A substantial EPR bill is moving forward in the Oregon legislature. | Grindstone Media Group / Shutterstock
Bills establishing extended producer responsibility for packaging materials were introduced in a handful of states this year. Several have failed to gain traction, but at least two key proposals remain active.
An expanded list of beverages will be covered in Connecticut’s bottle-deposit program under a new piece of legislation on the governor’s desk. | alexs333 / Shutterstock
Connecticut lawmakers passed legislation overhauling the state’s 41-year-old container deposit program, with one supporter calling the move the most significant U.S. bottle bill expansion in a decade.
A Maine committee vote of “ought to pass” for LD 1541 sets it up for possible votes by the full House and Senate chambers. | RawPixel.com / Shutterstock
A committee in Maine’s legislature advanced a bill that gives government officials direct control over how much money producers would be forced to pay to support the recycling of their packaging.
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Recycling industry groups are lobbying for federal infrastructure spending in materials recovery. | Gary Blakeley / Shutterstock
As federal elected officials debate significant investments in the nation’s infrastructure, recycling and composting stakeholders are pushing them to steer some of that money into materials recovery.
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Lawmakers in Maine are considering two bills that each establish extended producer responsibility programs covering packaging of all material types, but with key differences in program management. | Wangkun Jia / Shutterstock
Two state proposals under consideration in the Northeast get at a central question of extended producer responsibility programs for packaging: Should the government or private industry have more control?
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.
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.
U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens reintroduced the Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Act this month. | Phil Pasquini / Shutterstock
A federal lawmaker who is sponsoring legislation meant to support the plastics recycling sector says collaboration between all stakeholders, and government assistance, will bolster the U.S. recycling system.
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.