Vermont’s current deposit system may soon expand to cover almost all beverages. | Victoria Lipov/Shutterstock
This story has been corrected.
Legislation that expands a Northeast state’s container deposit law passed one chamber and has moved to the state Senate for consideration. The bill adds additional beverage types into the deposit program.
Craig Cookson of the American Chemistry Council and Kate Bailey of Eco-Cycle spoke during a session moderated by Dan Leif of Plastics Recycling Update at the 2021 Plastics Recycling Conference. | Screenshot from the 2021 Plastics Recycling Conference.
The recent Plastics Recycling Conference, held online, featured eight sessions over two days. Here are some of the talking points that caught our team’s attention.
Crews remove plastic litter from Hunting Bayou in the Houston area. | Courtesy of Texans for Clean Water
Legislation being considered in Texas would create a program injecting tens of millions of dollars into the recycling system each year while also paying consumers to return plastic bottles, cups and film.
Legislation to be reintroduced will include provisions for a national bottle bill and a ban on certain single-use plastic items. | S-F/Shutterstock
Two members of Congress will revive the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which includes a national container deposit system and other sweeping changes. Representatives from the plastics industry have countered the push.
California Assembly Bill 842 requires that by 2035, all single-use plastic packaging and products distributed in California include 75% post-consumer recycled content. | Kanittha Boon/Shutterstock
California legislators introduced a bill that creates a packaging stewardship organization and adds packaging fees paid by producers. The bill is the latest in a flurry of plastics-related legislative activity in the state.
Massachusetts is the latest state to propose extended producer responsibility for packaging, the largest component of the residential recycling stream. | Thanatos Media/Shutterstock
An expansive packaging stewardship proposal was recently introduced in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, a bill providing state assistance to bolster recycling markets has cleared both legislative chambers in Maryland.
Legislators in nine states, including Maryland, say they will collaborate to push extended producer responsibility policies for plastic packaging. | tokar/Shutterstock
The industry-led Recycling Leadership Council published a set of policy recommendations for national lawmakers. Meanwhile, state legislators are collaborating to push for extended producer responsibility in nine states.
The Recycling Partnership recently released “Accelerating Recycling,” a policy document outlining a proposal that includes fees paid by brands and packaging producers. | photka/Shutterstock
Two major industry groups are promoting packaging fees on product makers to support recycling infrastructure development, a shift one MRF operator described as a “historical moment.”
Senate Bill 54 would have tasked state regulators with developing and adopting rules requiring all single-use packaging and “priority single-use products” sold in California to be recyclable or compostable by 2032. | SerPhoto/Shutterstock
For the second straight year, a California proposal that had broad recyclability goals did not make it through the legislature.
