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Category: Top stories

Oakland recycling contract scheme draws federal scrutiny

Published: January 28, 2025
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The former mayor of Oakland, Calif., and the CEO of California Waste Solutions have both been charged with bribery and fraud over an alleged agreement to extend a hauling contract in return for campaign support. | Phanphen Kaewwannarat/Shutterstock

Federal prosecutors say a former California mayor received bribery payments and services in exchange for agreeing to extend a recycling contract. Now all involved are facing federal charges for bribery or fraud. Continue Reading

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How a famed ski region plans to improve diversion

Published: January 23, 2025
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Recycle Utah is working to bring a diverse array of shareholders together on a $25 million MRF project. | Photo courtesy Recycle Utah

Summit County, Utah, boasts one of the largest ski resorts in the U.S., bringing tourists from around the world to experience the majestic slopes in Park City. The region has even been selected as the site of the 2034 Winter Olympics.

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Outlook for OCC demand, recycling hinges on economics

Published: January 23, 2025
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Cardboard for recycling.

Experts from Bloomberg, TetraPak and more forecasted stable-to-higher box shipments and analyzed paper fiber recycling during a recent webinar. | Shu Ba/Shutterstock

Volumes of OCC and mixed paper are shifting with societal and economic trends, industry experts said during a paper industry update webinar presented by the Recycled Materials Association.

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EPA spotlights gaps in recycling data, spending

Published: January 23, 2025
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A bag of mixed household recycling including contamination.

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.

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Colorado communities prepare for recycling access project

Published: January 14, 2025
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Trucks on a highway.

Colorado’s Circular Economy Development Center’s Circular Transportation Network is using a “milk run” model to allow small communities access to recycling end markets. | Milos Muller/Shutterstock

A project to give rural Colorado communities access to recycling is ready to begin running truck routes later this month.   Continue Reading

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Wisconsin recycling aid shrinks over 10-year period

Published: January 14, 2025
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A new report indicates that local recycling budgets have tightened over the past 10 years amid changes in collection volumes, flat grant amounts and volatile commodity pricing. | Digital Reflections/Shutterstock

The portion of recycling costs covered by state aid has decreased, while costs have edged higher and OCC recycling has more than doubled, according to a new report from a state policy research group.
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MRF and collection worker deaths climbed in 2023

Published: January 7, 2025
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Safety vests and hard hats hanging on a wall.

While overall workplace fatalities decreased in the U.S. in 2023, the waste and recycling industry was a troubling outlier. | Wave Break Media/Shutterstock

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.

Nine workers died in U.S. materials recovery facilities in 2023 and the death rate for refuse and recyclable material collectors jumped more than 80%, according to the latest annual numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Continue Reading

Panelists: EPR in Minnesota part of needed change

Published: August 20, 2024
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Minnesota lawmakers approved an EPR bill during the 2024 legislative session, and the governor signed it into law in May. | Sean Pavone/Shutterstock

Stakeholders behind Minnesota’s successful extended producer responsibility push said it was clear that radical change was needed in the state’s recycling system, during a recent webinar. Continue Reading

Tennessee’s packaging EPR bill re-introduced

Published: January 7, 2025
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Tennessee State Sen. Heidi Campbell is re-introducing a packaging EPR bill crafted to gain Republican and business support. | RebeccaDLev/Shutterstock

A Tennessee lawmaker is reintroducing an extended producer responsibility bill for packaging – with some twists, in an attempt to get it through the Republican-controlled Legislature.    Continue Reading

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