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 Oregon Department of Environmental Quality announced it approved a program plan on Feb. 21. | Yanqiang Dai/Shutterstock
After several years of work, Oregon has approved an extended producer responsibility plan, laying out how packaging producers are expected to fulfill the requirements of the law. Continue Reading
More than 20 bills concerning electronics recycling so far have been introduced in 14 states for the 2025 legislative session. | Parilov/Shutterstock
Legislators have been filing bills as the 2025 session starts up, and in the e-scrap realm, two main topics are again at the forefront: extended producer responsibility for batteries and the right to repair consumer electronics.
Plastic pallet wrap is one material that’s eligible for an exemption from the state’s extended producer responsibility for packaging program. | St.Marco/Shutterstock
The Product Stewardship Institute and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality explained the different exemptions available to producers under the state’s incoming extended producer responsibility for packaging law in a recent webinar. Continue Reading
Ball Corporation plans to build a two-line can plant in Oregon and purchased an existing business in Florida. | Pimpic/Shutterstock
Ball Corporation is planning to build a two-line can plant in Oregon and acquired Florida Can Manufacturing, betting on future North American growth. Continue Reading
Colorado’s extended producer responsibility for packaging program is slated to fully roll out in 2026. | AustralianCamera/Shutterstock
Circular Action Alliance submitted its initial extended producer responsibility plan to Colorado’s advisory board, taking another step on the state’s path to implementation. Continue Reading
The announced closures will reduce Greif’s overall containerboard capacity by 100,000 tons and its uncoated recycled paperboard capacity by 90,000 tons. | Safakcakir/Shutterstock
Greif is shutting down a recycled paperboard machine in Georgia and shuttering an uncoated recycled paperboard mill in Massachusetts, citing high operating costs and significant capital investment needs. Continue Reading
A report from the Container Recycling Institute explored deposit return systems at various levels, aluminum can design and markets and material loss over the recycling process. | Mikkel H. Petersen/Shutterstock
A national deposit return system would raise the U.S. UBC recycling rate to 85%, an analysis from the Container Recycling Institute found. Continue Reading
Looking across all product categories, right-to-repair legislation has been introduced in 49 out of 50 states in the past few years. | maxfrost/Shutterstock
The momentum behind consumer electronics right-to-repair bills that has been building since 2021 doesn’t seem to be ebbing, with 10 bills introduced so far this year and supporters anticipating far more to come.
As part of a recent report, the U.S. EPA provided new recycling rate estimates, which hadn’t been updated since the agency released 2018 data. | Billion Photos/Shutterstock
The U.S. EPA’s recent recycling infrastructure report was largely focused on the investments needed to improve the system but also included new recycling rate estimates for specific materials, some of the first data updates the agency has released since its last Facts and Figures report several years ago. Continue Reading
The U.S. EPA surveyed agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 11 U.S. territories in its latest report, the Recycling Needs Survey and Assessment. | New Africa/Shutterstock
A pair of reports from the U.S. EPA shines a light on just how fragmented data collection in the recycling industry is and the investment that would be needed to shore it up.