It’s been happening gradually, but the recycling landscape has changed significantly in the last several years. All family-owned recycling companies in Massachusetts would probably tell you the same thing. Increased competition and pressure from larger organizations has made it more and more challenging for small businesses to continue operating. Multiple Massachusetts recycling companies have shut...Continue Reading
If your business generates any scrap copper, you probably noticed that 2021 was a banner year for copper prices. So far, 2022 is following suit. And if your business buys scrap copper, you’ve definitely noticed that copper has been more expensive than ever before. Globally, copper prices reached all-time highs in 2021 and reached a...Continue Reading
Making significant changes almost always takes longer than we’d like. That’s true of a lot of things in life. It’s also something we’re seeing in the recycling industry right now, as billions of single-use paper cups end up in landfills because wide-scale paper cup recycling continues to be just out of reach. It’s frustrating because...Continue Reading
Bottles, cans and plastic wrap. Plastic milk crates. Even an office chair and a toilet seat. They’re all things that Miller Recycling has recently found mixed into incoming loads of recovered cardboard. Cardboard contamination is a global problem, and it’s not new—but developments over the last few years have made cardboard contamination a...Continue Reading
People watching TV in 1990 might remember seeing commercials from DuPont declaring that empty plastic containers weren’t trash—they were “full of potential,” and that potential could only be harnessed by people recycling plastic. That same year, Coca-Cola began making bottles using recycled plastic. By 1992, there were nearly 5,000 curbside recycling programs in the U.S....Continue Reading
People who strive to be environmentally conscious might ask themselves if there is anything that one person or one business can do to lessen the impact of climate change. It’s such an overwhelming problem that it can be hard to believe that small-scale actions could make a difference. Using recycling services really can make a...Continue Reading
You have a lot to think about in the course of a typical day. The fate of your disposable coffee cup probably ranks low on the list of your daily concerns. Wonder no more: Whether you toss it in a trash can or in a recycling bin for mixed paper, that cup is almost certainly...Continue Reading
Maybe you’ve heard about scrapping but aren’t quite sure what it is, whether your business is supposed to be doing it, or whether it’s worth the effort. The scrapping definition is pretty easy to guess at (spoiler: it involves scrap metal!). Why it matters, though? There are both financial and environmental answers to that question....Continue Reading
The world has gone digital, you say? Tell it to the people who dispose of your paper. As they well know, paper is still everywhere. Paper makes up about one quarter of all trash in the U.S., according to the EPA, and nearly 20 million tons of mixed paper ends up landfilled each year. But...Continue Reading
Quick quiz: Which of the following could contaminate your recycling? Cardboard frozen food boxes A bag of shredded paper from your shredder An empty, unwashed dog food can Plastic garbage bags If you guessed all of them, you’re already ahead of the game when it comes to sorting recyclables. Contamination is a huge and costly...Continue Reading
