Paper

"A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing."—Oscar Wilde

U.S. exports continue to be impacted by China’s ban on scrap plastic and by import restrictions implemented throughout Southeast Asia.

After eliminating plastic straws in the U.K. and replacing them with paper straws, McDonald’s claims its thicker paper straws are difficult to recycle.

Bowls touted as compostable will instead likely make compost more toxic, adding cancer-linked chemical compounds to soil and water.

The county’s solid waste authority explained it is continuing to reassess its residential recycling program since terminating its previous contract.

City officials say that not recycling properly could cause even bigger problems when it comes to landfill capacity and operations.

Last month, Indonesia reported it would use ISRI’s specifications for recovered paper, but the nation continues to develop new quality standards for inbound shipments.

The plant, projected to open in 2022, is expected to produce 1,000 tons of packing paper a day and will depend solely on 100 percent recycled fiber.

Recycling industry experts discuss the factors they believe will help drive paper and plastic markets in the years ahead.

Smurfit Kappa's director of innovation on sustainability and packaging discusses what needs to happen to take sustainable packaging design further.