SUNSHINE RecycleFlash Weekly: July 27-31, 2026

July 31, 2026

Gold Heads for Monthly Gain

Gold slipped below $4,100 an ounce on Friday, snapping a two-session winning streak, but remained on track for its first monthly gain in five months. The precious metal found support this week after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged despite mounting inflationary pressures stemming from renewed hostilities in the Middle East. However, expectations for tighter monetary policy continued to cap gains, with markets currently pricing in about a 63% chance of a Fed rate hike in September. Meanwhile, the US military launched fresh strikes on Iranian targets in retaliation for Tehran’s attacks on US assets across the Middle East, reducing the likelihood of any near-term diplomatic agreement. Gold has come under constant pressure since the US-Iran war erupted in late February, as surging oil prices fueled inflation concerns and strengthened expectations for tighter monetary policy. (Source: Trading Economics)

Wall Street Cuts Silver Price Forecasts but Maintains View of Market Deficit

Major banks have lowered their silver price forecasts in July as prices retreated from record highs, but analysts have not concluded that the market has moved into surplus. JPMorgan reduced its year-end silver forecast to $60-$65 per ounce from about $81, citing weaker investor demand and softer industrial consumption. Other institutions, including UBS, ING and Commerzbank, also revised their price outlooks lower amid concerns over solar demand, higher yields and a stronger U.S. dollar. However, the forecast cuts mainly reflect expectations for prices rather than a reversal of supply-demand fundamentals. UBS lowered its estimated 2026 silver deficit but still expects a shortfall of 60 million to 70 million ounces, above the 46.3 million-ounce deficit projected by Metals Focus and the Silver Institute. Silver is currently trading near $58 per ounce, more than 50% higher than a year ago but below its January record. Despite recent downgrades, several analysts continue to expect prices to remain elevated due to ongoing supply constraints and industrial demand. (Source: Kitco News)

Copper Set for Weekly and Monthly Gains

Copper futures climbed above $6.45 per pound on Friday and were on track to finish the week and the month about 2% and 4% higher, respectively. The gains followed the US Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged this week, easing concerns over the demand outlook for industrial metals. In top consumer China, the Politburo signaled it would continue relying on existing policy measures rather than introducing broad-based stimulus, emphasizing the need to “fully use” current tools while directing fiscal spending and bond issuance toward boosting demand and improving supply. Meanwhile, copper continued to find support from its strong long-term demand outlook, underpinned by the global transition to clean energy and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers. (Source: Trading Economics)

Zinc Near 4-Year High

Zinc futures rose to around $3,620 per tonne, hovering near a four-year high amid tightening near-term supply. A smelter in Central China is scheduled for routine maintenance in August, with output expected to fall by 1,000–1,500 tonnes, adding to near-term supply pressures amid recent disruptions at key facilities. Glencore’s Kazzinc in Kazakhstan continued to operate at reduced capacity following an explosion, Nexa’s Cajamarquilla smelter in Peru was gradually restarting operations after a fire, and uncertainty remained over output at Boliden’s Garpenberg mine after a seismic activity earlier this year. In addition, LME zinc stocks remained at their lowest level since May, while Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouse inventories dropped 0.8% from last week, pointing to tightening available supplies. Prices were also supported by a weaker US dollar after the Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged, making dollar-denominated commodities less expensive for buyers using other currencies. (Source: Trading Economics)

MIT Develops Recyclable Elastic Yarn to Tackle Textile Waste

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a recyclable elastic yarn that could offer a sustainable alternative to conventional spandex-based materials, addressing a major barrier to textile recycling. Made entirely from polyethylene-based polymers, the yarn delivers strength and elasticity comparable to traditional elastic fibers while eliminating the need for complex chemical separation during recycling. In laboratory tests, researchers repeatedly melted and respun the material, finding it retained its mechanical performance after 10 recycling cycles. The study, published in ACS Materials Letters, highlights the potential to recycle worn garments into new yarn or other plastic products, supporting a closed-loop textile system. Researchers noted that roughly 80% of textiles sold in the United States contain spandex, making them difficult to recycle. The team believes the new material could help reduce textile waste and advance circular manufacturing if produced at commercial scale. (Source: MIT)

California Wine Industry Plastic Film Recycling Program Creates Closed-Loop Supply Chain

Sustainability consulting firm iSustain has helped establish a closed-loop plastic film recycling program serving more than 100 wineries and businesses across California’s Napa and Sonoma counties, demonstrating a scalable model for regional circular economy initiatives. The program, developed with Sigma Stretch Film, Conservation Corps North Bay (CCNB) and the North Bay Zero Waste Collective, recovers used stretch film from wineries and converts it into post-consumer recycled resin. The material is then remanufactured into Sigma’s Sustain360 stretch film, which contains 30% recycled content, and supplied back to participating wineries. St. Supéry Estate, one of the participating wineries, said the lighter-gauge film has reduced its plastic consumption by about 140 pounds annually. A CalRecycle grant also enabled CCNB to install a high-capacity baler in Santa Rosa, expanding collection capacity and providing workforce training opportunities. iSustain said the initiative offers a practical blueprint for other regions seeking to build local, circular recycling systems. (Source: iSustain Recycling)

Indorama Ventures Launches Zero-Waste Program at Philippines PET Recycling Facility

Indorama Ventures has launched a Zero Waste to Landfill program at its PETValue Philippines recycling facility in Cavite, expanding its efforts to improve resource recovery and reduce landfill waste across its PET recycling operations. The initiative, developed through the company’s IndoNova recycling business, focuses on recovering materials left over from its bottle-to-bottle recycling process. Under a new partnership with Republic Cement & Building Materials, caps and labels that cannot be recycled into new packaging are collected by Republic Cement’s ecoloop unit and used as alternative fuel in cement production. PETValue Philippines, a joint venture with Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippines, converts used PET bottles into food-grade recycled PET (rPET) packaging. Indorama said the collaboration strengthens circularity by linking plastic recycling with cement-sector resource recovery. The company has recycled nearly 180 billion post-consumer PET bottles since entering the sector in 2011 and currently processes more than 700 bottles per second. A similar rPET facility is also under development in Nigeria and is scheduled to begin operations in the first half of 2027. (Source: Packaging Gateway)

Pirelli, BASF and Partners Expand tire-to-tire Recycling Ecosystem in Europe

Pirelli, Pyrum, Synthos and BASF have partnered to strengthen a tire-to-tire circular economy in Europe by converting end-of-life and scrap tires into certified recycled materials for new tire production. The initiative uses tires collected from Driver retail outlets, motorsport activities in Germany and Pirelli’s Breuberg plant. Pyrum processes the tires through pyrolysis to recover carbon black (rCB) and tire pyrolysis oil (TPO). The recovered carbon black is refined and reused in Pirelli's European manufacturing, while BASF converts the TPO into chemical feedstocks, including butadiene and stirene, using a mass balance approach to produce ISCC PLUS-certified Ccycled® products. Synthos then uses these certified materials to manufacture synthetic rubber for high-performance tires, which Pirelli incorporates into new products. The partners said the project demonstrates how collaboration across the value chain can create a traceable industrial loop that increases the use of recycled materials and advances circularity in the European tire industry. (Source: BASF)

PureCycle, Mitsui and RM TOHCELLO Partner to Advance Recycled Polypropylene Packaging in Japan

PureCycle Technologies, Mitsui & Co. and RM TOHCELLO have formed a strategic partnership to introduce recycled polypropylene into biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film for flexible packaging in Japan, targeting a market where recycled content has traditionally been difficult to use due to strict purity requirements. The collaboration began in early 2023, with RM TOHCELLO testing PureCycle’s PureFive® recycled resin. Following successful pilot-scale production trials, the partners plan to showcase the material to converters and brand owners in Japan. A commercial agreement is expected in 2027, with shipments to follow after import regulatory approvals. PureCycle’s dissolution recycling technology removes contaminants from post-consumer polypropylene waste to produce high-purity recycled resin suitable for demanding applications. The companies said the partnership could expand the use of recycled materials in food packaging, labels and consumer goods, supporting the development of more circular and lower-emission flexible packaging solutions. (Source: PureCycle)

Solarcycle and Southern Power Expand Solar Panel Recycling Partnership

Southern Power has partnered with solar panel recycler Solarcycle to recover materials from damaged solar modules and support a more circular solar supply chain. Since launching the collaboration in 2025, the companies have recycled more than 800 modules, with plans to process an additional 2,000 to 3,000 damaged panels by the end of the year. Solarcycle's recycling process dismantles retired panels to recover materials including glass, aluminum, copper, silver and silicon. These resources are refined and returned to the supply chain for reuse in solar manufacturing, including recycled solar glass production. Southern Power said the partnership provides a more sustainable way to manage end-of-life solar equipment while conserving valuable resources. Solarcycle is also developing a solar glass manufacturing facility near its Georgia recycling site to create an integrated recycling and remanufacturing operation for photovoltaic materials. (Source: Recycling Today)

Avery Dennison’s RFID Tags Gain First RecyClass Approval for PET Bottle Recycling

Avery Dennison’s AD CleanFlake™ RFID tags have received RecyClass Technology Approval in Europe, becoming the first RFID solution recognized by both RecyClass and the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) for compatibility with mechanical PET recycling systems. The approval confirms that the RFID tags can be effectively separated from PET packaging during recycling, preventing adhesive and metal contamination while allowing recovered PET flakes to be reused. The technology combines Avery Dennison’s CleanFlake™ adhesive with a patent-pending RFID inlay and label design. The certification enables brands operating across North America and Europe to adopt a unified RFID labeling solution for PET packaging while supporting recycling targets and regulatory requirements, including the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. Avery Dennison said the innovation demonstrates that digital tracking technologies and recyclable packaging solutions can work together to advance circular plastic systems. (Source: Avery Dennison)

TerraCycle Launches U.S. Recycling Service for Used Nicotine Vape Devices

TerraCycle Commercial has launched a nationwide vape device recycling service in the United States, offering a compliant collection and recycling solution for used nicotine vape devices while addressing growing concerns over electronic waste and battery safety. The turnkey program provides prepaid collection containers for households, businesses, schools, hotels and other organizations. Through TerraCycle’s recycling process, collected vape devices are disassembled, sorted by material type and recycled, while nicotine pods are disposed of through incineration in accordance with applicable regulations. The company said improper disposal of vape devices can create fire risks because lithium-ion batteries may ignite when damaged or exposed to extreme conditions in waste systems. The service offers multiple container sizes for different collection needs, ranging from small consumer collections to larger-scale pallet and freight shipments. TerraCycle said the initiative aims to provide a scalable alternative to traditional hazardous-waste disposal methods. (Source: TerraCycle)

EPA Awards $11.5 Million in Recycling Infrastructure Grants to Tribal Communities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded more than $11.5 million in Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) grants to nine Tribal entities in Alaska, Idaho and Washington to strengthen recycling and waste management systems. The funding, totaling $11,563,595, will support projects focused on improving household hazardous waste collection, expanding composting programs, increasing post-consumer material recovery and providing workforce training for waste management operations. Individual grants range from about $940,000 to $1.5 million. EPA said the investments aim to build stronger and more resilient local recycling infrastructure while reducing landfill demand, recovering valuable materials and creating employment opportunities in Tribal communities. The selected projects include upgrades to collection services, technical assistance and staff expansion. EPA Region 10 Administrator Emma Pokon said the grants will help communities improve environmental protection, public health and local economic development through enhanced waste management capabilities. (Source: EPA)