Proposed legislation would include measures to reduce plastic pollution and remove certain single-use products from use. | LLoughran/Shutterstock
Lawmakers are bringing plastics recycling to the federal level with a legislative proposal that includes a national bottle bill and extended producer responsibility.
Experts say a deposit system for non-alcoholic beverage containers would complement a Canadian province’s curbside recycling system, by cutting costs and increasing the volume of material recycled each year.
Recycling stakeholders are pushing back against a container deposit expansion proposal in New York state, saying it will injure recycling programs when they’re already struggling with a down market.
Authorities have seized thousands of pounds of beverage containers and made multiple arrests in an alleged scheme to defraud the container deposit program in California.
There’s no denying it; the world is experiencing a plastic waste crisis and it’s growing – but so is public awareness and action.
Leaders across the pond have announced they will roll out a deposit program covering certain plastic, glass and metal beverage containers.
The group that runs Oregon’s container deposit program announced it will donate unredeemed deposit money to charitable purposes if the redemption rate for containers drops below 80 percent.
Redemption center closures continue to plague California, leaving fewer convenient options for beverage container returns and contributing to a decrease in the state’s redemption rate.
The world’s largest retailer underreported the number of containers it distributed over a three-year period in California, leading to $7.2 million in unpaid deposits to the state. The balance was paid in full late last year after it was revealed during an audit.
Roberta Barbieri, PepsiCo
A beverage giant wants to increase recycling rates so it can use more recycled content in its packaging, and the company recently joined The Recycling Partnership to further push toward that goal.