California has added wine and liquor bottles to the state’s beverage container redemption program. | Kieferpix/Shutterstock
California is adding wine and distilled spirits to its container redemption program, among other changes, after the governor signed the program expansion bill into law.
Recovery facilities in California face a number of changes in the wake of legislative updates. | gavrilhurgoi/Shutterstock
Amid a flurry of bills at the end of California’s legislative session, lawmakers passed $1.3 billion in recycling spending and made a number of key policy changes. A recent webinar hinted at what the changes may mean for MRFs.
Thermoforms such as those shown here often contain post-consumer material from bottles, but a California bill would require post-consumer thermoforms to be used in production of new thermoforms. | Anakumka/Shutterstock
Current debate over a California bill requiring PET thermoforms to contain recycled PET derived from thermoforms boils down to one question: What will MRFs do?
California’s carpet recycling rate in 2021 was 27.9%, up from 20.9% in 2020. | Colleen Michaels/Shutterstock
California’s extended producer responsibility program for carpet achieved a sharp increase in the recycling rate last year, jumping 7 percentage points from the prior year.
California legislators sent a number of recycling-related bills to the governor at the end of this session. | Leonid Adnronov/Shutterstock
When California’s legislative session ended Aug. 31, a number of recycling-related bills passed just before the deadline. Here’s a roundup of bills currently waiting to be signed into law and that have already been signed.
Some glass recycling advocates have withdrawn their support for proposed California bottle bill legislation in the wake of last-minute amendments. | Fotosr52/Shutterstock
Just days before the end of the legislative session, lengthy amendments were tacked on to California bottle bill expansion legislation, greatly increasing the cost of the program. In response, some previous backers rescinded their support.
An organics extrusion system at a Los Angeles-area MRF is expected to divert nearly 47,000 tons per year and create four jobs. | Sunstopper1st/Shutterstock
Note: The location of this project has been changed from a facility run by Athens Services to one run by Universal Waste Systems in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. Click here to see CalRecycle’s updated loan approval documents.
The state of California will provide a major loan to finance an organics extraction line at an Athens Services MRF, diverting food scraps otherwise destined for landfills to a massive anaerobic digester.
ReGen Monterey operates an advanced MRF among other diversion operations. | Via ReGen Monterey video
A prominent waste management district in California sees state policies and investments opening up the possibility of a zero-waste future, and its new name reflects that vision.
New legislation evokes varied reactions among industry and activists. | Michael Warwick/Shutterstock
Industry leaders mostly expressed support for California’s recently signed extended producer responsibility bill, though some said they still had concerns about its far reach. Continue Reading
Legislators have approved EPR for printed paper and packaging in California. | Kit Leong/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
California’s printed paper and packaging extended producer responsibility bill passed the state Senate unanimously June 30 and was signed into law, just before the deadline to pull a plastic-tax measure from November’s state ballot.