it comes to learning about recycling, it can make a big difference – not only at school but also at home and in their community. […]
Plastics: A Surprising Lodestar for the Circular Economy
Look around you. Literally, take a moment and scan your surroundings. Whoever you are and wherever you are, I bet you are surrounded by items made of plastics. Additionally, I would venture to guess that you would not take kindly to suddenly losing access to them. Whether you are a firefighter at the station waiting […]
Tackling Recycling Challenges with Sustainable Packaging Solutions
While consumers are eager to reduce their waste and recycle, recycling can be confusing. Information about exactly what can and cannot be recycled is often conflicting or unclear. As an industry, we need to be making it easy for consumers to reduce waste to landfill, not more challenging. One straightforward way to do this is […]
Bringing Circularity to the Great Lakes Region and Beyond
As we consider the path to a more sustainable future for our region and world, we are faced with the challenge of navigating the way forward. One thing is certain: the process must be inclusive and empower everyone to be part of the solution. The way to make that happen? Build a circular economy. Circular […]