This year, plastics pollution and the state of domestic and global recycling markets were not only top of mind for waste and recycling industry insiders, but these issues hit the mainstream as well. Some of the mainstream media articles published this year were so negative, who could fault the consumer and general public for thinking recycling is in crisis, doomed or even dead?

But Waste360 columnists, who represent a wide range of industry expertise, remained level-headed and set the record straight: that without recycling, there is no future. This year, our columnists tackled not only our industry’s battle with plastics producers, the future of global recycling and the movement toward a circular economy but also prominent mergers and acquisitions and safety within materials recovery facilities.

Here, the editors at Waste360 have compiled a gallery to highlight the most-read columns for 2019.