Three new lawsuits target reusable bags in California. | The Last Beach Cleanup
If most community recycling programs don’t accept PE bags but some grocery stores do, are the bags legally considered recyclable?
The leader of the Association of Plastic Recyclers responds to a recent op-ed by The Last Beach Cleanup and Beyond Plastics. | Courtesy of Herbold Meckesheim
Recycling technologies from Erema, NGR, Polymetrix, Starlinger and others were recently approved to produce RPET for 100% recycled-content food and drink packaging. | Ho Su A Bi/Shutterstock
A food-safety panel has approved applications from Indorama Ventures, Veolia, Coca-Cola Hellenic, NOVAPET and other plastic reclaimers to recycle PET in new food and drink packaging.
With the governor’s signature last week, Colorado became the third U.S. state with an extended producer responsibility law for some printed paper and packaging. | Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock
Producer responsibility advocates celebrated the signing of Colorado’s extended producer responsibility bill into law, but were left wanting in New York as two bills failed this session.
An OECD report anticipates marine debris will increase significantly in volume over the next several decades. | Santiparp Wattanaporn/Shutterstock
Globally, discarded plastic levels could nearly triple by 2060, with about half of the plastic ending up in landfill and less than a fifth recycled, an OECD report projected.
Birch Plastics recently completed GreenCircle certification of the company’s PP and HDPE recycled resins. | Courtesy of Birch Plastics
Texas-based Birch Plastics recently worked with a third-party auditor to verify its recycling process, a step more reclaimers and compounders are considering as end users look for certainty in their feedstock.
Changes to Iowa’s bottle redemption program are awaiting the Governor’s signature. | Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock
Iowa lawmakers have approved container deposit legislation that triples the bottle handling fee but allows grocery stores and other retail entities to opt out of the collection system, a fact that could significantly reduce redemption access.
Over 260 million pounds of scrap plastics were exported from the U.S. in the first quarter of 2022. | nattanan726/Shutterstock
The U.S. continues to export less and less scrap plastic overseas, the latest trade figures show.