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Researchers tout benefits of a US bottle bill

Published: May 4, 2021
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PET bottles for recycling.

Researchers estimate over 74 billion PET bottles were landfilled, burned or littered in the U.S. in 2019. | Teerasak Ladnongkhun / Shutterstock

This story has been updated and corrected.

A new report estimates that a nationwide bottle deposit program would reduce the number of drink containers each American wastes to 67 per year, down from 426 under the status quo.

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EPA leader connects recycling and environmental justice

Published: May 4, 2021
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Aerial view of a community solid waste landfill.

At the recent ISRI2021 online conference, an EPA official touched on environmental justice issues that affect waste and recycling facilities. | Surapol USanakul / Shutterstock

The U.S. EPA’s top environmental justice official has a message for recycling operators: Don’t wait for a conflict to arise to start engaging with the community that surrounds you.

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Asking what should count as recycling, EPA gets an earful

Published: April 20, 2021
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Sorted materials at the recycling facility.

The U.S. EPA received 108 public comments as the agency seeks to revise its recycling rate calculation methodology. | janstarik/Shutterstock

If food scraps from households are composted, should that count in the nation’s recycling rate? What if they’re fed to livestock or processed in anaerobic digesters?

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