In November 2019, two complementary bills were introduced to Congress aiming to bring additional funding to materials recovery initiatives. | Nicole S Glass/Shutterstock
With the new year now underway, government leaders are refocusing on issues that may have been put on the back-burner toward the end of 2019.
The New York Capitol in Albany, where two bills concerning packaging EPR are currently in committees.| Paul Brady Photography/Shutterstock
Two bills have been introduced in New York State creating extended producer responsibility programs for printed paper and packaging.
The legislation includes a national bottle bill, which experts say would significantly boost the container recycling rate. | Orhan Cam/Shutterstock
Two Congressmen today introduced a comprehensive waste management and recycling support bill. This week, they shared details about the legislation and expressed optimism that it will garner bipartisan support.
Lower recovered metals prices hurt revenue at a waste-to-energy company, and a group urges a major magazine to use recycled paper.
When it comes to plastic bag legislation, 2017 may be the storm after the storm. After the high-profile battle over California’s statewide plastic bag ban, legislators in at least 16 states have introduced bills related to bags this year.
Maryland will regulate compostability claims on plastic products and study ways to boost composting throughout the state.
The Califo
rnia legislature passed a bill requiring beverage companies to publicly report the amount of post-consumer PET they use. And a separate piece of legislation sent to the governor extends a plastics-recycling subsidy programs for one year.
A pair of bills in Massachusetts could have some impact on recovery. One mandates reductions in statewide per-capita waste generation and another requires state government offices to divert a host of materials.
Federal authorities slap a Georgia plastics recycling company with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, and officials in New Mexico get their hands dirty in a waste composition study.
California legislators are expected to take up recycling-related legislation again in 2020. | michael warwick/Shutterstock