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
RRS compiled initial data on the collection and recycling system in the state, and of the 121 categories of data the report sought, 43 were available, 27 were partially available and 51 were currently unknown or not currently available. | BestStockFoto/Shutterstock
While New York has several efforts underway to gather more recycling data, significant gaps still remain and could complicate passage of an extended producer responsibility bill for paper and packaging, a recent analysis found. Continue Reading
Statistics Canada released a detailed breakdown of the material diverted from landfill in 2022 and if it was generated by residential or non-residential sources. | Siwakorn1933/Shutterstock
A recent analysis from the Canadian government found that, in 2022, Canadian households and businesses diverted 9.9 million metric tons of material, the same as in 2020. Of that amount, about 3.6 million tons were paper fibers. Continue Reading
After a 2022 program overhaul allowed most retailers to opt out of deposit system container collection, a report from Cleaner Iowa found that there are 29 counties without a redemption center. | Veja/Shutterstock
Overhauls to Iowa’s bottle bill in 2022 that allowed retailers to opt out of collection are reducing access, as industry players warned when the bill passed. But redemption centers are stepping up to help solve the problem – including by launching a new bag drop program. Continue Reading
EverestLabs’s data suggests that 3.6 million tons of aluminum, PET, HDPE and PP are collected and sent to MRFs each year, but about 960,000 of those tons end up in the disposal stream. | Graham Corney/Shutterstock
Of the aluminum cans, PET, HDPE and PP that reach a MRF, 27% ends up still going to disposal, according to a recent report from Robotics supplier EverestLabs. Continue Reading
The study, conducted in fall 2022 and spring 2023, sorted samples from residential households, New York City Public Schools, the New York City Housing Authority and on-street litter baskets into 96 main categories. | Helen89/Shutterstock
A waste characterization study in New York City found that recycling rates for metal, glass, plastic and paper declined from previous study years. It also found capture rates decreased and contamination rates increased. Continue Reading
Panelist Rebecca Hu said during the session that AI is moving beyond robotics and the technology is on track to provide data and create partnerships that could improve the whole value chain. | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling
Artificial intelligence is a key element of increasing plastic recycling, panelists at the 2024 Plastics Recycling Conference in Grapevine, Texas, said last month. Continue Reading
The first packaging data reporting deadlines for extended producer responsibility programs will hit in 2025, but gathering the needed data will take time and help from up and down the value chain. | A9-STUDIO/Shutterstock
In about a year, companies will be required to start reporting various data under four different extended producer responsibility laws as well as some recycled content and labeling laws. Many are still not ready, industry stakeholders cautioned.
Experts in EPR compliance say the best time to prepare is right now, and there are resources that can help. | Konektus Photo/Shutterstock
The first packaging data reporting deadline for extended producer responsibility programs doesn’t come until 2025, which seems far in the future, but compliance experts are warning that companies should start the massive undertaking now.
Colorado’s Producer Responsibility Organization Circular Action Alliance released a needs assessment that lays out accepted recyclable lists, models the effects of several improvement scenarios and evaluates access to services and costs. | Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock
In another step toward implementation of extended producer responsibility for packaging, Colorado regulators published a report laying out which materials would be covered and exploring different options for how the program could operate. Continue Reading