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 are also the editor of the monthly newsletter Policy Now. Heffernan can be contacted at [email protected].
The board represents a variety of backgrounds and interests, with members coming from industry, manufacturing, environmental groups and municipalities. | Alexander Lukatskiy/Shutterstock
Leaders from Alameda County, Waste Connections and Talco Plastics are among the stakeholders that will oversee California’s extended producer responsibility program for packaging and paper.
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The Container Recycling Institute and Reloop released a study showing that deposit return systems do not have a negative effect on beverage sales. | Zety Akhzar/Shutterstock
A study looking at two decades of beverage sale trends around the world found that there was no decrease in sales when deposit return systems went into effect or were expanded. Continue Reading
The bill’s passage follows years of efforts on the part of municipalities and industry groups. | Brandon Bourdages/Shutterstock
Riding the ongoing recycling policy wave, Vermont recently enacted a program nearly a decade in the making that’s designed to put producers in charge of handling household hazardous materials. Continue Reading
Texas-based recycling coordinator CheckSammy is pushing to do more business with events such as fairs and music festivals. | Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
Often, recycling services focus on handling the day-to-day stream. CheckSammy entered the scene in 2018 looking to bring more flexibility to the space, and is now helping large event venues divert waste. Continue Reading
From left: Keefe Harrison, Jennifer Russell and Matt Seaholm. | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling
A range of industry experts recently discussed steps to move forward on plastics sustainability, with transparency, public trust and standardization emerging as key themes. Continue Reading
The change will be accompanied by a consumer education campaign. | Natalya Bond/Shutterstock
Over 1 million Chicago-area residents are now able to put paper cups in their curbside recycling bins. Continue Reading
Mazza’s bagging line can produce 25 to 30 bags per minute, according to a company representative. | Courtesy of Mazza Recycling
Mazza Recycling increased its capacity to bag mulch and, in tandem, started offering its own line of bagged mulch products made from scrap wood. Continue Reading
Firefighters tend to a blaze at a Casella recycling facility. | Boston Fire Department
A large MRF in Milwaukee and a commercial recycling facility in Boston caught fire last week, resulting in major facility damage at one and two hospital visits at the other. Continue Reading
A faulty floor drain at the Old Town, Maine pulping facility led to the discharge of over 1,000 gallons of 50% sodium hydroxide solution into the Penobscot river. | Satur/Shutterstock
A U.S. subsidiary of Nine Dragons has been ordered to pay just over $100,000 after its Maine paper mill leaked over 31,000 gallons of pulping chemicals into a river in 2020 and 2022. Continue Reading
The bills cover a wide range of items, from single-use plastics at lodging establishments to blades for wind turbines. | Ververidis Vasilis/Shutterstock
Washington state legislators sent a handful of recycling-related bills to the governor’s desk recently, including one that would set up an extended producer responsibility program for batteries. Continue Reading