On opposite sides of the country, Maine and California are both adjusting their bottle bills. | Billion Photos/Shutterstock
California is finalizing the implementation of changes to its deposit return system for beverage containers, while Maine legislators sent a bill to the governor that would delay previous passed changes. Continue Reading
Around 200 regulators, extended producer responsibility advocates, manufacturers and others gathered at the 2025 Product Stewardship Forum to talk about EPR. | Dan Holtmeyer/Resource Recycling
Extended producer responsibility policies for all sorts of materials — packaging, paint, batteries, vapes — are riding a wave of momentum across the U.S. and are poised to continue expanding to more states, several industry leaders said at the 2025 Product Stewardship Forum outside of Chicago last week. Continue Reading
Material acceptance at MRFs varies widely by locality, but several stakeholders explained the factors behind such wide-reaching decisions. | StoyanYotov/Shutterstock
Several MRF operators recently provided insight into how their facilities decide what materials to accept, during a discussion on bridging the disconnect between brand owners and MRFs. Continue Reading
The majority of UN member countries used the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, to bring awareness to the approaching treaty negotiations. | Mario De Moya F/Shutterstock
More than 90 countries called for a renewed focus on a global plastics treaty during a recent United Nations Ocean Conference, as the clock runs down toward the next round of treaty negotiations. Continue Reading
Two dozen plastics producers were penalized for failing to use the minimum recycled content required in Washington state. | Emilija Miljkovic/Shutterstock
Plastics producers who failed to meet Washington state’s minimum post-consumer resin threshold were recently hit with fines ranging from a couple hundred dollars up to $55,000. Continue Reading
The report touches on five main topics: recyclability of covered materials, compostability of covered materials, reuse and refill and other source reduction systems, cost coverage for local jurisdictions, and plastic leakage into the environment. | Ratchat/Shutterstock
Members of the California extended producer responsibility for packaging advisory board have identified dozens of barriers to implementation and offered up possible solutions in a recent report.
StanislauV/Shutterstock
The uncertain fate of the Food and Drug Administration’s food-contact packaging assessment program drew reader attention last month, as did stories covering a new film recycling plant in Texas, a chemical recycling project losing federal funding, one recycled plastic end user’s take on EPR, and the latest bale pricing.
An annual report from Cleanfarms shows improving rates of agricultural plastic recycling in Canada. | AgriRECUP/Shutterstock
Cleanfarms, a Canadian agricultural recycling stewardship group, recovered and recycled over 22 million pounds of agricultural plastics in 2024, according to a recently released annual report outlining the organization’s achievements in the last year. Continue Reading
The $375 million grant represented about one-third of the required funding for the company’s second U.S. chemical recycling plant. The operational Kingsport, Tennessee facility is pictured. | Photo Courtesy of Eastman
Tennessee-based Eastman has lost its $375 million federal grant, which previously had spurred the company to make a final investment decision on its second U.S. methanolysis plant, located in Texas.