Tag Archives: legislation

Talking out tensions between EPR and plastics

Published: August 31, 2023
Updated: March 13, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

Anja Brandon, associate director of U.S. plastics policy at the Ocean Conservancy, speaks during the “Plastic Tensions Within Extended Producer Responsibility” session at the 2023 Resource Recycling Conference in Orlando, Fla. | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling

Resource Recycling Conference attendees may have been expecting a boxing ring when stakeholders got on stage to talk about plastic and extended producer responsibility, but instead they got a message of hope, progress and civil disagreement on film, chemical recycling and labeling. Continue Reading

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged EPR/Stewardship, legislation, plastics, Policy Now |

2023 sees growing chemical recycling policy activity

Published: July 7, 2023
Updated: March 13, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

Various plastic materials gathered for recycling.

Environmental groups and industry organizations disagree over how to classify chemical recycling. | Bowonpat Sakaew/Shutterstock

Chemical recycling has been at the center of recycling debates recently, a focus that has been mirrored in state legislatures. Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged industry groups, legislation, plastics, Policy Now |

After years of ‘fortitude,’ tire EPR is a reality in CT

Published: July 7, 2023
Updated: March 13, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

Under the new law, tire recycling fees will be deposited into a stewardship fund, and manufacturers will be required to demonstrate that used tires are being recycled or resold. | Leestudio/Shutterstock

Connecticut this summer became the first state to enact a statewide extended producer responsibility program for tires, moving beyond previous iterations of regulated programs into fully producer managed and funded end-of-life management. Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged EPR/Stewardship, legislation, Policy Now |

Michigan’s waste management overhaul taking effect

Published: June 1, 2023
Updated: March 13, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

Michigan's capitol building with trees and sky.

Lawmakers in the Great Lakes State are putting into motion a suite of bills that focus on reuse, resource reduction and much more. | Henryk-Sadura/Shutterstock

Michigan is rolling out big changes to its solid waste management laws, taking a slow and steady approach to a complicated modernization process.

Posted in News | Tagged legislation, local programs, Policy Now |

What materials will make the cut under EPR?

Published: June 1, 2023
Updated: March 13, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

Pinning down an accepted materials list means balancing a variety of needs and interests. | nate samui/Shutterstock

States with extended producer responsibility programs are starting to grapple with a tricky question: How do we establish a list of materials covered by the system?

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged EPR/Stewardship, legislation, Policy Now |

California recycled content rulemaking moves ahead

Published: March 2, 2023
Updated: March 13, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

The public comment period for the AB 793 rulemaking started Feb. 3 and will last until the end of a hearing on March 21. | Steve Heap/Shutterstock

California’s rulemaking on the minimum post-consumer recycled content law is moving along steadily, and stakeholders are narrowing in on the things they like and dislike about the regulations. Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged California, legislation, plastics, Policy Now |

New York lawmakers consider three packaging EPR bills

Published: March 2, 2023
Updated: March 13, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

New York lawmakers have introduced three bills that would make producers financially responsible for funding the management of packaging products at their end of life. | Josep Curto/Shutterstock

New York lawmakers are trying to make their state the fifth in the nation to pass an extended producer responsibility law for packaging, and some stakeholders feel like this is the year. Continue Reading

Posted in News | Tagged EPR/Stewardship, legislation, plastics, Policy Now |

Seattle Public Utilities in favor of EPR, WRAP Act

Published: February 3, 2023
Updated: March 13, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

Aerial view of the Washington state capitol in Olympia.

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is a member of the Northwest Product Stewardship Council, a coalition of local governments in Washington and Oregon that have worked together for years on product stewardship and producer responsibility policies. | Christoper Boswell/Shutterstock

As Washington state lawmakers try once more to usher an extended producer responsibility for paper and packaging bill through the legislature, Seattle Public Utilities will be there to help.

Posted in News | Tagged EPR/Stewardship, legislation, plastics, Policy Now |

How Maine is involving stakeholders in EPR rollout

Published: January 6, 2023
Updated: March 13, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

Maine’s EPR draft rules will go to the Board of Environmental Protection to begin the formal rulemaking process in December 2023. | Yurii Prohonnyi/Shutterstock

Maine’s governor signed an extended producer responsibility law for packaging in 2021, and the state is now seeking stakeholder feedback to guide the rulemaking process.

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged EPR/Stewardship, legislation, Policy Now |

CalRecycle director ‘excited and ready’ for policy challenge

Published: December 2, 2022
Updated: March 13, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

Recycling bins against a red brick wall.

CalRecycle staff are busy developing implementation plans for the state’s EPR program and other new recycling laws. | Lowe Llaguno/Shutterstock

After California’s legislature passed a host of recycling and reuse-related bills, the state’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery is shifting into high gear to turn the mandates into reality.

Posted in News | Tagged California, EPR/Stewardship, legislation, Policy Now |