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The initial list was published in December 2023 and had 98 categories, while the updated list has 94 as some materials were double-listed. | Joseph_Sohm/Shutterstock
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery released an updated version of the list of materials covered under its extended producer responsibility program for packaging, making nearly 30 tweaks to the list.
A draft bill in California called the Truth in Labeling Act of 2024 would set federal parameters around recycling labels on consumer packaging. | 9dream Studio/Shutterstock
Due to its size and tendency to be on the leading edge of environmental law, California has long been seen as the bellwether, setting policy that other states will later follow – or that producers and manufacturers take as de facto law nationwide when it comes to standards. Continue Reading
The Responsible Recycling Alliance is urging lawmakers to include reusable bags made from 40% post-consumer resin in the emerging extended producer responsibility for packaging program, SB 54. | Huguette Roe/Shutterstock
Seeking to quash a regulatory change that would remove over 100 million pounds of North American post-consumer resin demand per year, EFS-Plastics, Merlin Plastics and PreZero US have joined together to advocate for retaining recycled-content reusable plastic bags in California’s bag regulations. Continue Reading
The Petaluma Reusable Cup Project is supported by the NextGen Consortium, Zero Waste Sonoma, Recology and more than 30 brands and restaurants. | Photo courtesy Closed Loop Partners
The NextGen Consortium is bringing together brands big and small to trial a city-wide reusable cup system in Petaluma, California. Continue Reading
The Front Range Transload project brings together rail company BNSF, trucking companies, brokers and the City of Pueblo. | Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
One of the biggest barriers to recycling in remote and rural areas is transportation. The Circular Economy Development Center is tackling the issue in Colorado with the Front Range Transload project. Continue Reading
The newly formed conglomerate operates 63 paper mills and 500 converting facilities worldwide. | Trainman111/Shutterstock
With a long-in-the-works merger finally official, recycling collector and major fiber end user Westrock is now one with the European packaging firm Smurfit Kappa. The conglomerate will use an estimated 15 million tons per year of recycled fiber globally. Continue Reading
At the 2024 annual meeting, PSI CEO Scott Cassel said there were 57 EPR bills introduced this year across the U.S., showing the growing need for PSI’s services. | ESB Professional/Shutterstock
The Product Stewardship Institute is planning to spend $1.4 million in 2025, as growing interest in extended producer responsibility policy is creating more demand for PSI’s support. Continue Reading
S 2830 seeks to regulate many single-use plastic products, improve recycling access and commission studies on extended producer responsibility, organics and PS. | Natalia Bratslavsky/Shutterstock
A bill that combines a half-dozen environmental actions, touching on extended producer responsibility for several materials, plastic bans and access to both bulky plastic and organics recycling, has passed the Massachusetts Senate and gone onto the House for consideration. Continue Reading
In 2021, Connecticut lawmakers approved a series of changes to the state’s bottle bill, including expanding the list of containers covered under the deposit program, increasing the number of redemption spaces and increasing the handling fee and doubling the deposit. | Veja/Shutterstock
Consumers redeemed 194.5 million containers in Connecticut during the first quarter of this year, up 12.6% from a year before, as the state increased the container deposit from a nickel to a dime. Continue Reading