Marissa Heffernan worked at Resource Recycling from January 2022 through June 2025, first as staff reporter and then as associate editor. Marissa Heffernan started working for Resource Recycling in January 2022 after spending several years as a reporter at a daily newspaper in Southwest Washington. After developing a special focus on recycling policy, they were also the editor of the monthly newsletter Policy Now.
Lawmakers in the Great Lakes State are putting into motion a suite of bills that focus on reuse, resource reduction and much more. | Henryk-Sadura/Shutterstock
Michigan is rolling out big changes to its solid waste management laws, taking a slow and steady approach to a complicated modernization process.
Pinning down an accepted materials list means balancing a variety of needs and interests. | nate samui/Shutterstock
States with extended producer responsibility programs are starting to grapple with a tricky question: How do we establish a list of materials covered by the system?
Experts from both government and industry offered their advice on how to harmonize multiple programs. | Gavrilhurgoi/Shutterstock
Bottle deposit systems and extended producer responsibility programs for packaging can complement each other, but need to be run effectively, panelists recently explained. Continue Reading
Speakers from across Canada faced a variety of EPR-related challenges, but all agreed on one thing: Good EPR implementation requires strict cost management. | Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
Representatives from five small Canadian municipalities shared the challenges and benefits of extended producer responsibility, advising anyone in a similar situation to be very familiar with costs and contamination. Continue Reading
Experts from Italy and Canada offered advice on effective EPR, drawing from their experience with PROs in those countries. | Ole Photo/Shutterstock
When building a producer responsibility organization, fees should be transparent, the industry should be in control and the system needs to be fair. That’s what participants in a recent webinar said, noting there are different ways to achieve those ends. Continue Reading
During a webinar hosted by The Recycling Partnership and Resource Recycling’s Policy Now, stakeholders zeroed in on the components that make effective recycling policy. | Picsfive/Shutterstock
As conversations around extended producer responsibility for packaging continue to evolve, it has become clear legislation can include a wide range of components and targets. A group of policy experts recently offered thoughts on how to best bring the pieces together.
The public comment period for the AB 793 rulemaking started Feb. 3 and will last until the end of a hearing on March 21. | Steve Heap/Shutterstock
California’s rulemaking on the minimum post-consumer recycled content law is moving along steadily, and stakeholders are narrowing in on the things they like and dislike about the regulations. Continue Reading
New York lawmakers have introduced three bills that would make producers financially responsible for funding the management of packaging products at their end of life. | Josep Curto/Shutterstock
New York lawmakers are trying to make their state the fifth in the nation to pass an extended producer responsibility law for packaging, and some stakeholders feel like this is the year. Continue Reading
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is a member of the Northwest Product Stewardship Council, a coalition of local governments in Washington and Oregon that have worked together for years on product stewardship and producer responsibility policies. | Christoper Boswell/Shutterstock
As Washington state lawmakers try once more to usher an extended producer responsibility for paper and packaging bill through the legislature, Seattle Public Utilities will be there to help.
Jules Bailey, CEO of the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), spent his first day as head of the company processing Green Bags. | Courtesy of OBRC
As the new CEO of the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, Jules Bailey is focused on growth, convenience and supporting the community.