Millennium Recycling of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, partners with the Foodservice Packaging Institute.

Merlin Plastics and Peninsula Plastics Recycling are making substantial investments in mixed-plastics processing capacity, bringing positive news for a region hard hit by China’s ban. The operations are installing lines for sorting mixed-plastic bales into discrete materials, some of which they’ll further process. Based in Turlock, Calif., Peninsula Plastics is a subsidiary of Merlin Plastics, which has locations in British Columbia and Alberta.

Millennium Recycling, a single-stream recycling facility based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is expanding the amount of recycled materials it can provide to end-markets: the company has added paper cups to its list of materials it accepts for recycling.

Reclaimer EFS-Plastics have plans to open a third North American operation and is on the hunt for more mixed bales to fuel its growth.

If the collection hurdle can be overcome, paper cup recycling could be a reality in more communities.

Denver residents participating in the city's recycling program can now add paper cups to their curbside carts. The change comes via a partnership between Denver Public Works, Alpine Waste & Recycling, the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) and Sustana.

The City of Denver is expanding its recycling program to include more things. The goal is to increase the rate at which the city recycles.

Denver now has an answer to the question, "what do you do with these paper cups?" The city of Denver can now recycle paper cups.

Starbucks sent 18 truckloads of old paper cups to a paper mill in Wisconsin to prove a point: Contrary to a widespread myth, paper coffee cups can be recycled cost-effectively.

Field trials at two composting facilities evaluated compostable foodservice packaging as a composting feedstock.

Company recycling commitments and governmental bans are on the rise, even as China’s ban on U.S. recycled materials continues to reverberate across the industry. This pivotal moment of crisis and opportunity is a chance to reimagine and rebuild the U.S. recycling industry.

Georgia-Pacific, one of the world's largest paper-product manufacturers, is working to scale up a patented technology to recover material from food-soiled packaging.

ReVital Polymers Inc., one of Canada's largest plastics recycling company that is located in Sarnia, Ontario says that black plastics collected in recycling programs are an important resource and feedstock for its recycling business.

Though single-use paper cups are ubiquitous in North America, recycling the poly-coated items has been challenging. Now, as paper mills and local programs adapt to an evolving fiber stream, innovation and collaboration are leading to recovery solutions.

Several communities have recently expanded acceptance of foodservice packaging in curbside recycling. In each case, the move came after significant engagement with end markets and local MRFs to ensure downstream viability.

The movement toward "zero waste" and higher recycling targets is alive and well in many cities around the country, despite recent commodity market uncertainties. In fact, five of them expanded their curbside lists as others are cutting back.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer's administration has announced that, effective immediately, food takeout containers can be disposed of in curbside recycling carts. That includes packaging from burgers, chicken, pizza, tacos and other to-go containers as well as drink cups.

With this update, cities can now accept and recycle takeout packaging like paper and plastic cups, containers, pizza and sandwich boxes and paper bags.

Washington, D.C., Chattanooga, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky are part of a growing number of cities recycling foodservice packaging at the curb. A combined 460,000 households in these three cities can recycle take-out packaging like paper and plastic cups, containers, pizza and sandwich boxes, and paper bags in their curbside carts and bins, thanks in part to the Foodservice Packaging Institute.

District officials announced that they are expanding the list of what can be tossed in the blue recycling bin. They are also simplifying recycling by requiring businesses, schools and apartment and condo buildings to all accept the same list of recyclables, starting Jan. 1, 2018. The changes go into effect immediately for residences served by District Department of Public Works trash collectors.