A needs assessment found that a well-designed EPR program could increase Maryland’s recycling rate for paper and packaging products from 34% to 50%. | Mihai Andritoiu/Shutterstock
Advisory groups in Maryland have shared a needs assessment and a packaging extended producer responsibility recommendation with the state legislature, finding that EPR for paper and plastic packaging could increase collection from 984,400 tons to 1.5 million tons. Continue Reading
There are three extended producer responsibility for packaging bills active in Washington right now, and many more for EPR covering other materials. | Zack Frank/Shutterstock
Washington state has a handful of extended producer responsibility bills on the move, covering packaging, beverage containers, organics and more. Continue Reading
Having left South Korea without a treaty, delegates from around the world will reconvene in Switzerland in August to keep working to address global plastic pollution. | Nexus 7/Shutterstock
Several months after wrapping what was intended to be the final negotiations on a global plastic pollution management treaty, the United Nations Environment Programme has announced the dates for extended talks. Continue Reading
PETCORE Europe supports ecomodulation and plastic reduction, according to chairman Antonello Ciotti. | DonPablo Lorez/Shutterstock
The basis for Europe’s 72% collection rate of PET comes down to regulation and collaboration, Antonello Ciotti, chairman of PETCORE Europe, said in a recent podcast. Continue Reading
Lee Zeldin is President Trump’s nominee to lead the federal agency that is closest to the recycling industry. | Photo courtesy C-SPAN
During a three-hour confirmation hearing, President Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. EPA administrator said he is still learning about chemical recycling, praised the marine debris-focused Save Our Seas Act as a model of bipartisan plastic pollution legislation and said PFAS regulation will be a “big issue” for him.
Tennessee State Sen. Heidi Campbell is re-introducing a packaging EPR bill crafted to gain Republican and business support. | RebeccaDLev/Shutterstock
Editor’s note: Learn more about policy trends and many other topics at the 2025 Plastics Recycling Conference on March 24-26 in National Harbor, Maryland.
A Tennessee lawmaker is reintroducing an extended producer responsibility bill for packaging – with some twists, in an attempt to get it through the Republican-controlled Legislature. Continue Reading
Under Maine’s EPR program, signed into law in 2021, producers directly reimburse municipalities for collection and recycling of materials. | Yurii Prohonnyi/Shutterstock
Maine approved rules for its extended producer responsibility law for packaging, three years after becoming the first state to pass packaging EPR. Continue Reading
The third iteration of Oregon’s program plan had more accurate cost estimates, after Circular Action Alliance carried out a costing survey over the summer. | Nadia Yong/Shutterstock
Oregon moved its rulemaking process ahead for its extended producer responsibility for packaging law set to roll out next summer, and Circular Action Alliance also released its third program plan draft. Continue Reading
California researchers found that mandates, production limits for virgin resin, $50 billion in plastic waste management investment and a fee or tax on plastic packaging could reduce mismanaged plastic by 91% globally. | Ulrich Mueller/Shutterstock
Using insights from an AI-generated tool, a team of University of California researchers estimated that implementing four policies globally could reduce mismanaged plastic by 91%. Continue Reading
Wine and distilled spirits in bottles, boxes, bladders, pouches or similar containers were added to the California redemption system in 2022, and the state is working through rulemaking and implementation. | Monticello/Shutterstock
Industry representatives shared concerns about PCR requirements, wine bottle labeling rules and how to handle plastic bladder bags inside beverage boxes during an Oct. 29 informal rulemaking workshop on California’s SB 1013. Continue Reading