The United Nations Environment Assembly on March 2 voted to start a process that would create a global plastics pollution treaty, bringing a final treaty forward for a vote in 2024. | Doug McLean/Shutterstock
A recent U.N. agreement to create a treaty on plastic pollution has brought recycling, waste and producer responsibility issues into the mainstream discussion.
In the draft bill, deposits are set at at least 10 cents for containers under 24 fluid ounces and 15 cents for containers larger than that. | Veja/Shutterstock
West Coast lawmakers plan to introduce a national container deposit bill that one advocate says has a better chance of passing than past proposals because of wide “industry engagement.”
Researchers estimate to divert 90% of Canada’s plastic from landfills by 2030 would cost between $3.7 billion and $6.6 billion USD. | Josep Curto/Shutterstock
Canada recycles just 9% of the plastic waste it generates annually, but a think tank’s recently released analysis puts forward a series of changes that could incentivize investment in the country’s recycling industry.
A home appliance industry leader explains why his group would like to see extended producer responsibility proposals fall by the wayside in favor of the approach in the upcoming California single-use plastics ballot measure. | Joni Hanebutt/Shutterstock
An in-depth regulatory development process will be needed to implement a California bill regulating the use of the chasing arrows symbol on packaging. | Merge Digital Media/Shutterstock
Three West Coast states have signed sweeping recycling bills. Now the real work begins to hash out the details on how the policies will affect the plastics recycling industry.
One goal of the differential fee schedule, to be implemented next year, will be to provide a financial incentive to consumers to buy recycled-content carpet. | ND700/Shutterstock
If carpet has at least 10% recycled content, then California consumers will pay a lower recycling system fee at the cash register starting next April.
CARE’s annual report notes that a total of 52.6 million pounds of materials were recycled from post-consumer carpet in California in 2020, down 10% from the year before. | ND700/Shutterstock
A stewardship group fell short of California’s carpet recycling mandate last year, despite a notable year-over-year jump in the recycling rate.
A leader with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition compares and contrasts the first two U.S. state EPR laws. | KWJPHOTOART / Shutterstock
Oregon will establish a producer responsibility program for packaging, printing and writing paper, and food serviceware. | Jacquie Klose / Shutterstock
Oregon will overhaul components of its recycling system and will make packaging producers partially responsible for funding recycling of their products. It’s the second U.S. state to approve such a law.
According to Recycle BC, 32,804 metric tons of plastic were collected by the program, up 12.3% from the year before. | VanderWolf Images / Shutterstock
British Columbia’s producer-funded recycling system recovered 52% of plastic last year, up sharply from the year before.