Steve Toloken

The PET plastic bottle recycling rate slipped in 2024, an industry report says, amid a "really tough time for domestic reclaimers."

Panelists at the launch of a Pew report on plastics say a treaty is the best solution to addressing environmental pollution and human health concerns.

Advocates for bottle bills and EPR say government budget cuts could actually help their cause, since those programs can boost recycling without needing major tax dollars.

A panel of federal judges heard a lawsuit challenging the EPA to move more quickly in writing regulations for fluorination of plastic containers.

The U.S. Senate passes reusable and refillable packaging legislation, Lisbon expands its reusable cup program and SPE mold division scholarships to honor Hasco GmbH founders.

A plastics industry group is backing an anti-trust probe of the U.S. Plastics Pact by five state attorneys general. But one longtime plastics recycling exec says the AGs need to 'get with the times.'

The U.S. Plastics Pact has a new position paper arguing that chemical and mechanical recycling should be complementary, with priority given to mechanical recycling.

Manufacturing advocates and a plastics industry executive testified at a Congressional hearing Nov. 20, pushing Washington for tariff relief for capital equipment purchases.

Any future plastics treaty is not just about single-use plastics. It will impact materials used in longer-last durable goods like cars, a plastics industry negotiator at the talks told a trade show audience.

In this month’s Plastics in Politics Live, Assistant Managing Editor Steve Toloken explored a shifting policy landscape for plastics — from U.S. tariffs and Supreme Court skepticism to blowback on voluntary recycling standards.