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 are also the editor of the monthly newsletter Policy Now. Heffernan can be contacted at [email protected].
California lawmakers overhauled the state’s troubled carpet recycling program. | optimarc/Shutterstock
Carpet recovery and recycling in California will soon look a little different, after the signing of a new law that will change the recycling rate calculation and emphasize carpet-to-carpet content.
California’s extended producer responsibility for packaging law requires EPS food serviceware and packaging to demonstrate a recycling rate of no less than 25% by Jan. 1. | Justinboat.29/Shutterstock
Expanded polystyrene food serviceware producers have only a few months left to prove that the material has a recycling rate of at least 25% in California or face the prohibition of selling into the state.
The law covers a wide range of clothing but excludes carpet and mattresses, which are covered by other EPR programs in California. | Natali-Ximich/Shutterstock
California has become the first state to approve extended producer responsibility for textiles, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation enacting the program.
The new How2Recycle Plus label will include a QR code to provide more detailed recycling acceptance information. | Dan Leif/Resource Recycling, Inc.
How2Recycle has announced new looks and capabilities for its labels, including the ability to scan a QR code and access The Recycling Partnership’s Recycle Check data.
On Sept. 22, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1053, which extends the state’s plastic bag ban to cover thicker plastic bags previously considered reusable. | Kit Leong/Shutterstock
Several big recycling updates came out of the Golden State this weekend, including new policy, a lawsuit challenging ExxonMobil’s chemical recycling claims and an update about carpet recycling rates. Continue Reading
The Stewardship Agencies of BC is a coalition of extended producer responsibility organizations, including Call2Recycle Canada, Return-It, the Electronic Products Recycling Association, Recycle BC and others. | Myibean/Shutterstock
The Stewardship Agencies of British Columbia worked together to divert a record 425 million kilograms of end-of-life products from landfills in 2023, and leaders pointed to factors including the efficiency and education that collaboration brings. Continue Reading
The FDA awarded 27 letters of no objection to 21 companies between January and June. | Vershinin89/Shutterstock
Nearly two dozen plastics recycling processes received a federal greenlight for food and drink applications in the first half of 2024. Continue Reading
California sent a handful of bills to the governor’s desk, including bills on plastic film and the deposit return system. | Natalie Board/Shutterstock
Several states end their legislative sessions in late summer, including Massachusetts and California, and in the final days several bills relating to plastics recycling passed both legislative chambers.
The Association of Plastic Recyclers updated its Design Guide for Plastics Recyclability to note that packaging containing degradable additives, nutrients and supplements are no longer considered recyclable. | Josep Curto/Shutterstock
Degradable additives, nutrients and supplements will boot packaging into the non-recyclable category, according to an update to the Association of Plastic Recyclers’ Design Guide for Plastics Recyclability.
Non-compostable produce stickers, multi-material plastic packaging and degradability additives have been added to U.S. Plastics Pact’s list of problematic and unnecessary materials. | Neungstockr/Shutterstock
With the U.S. Plastics Pact on track to eliminate its initial 11 problematic plastics by 2025, the group decided to add three more items to the list. Continue Reading