Waste-to-energy is often looked upon as squandering a valuable resource. Penn State University’s Plastic Fuel Project has a more sensible proposition: “Recycle when possible, but if recycling is not an option, why not capture the high heat content of plastics?”

Plastics Industry Association members find themselves in the crosshairs of activist organization As You Sow (Oakland, CA).

Loop Industries Inc. (Montreal, QC, Canada) has developed a technology that decouples plastic from fossil fuels by depolymerizing waste polyester plastic into its base building blocks, which are then re-polymerized to create virgin-quality polyester.

British Plastics Federation cautions against requiring a specific level of recycled content in packaging products until there are assurances that the recycling infrastructure can meet demand.