Marissa Heffernan worked at Resource Recycling from January 2022 through June 2025, first as staff reporter and then as associate editor. Marissa Heffernan started working for Resource Recycling in January 2022 after spending several years as a reporter at a daily newspaper in Southwest Washington. After developing a special focus on recycling policy, they were also the editor of the monthly newsletter Policy Now.
Scientists at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory created a plastic polymer database to help other researchers study plastics more efficiently. | PowerUp/Shutterstock
A team led by U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers is working to provide a baseline for plastic recycling studies with a new database of polymer data.
The paper from MIT researchers used a 10-cent deposit model to explore the potential effects on MRFs. | Emilija Miljkovic/Shutterstock
A nationwide 10-cent deposit on PET beverage containers could push the recycling rate for the material to over 80% in the next decade with a high level of bottle-to-bottle circularity, a MIT study suggested. Continue Reading
Sen. Jeff Merkley is working on a draft bill that would set federal parameters around recycling labels on consumer packaging, called the Truth in Labeling Act of 2024. | 9dream Studio/Shutterstock
Due to its size and tendency to be on the leading edge of environmental law, California has long been seen as the bellwether, setting policy that other states will later follow – or that producers and manufacturers take as de facto law nationwide when it comes to standards. Continue Reading
Trex’s PE usage fell from 421 million pounds in 2021 to 409 million pounds in 2022, then to 328 million pounds in 2023. | HappyStockPhoto/Shutterstock
Composite decking company Trex used about 328 million pounds of recycled PE in its decking in 2023, a dip from years past. Continue Reading
Houston-based film recycler Circulus is set to be acquired by Dow. | Courtesy of Circulus
Dow plans to acquire mechanical recycler Circulus for an undisclosed amount, bringing a total capacity of about 55,000 short tons per year of processing volume under Dow’s umbrella. Continue Reading
S 2830 seeks to regulate many single-use plastic products, improve recycling access and commission studies on extended producer responsibility, organics and PS. | Natalia Bratslavsky/Shutterstock
A bill that combines a half-dozen environmental actions, touching on extended producer responsibility for several materials, plastic bans and access to both bulky plastic and organics recycling, has passed the Massachusetts Senate and gone onto the House for consideration. Continue Reading
Amazon aims to replace 100% of plastic air pillows in delivery packaging with paper filler by the end of the year. | Sundry Photography/Shutterstock
Amazon will send 15 billion fewer plastic pillows into the waste stream after replacing 95% of its product protection system with paper in North America, the company recently announced. Continue Reading
To accommodate the upgrade, about 10,000 square feet were added to the existing CompuCycle facility, bringing it to 50,000 square feet. | Myibean/Shutterstock
Houston-based CompuCycle brought its planned plastic sorting line upgrade online, allowing it to process up to three tons of e-plastic per hour, including PS, ABS, PE and PP. Continue Reading
Of 147 companies ranked with stated recyclability goals, only 22 are on track to meet them. | Valeriya Bogdanova/Shutterstock
Most companies are likely to miss their recyclability goals and are using more plastic than before despite reduction goals, but there has been a shift to supporting extended producer responsibility policies, according to a recently released report card from the environmental activist group As You Sow. Continue Reading
The June 14 webinar “EPR in British Columbia: A Timeline of Success and Challenge Past, Present, Future” brought together nine speakers with long experience in extended producer responsibility in the province. | Vipada Kanajod/Shutterstock
How did a law intended to stop can-tabs litter in British Columbia lead to today’s expansive extended producer responsibility laws? Those involved in its evolution traced the path in a webinar hosted by the Coast Waste Management Association. Continue Reading