Nearly everyone touches plastics every day. Plastic film, for example, is used to make the thin bags for bread, produce, dry cleaning, newspapers and takeout food boxes. Cases of water bottles and multi-packs of paper towels are shrink-wrapped with plastic film. The plastic air pillows that are used as cushioning in packages are made from...Continue Reading

The commercial food disposal ban here in Massachusetts isn’t new, but a lot of Massachusetts businesses that weren’t affected by it before are now navigating the ban for the first time. Complying with its disposal requirements might create some new recycling challenges for those organizations.   MassDEP expanded its waste disposal bans in November 2022, as...Continue Reading

Back in 2016, I shared a blog about the current state of the recycling industry and some of the factors that were creating challenges for both recyclers and consumers. A lot has happened since then, most notably the pandemic, inflation and the enactment of China’s National Sword policy. Recycling in Massachusetts and throughout the U.S....Continue Reading

If what happened recently in the recycling markets happened in the stock market, we wouldn’t be in a recession; we would be in a depression. Markets for low-grade recycled fiber, such as cardboard and mixed paper, have taken a dramatic fall in recent months. During the pandemic, the economy managed to stay strong, despite the...Continue Reading

Busy warehouses can be hazardous places, thanks to heavy machinery, falling objects, dangerous chemicals – and recycling problems. If you’ve walked through a warehouse where cardboard mountains have started to form, you know the last one is true. Without efficient recycling systems in place, recyclable materials build up and cause all kinds of issues. From...Continue Reading

Roll off containers can be the most space- and cost-efficient way to manage large amounts of waste. Renting or buying roll off containers does cost your business a not-insignificant amount of space and money, so you don’t want to bring this type of equipment on site unless you’re confident that it’s necessary. Sometimes other types...Continue Reading

“We want to have an efficient recycling process; we just don’t know what that looks like.” That’s the basic message we hear a lot at Miller Recycling. Most business leaders don’t need to be convinced about the benefits of recycling these days. They understand the environmental and financial impact of recycling. They know it’s something...Continue Reading

The EPA has been aggressively working to advance recycling efforts in recent years. Education has improved, and the general public has learned a lot about what and how to recycle. Far more businesses provide recycling containers and have their own onsite commercial recycling equipment now than they did 20 years ago. In 1980 only 10...Continue Reading

Every business needs recycling equipment of some kind. In a one-person office, a recycling bin might get the job done. But a business that receives many shipments and/or generates a lot of recyclable waste needs high-volume equipment to manage all of its cardboard, paper, shrink wrap and other waste. Having onsite balers and compactors allows...Continue Reading

Like other types of recycling, scrap metal recycling has significant environmental benefits. Repurposing existing materials reduces the need to create new ones, which in turn reduces the need to mine for metal ore and other virgin materials. Recycling  also keeps it out of landfills. And since metal may be recycled over and over without diminishing...Continue Reading