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WestRock announced it is shuttering its Tacoma, Wash. facility due to the mill’s high need for capital investment and to consolidate the company’s footprint. | Google
Paper giant WestRock is shutting down a nearly 100-year-old mill in Tacoma, Wash. that consumes OCC from recycling programs. The company says its decision is driven by high operating costs. Continue Reading
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste argues that consistent specifications for quality material will help drive investment in sorting and collection technology. | Fabrika Simf/Shutterstock
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste suggested the recycling industry in the European Union develop target specifications for processed plastics to ease the transition to a circular economy. Continue Reading
New Hampshire’s legislature passed a bill that prohibits larger generators of food scraps from sending the organic material to disposal, with some exceptions. | Wangkun Jia/Shutterstock
New Hampshire lawmakers slipped a food waste disposal ban into a state budget bill, which was signed into law in June. Continue Reading
Many responses from environmental groups focused on the need for the U.S. EPA’s National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution to rein in the generation of new plastics. | Rich Carey/Shutterstock
The U.S. EPA asked for input on its draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, and recycling industry stakeholders have answered. Continue Reading
A federal purchasing rule handed down last week directs agencies to buy sustainable products and avoid those that contain PFAS. | Petrmalinak/Shutterstock
The federal government has announced plans to further prioritize American-made sustainable products and services in its purchasing, including recycled content. Continue Reading
Policy experts predict 2024 will be another active year for extended producer responsibility and other legislative proposals tied to recycling. | Paul Brady Photography/Shutterstock
This year’s state legislative sessions are bolstering the strong momentum behind extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging and paper products (PPP). Although no states have yet adopted a new program in 2023, there are several indisputable signs that EPR for PPP has established a secure foothold in the U.S. and will continue to expand in the coming years.
This large D is on a ridge near Dayville, a tiny Oregon town that told state regulators it would like producer funding to launch curbside and drop-off recycling programs. | Real Window Creative/Shutterstock
At first glance, there aren’t a ton of similarities between Portland, a green, liberal city of 650,000 people, and Dayville, a conservative, Eastern Oregon town of dozens of residents. Continue Reading
Denton, Texas was awarded the 2023 Resource Recycling Program of the Year in the Small Community category. | Courtesy of the city of Denton.
Denton, Texas and Sarasota County, Fla. won this year’s Resource Recycling Program of the Year Awards for pushing progress in data collection, resident outreach and more. Continue Reading
The upcoming Resource Recycling Conference will feature a number of emerging voices, a sign of management evolution in the industry. | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling
Over the past five months, I’ve been deep in planning mode, doing my best to pull together a compelling agenda for the 2023 Resource Recycling Conference, taking place the week after next in Orlando, Fla.
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