Senate Bill 1053 revises California’s bag ban to state that reusable bags provided at point of sale cannot be made from plastic film. | jon nightingale/Shutterstock
A bill that expands California’s bag ban to prohibit all plastic bags – even the reusable recycled-content bags that are a major driver of post-consumer film resin sales – is working its way through the California legislative system.
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The AMP ONE system, pictured here at a RDS facility in Virginia, sorts bagged material into mixed recyclables, organics and residue. | Courtesy of AMP
Recycling and Disposal Solutions of Virginia launched an AI-powered system from equipment supplier AMP that is sorting mixed recyclables and organic material from municipal solid waste at one of its facilities.
A May 28 webinar, “Coalition Building for Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging and Paper Products,” shared tips and tricks for passing EPR legislation with a strong group of supporters. | OnePhoto/Shutterstock
Getting extended producer responsibility legislation passed takes a strong coalition, targeted education and a lot of meetings, those involved with the process in several states said during a recent webinar.
Crossroads Paper is now planning a 30-month construction project for a mill near Winnemucca, Nevada. | Max Barnum/Shutterstock
The team behind a proposed Utah recycled paper mill has resurfaced with plans that move the site west, now aiming to build a mill in northern Nevada to process mixed paper and OCC into 350,000 tons per year of recycled containerboard. Continue Reading
Oregon residents generated about 6.1 million tons of material in 2022, with 3.7 million tons going to landfills and incinerators and 2.4 million tons recovered. | JPL Designs/Shutterstock
The amount of material Oregonians disposed of in 2022 dropped significantly from the year before, but that was largely due to fewer building-destroying wildfires, according to the latest state Material Recovery and Waste Generation Rates report. Continue Reading
In late May, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works committee held a hearing on improving reuse and recycling in the United States. | S-F/Shutterstock
Members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works committee asked questions about grants, private funding, support for rural communities and diverting food scraps during a May 22 hearing on local efforts to improve reuse and recycling.
Minnesota sent an EPR bill to its governor in a budget bill. | Rawf8/Shutterstock
Minnesota is poised to be the fifth U.S. state to pass extended producer responsibility for packaging after adding the program language into the 2024 Environment and Natural Resources Budget, which is now on the governor’s desk. Continue Reading
Waste Expo 2024 in Las Vegas featured multiple sessions focusing on food waste and other organics diversion. | Randy Andy/Shutterstock
Detailed data, strong community ties and a willingness to try something new are essential ingredients for a successful organics diversion program, speakers from across the continent said earlier this month. Continue Reading
An EverestLabs robot performs quality control on the aluminum can stream at the LRS sorting center in Chicago. | Courtesy of EverestLabs
Boosted by aluminum industry funding, MRF operator LRS has installed an EverestLabs robot at its Chicago sorting facility, aiming to reduce the number of aluminum cans that are lost due to missorting. Continue Reading
Coming from inside the ranks of the state agency, Zoe Heller was appointed director of the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery. | Rarrarorro/Shutterstock
California’s sizable waste reduction and recycling agency has a new leader in Zoe Heller, who was recently appointed director of the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery. Industry leaders praised her integrity, thoughtfulness and collaboration skills. Continue Reading