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Category: Top stories

WestRock shuts down Washington paper mill

Published: August 7, 2023
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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

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Biden-Harris admin aims for more sustainable procurement

Published: August 7, 2023
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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

Here’s what cities in Oregon want to see under EPR

Published: July 31, 2023
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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

Editor’s Analysis: How I’m seeing the sector evolve

Published: July 31, 2023
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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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Republic plans to produce recycled-content resin

Published: July 31, 2023
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A rendering of one of four Blue Polymers plants that will be built in various regions of the U.S. | Courtesy of Republic Services

Republic Services is moving deeper into plastics processing, launching a $350 million joint venture with a global polymers firm Ravago to produce recycled pellet at four U.S. facilities. Continue Reading

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CalRecycle names its first packaging EPR advisory board

Published: July 10, 2023
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The board represents a variety of backgrounds and interests, with members coming from industry, manufacturing, environmental groups and municipalities. | Alexander Lukatskiy/Shutterstock

Leaders from Alameda County, Waste Connections and Talco Plastics are among the stakeholders that will oversee California’s extended producer responsibility program for packaging and paper.
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Study: Deposits have no effect on beverage sales

Published: July 24, 2023
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Grocery store aisle with Coca-Cola products.

The Container Recycling Institute and Reloop released a study showing that deposit return systems do not have a negative effect on beverage sales. | Zety Akhzar/Shutterstock

A study looking at two decades of beverage sale trends around the world found that there was no decrease in sales when deposit return systems went into effect or were expanded.  Continue Reading

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Path to passage: How EPR for HHW became a reality

Published: July 24, 2023
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The bill’s passage follows years of efforts on the part of municipalities and industry groups. | Brandon Bourdages/Shutterstock

Riding the ongoing recycling policy wave, Vermont recently enacted a program nearly a decade in the making that’s designed to put producers in charge of handling household hazardous materials. Continue Reading

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Province imposes ban, limits on single-use plastics

Published: July 24, 2023
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The bans on single-use items in British Columbia come as the Canadian federal government is pushing to enact similar legislation countrywide. | Courtesy of Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy

The British Columbia government will institute bans and other restrictions on single-use bags and food service items. A food retailers group says it’s the first province to implement such a regulation.  Continue Reading

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