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 latest Greenpeace report challenges the viability of U.S. plastics recycling. | MuhammadAzman/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
An updated report from Greenpeace USA maintains that no plastics in the U.S. actually meet the definition of recyclable and calls for companies to switch to other materials.
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) created the Recycling Industry Operating Standard (RIOS) to promote environmental consciousness and ensure MRF workers’ health and safety. | MichaelFelixPhotography/Shutterstock
Looking to support employees and set a higher bar for quality, Oregon-based Far West Recycling certified its northeast Portland facility to the Recycling Industry Operating Standard. It is the first MRF to do so.
Hosted by the Northeast Recycling Council, the 2022 National Recycling Congress was held virtually on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10. | Orhan Cam/Shutterstock
Model extended producer responsibility bills and federal funding were two hot topics at the 2022 National Recycling Congress, with panelists calling for packaging reduction and a broad overhaul of the recycling system. Continue Reading
The second year in which COVID-19 cases in the workplace were reported, 2021 saw a steep decline in the illness rate for solid waste collection workers. | Joyseulay/Shutterstock
According to federal data, the waste and recycling industry injury rate fell in 2021, bringing it to the lowest point since 2006. Continue Reading
A total of $1.17 million for recycling companies came as part of a larger $3.2 million round of funding in the latest installment of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants. | Tada Images/Shutterstock
An AI-powered robotic sortation system, a glass-to-cement company and a zero waste software maker all received small business grants from the U.S. EPA.
Years of work, capped by several frenzied months, went into the passage of California’s SB 54, one of the biggest recycling laws in U.S. history. | Jonathan Lenz/Shutterstock
California has added wine and liquor bottles to the state’s beverage container redemption program. | Kieferpix/Shutterstock
California is adding wine and distilled spirits to its container redemption program, among other changes, after the governor signed the program expansion bill into law.
Balcones Resources’ upcoming San Antonio facility will sort residential and commercial recycling streams using equipment supplied by CP Group. | Dmitrijs Kaminskis/Shutterstock
After winning the recycling contract for San Antonio, Balcones Resources decided to partner with CP Group to equip its upcoming facility.
PureCycle met community resistance to the company’s desired site near Winter Garden, Fla. | Noah Densmore/Shutterstock
Americans are united in their desire for better plastic recycling, but the question of where to locate facilities is running into familiar not-in-my-backyard resistance, complicated further by concerns about racial and social justice.
