Recycling industry analysts say high-level trends affecting markets and manufacturing will affect recyclers as trade war uncertainties continue.
By Megan Quinn, Senior Reporter, WASTEDIVE, April 9, 2025
Uncertainty around the operational and market impacts of the Trump administration’s latest round of tariffs is expected to continue in the near future as plastics recyclers and related industries wait for ripple effects on global trade and domestic markets.
On April 2, President Donald Trump enacted baseline 10% tariffs on goods from most other nations, plus a range of additional country-specific duties. Numerous trade partners then responded in recent days with retaliatory tariffs. On Wednesday, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the country-specific tariffs but said a near-universal 10% tariff would stay in place. Canada and Mexico will still be subject to a 25% tariff for certain goods not covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the White House later clarified. However, China which will now face a tariff rate of 125%.
The status of these tariffs is ever-changing, and recyclers expect the frequent changes will result in numerous consequences for commodities markets, as well as costs for equipment and infrastructure projects.
Here are some facets of the plastics recycling industry they’re monitoring in the early days of the trade war.
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Hundreds gathered at Dilworth Plaza Friday morning for the “We’re Not Getting There Without SEPTA” rally, voicing their opposition to proposed cuts and fare increases by the public transit agency.
State Sen. Nikil Saval, D-Philadelphia, led the group in a chant: “No cuts. No way. We ride SEPTA every day.”
“We are clear-eyed about what brings us together today,” Saval told the crowd under the north arch of City Hall. “The future of our communities, of our city, of our entire region, are dependent on SEPTA. We stand at the edge of service cuts and fair hikes that will tumble into a cascading death spiral that advocates and officials have warned about for so long.”
The rally, occurring just one day after SEPTA announced what many are calling a “doomsday” budget, brought together a coalition of transit workers, elected officials and riders facing what Saval described as “the deadly seriousness” of a crisis that threatens to reshape life in America’s sixth-largest city.
On Thursday, SEPTA unveiled a budget proposal to address a $213 million deficit, which includes a 45% reduction in service and a 21.5% fare increase. The plan would eliminate dozens of bus routes, shut down five Regional Rail lines and stop service at 9 p.m. on all rail services starting Jan. 1, 2026. Disabled riders would also be significantly affected, with 40,000 annual trips no longer served by SEPTA ACCESS and fares increased by 35%.
The rally underscored the role SEPTA, which serves nearly 800,000 riders daily, plays in the region’s economy and daily life. Speakers highlighted the disproportionate impact the proposed cuts would have on working-class communities, people with disabilities and those without alternative transportation options.
President Trump named Alina Habba the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey last month. She previously represented Mr. Trump in civil lawsuits.Credit…Kenny Holston/The New York Times
The top federal prosecutor in New Jersey said she had directed lawyers in her office to investigate the state’s Democratic governor and attorney general over a statewide policy that limits how much help local police can provide federal immigration officers.
The prosecutor, Alina Habba, called the inquiry a “warning for everybody” in announcing it late Thursday during an appearance on Fox News. She said she was singling out Philip D. Murphy, the governor, and Matthew J. Platkin, the attorney general, for scrutiny.
Anybody who gets “in the way” of President Trump’s efforts to deport migrants will be charged “for obstruction, for concealment,” Ms. Habba, the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, warned.
“I will come after them hard,” she said.
The move is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump, a Republican, to use the Justice Department to punish Democratic state and city officials who refuse to help carry out the administration’s immigration agenda and to quash so-called sanctuary policies.
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PRINCETON, NJ — The Department of Commerce has announced the withdrawal of approximately $4 million in funding from Princeton University’s climate research programs.
According to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, the university’s programs contributed to “climate anxiety,” among students and young people.
The cut to funding was made after a “detailed, careful, and thorough review of the Department’s financial assistance programs against National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (“NOAA”) current program objectives.”
The White House said it considered the University’s research topics like sea level rise, coastal flooding and global warming to be “exaggerated and implausible climate threats.”
“Its focus on alarming climate scenarios fosters fear rather than rational, balanced discussion. Additionally, the use of federal funds to support these narratives, including educational initiatives aimed at K-12 students, is misaligned with the administration’s priorities,” the U.S. Department of Commerce said.
Three programs will lose their federal funding effective June 30:
Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System
Climate Risks and Interactive Sub-seasonal to Seasonal Predictability
Advancing Prediction
Among the faculty of the Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System I, is noted meteorologist Syukuro Manabe, who won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics for his groundbreaking work in predicting climate change.
The second program impacted by DOC cuts is Climate Risk which suggests that the Earth will have a significant fluctuation in its water availability as a result of global warming.
The third and final project, Advancing Prediction, assesses risks associated with climate change, including alleged changes to precipitation patterns and sea-level rise.
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This week, Trump signed several more executive orders meant to advance his pro–fossil fuel, “energy dominance” agenda. Among them was a directive to Attorney General Pam Bondi to “identify and take action against state laws and policies that burden the use of domestic energy resources.”
That could be a big problem for climate progress in the U.S., because under Trump, states and cities have become the country’s most promising venues for clean energy action.
Trump named some of those state policies as prime targets in the executive order. That includes New York and Vermont’s climate “Superfund” laws, which require oil and gas companies to pay for damages caused by fossil fuel burning. New York taxpayers paid about $2.2 billion for climate-related repairs and projects in 2023, an analysis by the New York Public Interest Research Group found — costs the state’s Superfund could help cover. Trump referred to these policies as “extortion laws.”
California’s expansive cap-and-trade program was also called out in Trump’s order. Under the policy, entities like power plants and large manufacturers that are responsible for most of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions have to either reduce their climate impacts or pay for emissions “allowances.” Available allowances drop every year — and so have the state’s emissions. Other states and multistate coalitions have adopted or are considering similar cap-and-invest programs.
Trump’s order goes on to demand action against policies that mention “climate change,” “environmental justice,” and “greenhouse gas” emissions, effectively putting hundreds of state climate laws and clean-electricity targets in the Justice Department’s crosshairs.
Legal experts are skeptical that Trump can cast such a wide net. Michael Gerrard, faculty director of Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, told E&E News that the order is “toothless” and that state judges likely wouldn’t support its implementation. TD Cowen Washington Research Group meanwhile said it sees “no real constitutional or preemption risk” to state clean-electricity standards, carbon trading programs, or low-carbon fuel standards.
But climate-minded state leaders and environmental advocates are still taking the threat seriously. A bipartisan coalition of 24 governors pledged in a statement to defend their state policies against federal overreach. And as Evergreen Action advocate Justin Balik told E&E News, it’s hard not to be worried when the country’s best hope at climate action is at stake.
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Major SEPTA cuts are proposed in the budget, including a 9 p.m. curfew on rail service, the elimination of 5 regional rail lines, and more.
Public hearings on SEPTA’s budget that features the cost-saving measures will be held on May 19 and May 20. (SEPTA)
By Max Bennett, PatchStaff
PHILADELPHIA — Major SEPTA cuts are planned, including the reduction of bus service and the elimination of five Regional Rail lines, as well as a 9 p.m. curfew on rail service as the regional transit authority faces a $213 million budget gap, officials said this week.
SEPTA officials said the deficit will require 45 percent in service cuts, as well as a fare increase averaging 21.5 percent for all riders.
Some of the key the changes SEPTA says will be necessary to address the budget shortfall are:
The elimination of dozens of bus routes and significant reductions in trips on all rail services, beginning with the launch of fall schedules on Aug. 24. Fifty bus routes would be shut down between Aug. 24 and Jan. 1, 2026
A fare hike, effective Sept. 1
A 9 p.m. curfew for all rail services. This curfew would begin Jan. 1, 2026
The elimination of five Regional Rail lines — Cynwyd Line, Chestnut Hill West Line, Paoli/ThorndaleLine, Trenton Line, Wilmington/Newark Line
The release of the budget comes amid critical negotiations in Harrisburg on a statewide transit funding plan introduced in February by Gov. Josh Shapiro that would prevent these dire measures from taking effect.
The impact of the proposed service cuts would be felt throughout the city and region, as reliable options for everyday travel to school and work are greatly diminished, SEPTA officials said.
Beyond regular riders, people traveling to games at the Sports Complex and other special events would have to navigate the 9 p.m. curfew for rail services, along with other restrictions. SEPTA said it would also be forced to cease providing additional service to special events, including plans to support the World Cup, the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations, and other 2026 events.
The effects on businesses, including the region’s healthcare systems that rely on SEPTA to transport employees and patients, would be immediate and far-reaching, SEPTA said Thursday. Authorities also said roadway congestion will get worse, as people who typically use SEPTA would switch to driving.
Local business leaders expressed concern over the plans.
“These plans would lead to massive drops in ridership and the dismantlement of our transit system after generations of investment,” the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia said in a statement. “The result? Workers, students, residents and visitors would lose a critical transportation option. Employers would experience increased hiring challenges. And worst of all, talent and businesses could leave the region altogether.”
The chamber is urging state lawmakers to enact a dedicated funding solution that will avert the planned fare increases and service cuts.
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