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Author Archives: Marissa Heffernan

About Marissa Heffernan

Marissa HeffernanMarissa 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 are also the editor of the monthly newsletter Policy Now. Heffernan can be contacted at [email protected].

Global company looks to recycling in ESG push

Published: October 11, 2022
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ESG letters and symbols on wooden blocks.

Leaders with Hillenbrand discussed the company’s ESG efforts, including a recycling equipment manufacturer acquisition. | d.ee_angelo/Shutterstock

Sustainability and environmental, social and governance plans are typically multifaceted, but a recent acquisition by Hillenbrand brought recycling to the forefront for the manufacturing conglomerate.

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Shareholders of food industry giant push to reduce plastic use

Published: October 4, 2022
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General Mills company sign outside of company facility.

General Mills shareholders have voted to ask the company to report on if and how the company can reduce plastic packaging. | melissamn/Shutterstock

A majority of General Mills investors voted in favor of a proposal asking the company to reduce its use of plastic packaging and issue a report on it.

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PureCycle opposition part of wider anti-plastic push

Published: September 28, 2022
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Aerial view of downtown area of Winter Garden, Florida.

PureCycle met community resistance to the company’s site near Winter Garden, Fla. | Noah Densmore/Shutterstock

Americans are united in their desire for better plastic recycling, but the question of where to locate facilities is running into familiar not-in-my-backyard resistance, complicated further by concerns about racial and social justice. 

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California thermoform bill vetoed

Published: September 28, 2022
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California Governor Gavin Newsom speaking at podium.

California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required thermoform-to-thermoform recycling. | Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock

Following industry pushback, California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have mandated the use of some level of post-consumer resin in thermoform food and drink packaging. 

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California passes bevy of recycling bills in final days

Published: September 8, 2022
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Calif. state captiol building in Sacramento.

California legislators sent a number of recycling-related bills to the governor at the end of this session. | Leonid Adnronov/Shutterstock

When California’s legislative session ended Aug. 31, a number of recycling-related bills passed just before the deadline. Here’s a roundup of bills currently waiting to be signed into law and that have already been signed. 

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Walmart offering in-store recycling for beauty products

Published: September 8, 2022
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Walmart beauty products aisle with cart and shopper.

A collaboration will bring recycling collection for certain health and beauty products to 25 Walmart stores in four U.S. states. | Chanandra Ramsurrun/Shutterstock

In collaboration with Procter & Gamble and TerraCycle, Walmart is allowing customers in four states to recycle beauty product packaging in certain stores.

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ADS to build $65 million technology center

Published: August 31, 2022
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Rendering of the upcoming ADS Engineering and Technology Center.

The ADS facility will have a product development lab that will include areas to prepare product samples for testing, a fabrication lab to develop prototype parts, and more. | Courtesy of ADS

Advanced Drainage Systems will spend $65 million on the construction of a 110,000-square-foot engineering and technology center in Hilliard, Ohio.

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Chemical recycling roundup: New plant, partnerships

Published: August 31, 2022
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Close up of foamed polystyrene.

TruStyrenyx, a collaboration between Agilyx and Technip Energies, combines pyrolysis and purification technologies to create a recycled styrene monomer with high purity. | XXLPhoto/Shutterstock

Several companies partnered on chemical recycling projects, and a commercial-scale plant signed an operations and maintenance contract in advance of it coming on-line in 2023.

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Amendments to Calif. bottle expansion bill bring big changes

Published: August 31, 2022
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Plastic bottles collected in a plastic bag for recycling.

Amended bill text would require beverage retailers to accept containers or join a dealer cooperative.  | Glenn Highcove/Shuttestock

Last-minute amendments to California bottle bill expansion legislation would remove the daily fee opt-out for retailers and instead require them to either accept containers or join a dealer cooperative to coordinate collection, along with several other changes.

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