Tag Archives: Policy Now

Avoiding EPR pitfalls requires careful, thoughtful approach

Published: September 1, 2025
Updated: September 3, 2025
by Antoinette Smith

Reverse-vending-machine-aleks333-Shutterstock

Reverse vending machines are one component of some deposit return systems | Aleks333/Shutterstock

Takeaways in two minutes (or less)

Watch, wait and learn from the “starter seven”
Focus first on expanding bottle deposit systems
Highlight economic impact to gain bipartisan support
Kentucky, Tennessee, Carolinas primed for action
Learn from the Canadian experience

In an active year for legislation aimed at reducing plastic pollution and waste, recycling stakeholders have a bevy of lessons to draw from, even with bills that have come under attack or didn’t quite pass. Continue Reading

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

‘Operational readiness is high’ as Oregon rolls out EPR

Published: July 1, 2025
Updated: July 1, 2025
by Marissa Heffernan

Producer responsibility organization Circular Action Alliance plans to build a network of 144 PRO Recycling Centers, pictured, for hard-to-recycle items. | Photo Courtesy of Circular Action Alliance

Extended producer responsibility for packaging in Oregon is officially implemented, with the first dollars from producer fees flowing out to the communities most in need as of July 1.

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

State law, local ordinance and the question of alignment

Published: June 26, 2025
Updated: June 27, 2025
by Marissa Heffernan

Coloradans are working to implement a series of recycling-related policies, which sometimes support and sometimes oppose each other. | Gargonia/Shutterstock

When it comes to recycling, most policy is set at the state level — but not all of it. When city ordinances, state law and a governor’s priorities all interact, it can be a recipe for both significant change and serious complexity.

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

California advisory board examines barriers to EPR

Published: May 30, 2025
Updated: June 3, 2025
by Marissa Heffernan

The report touches on five main topics: recyclability of covered materials, compostability of covered materials, reuse and refill and other source reduction systems, cost coverage for local jurisdictions, and plastic leakage into the environment. | Ratchat/Shutterstock

Members of the California extended producer responsibility for packaging advisory board have identified dozens of barriers to implementation and offered up possible solutions in a recent report.

Posted in News, Top stories | Tagged California, EPR/Stewardship, local programs, Policy Now |

EPR for Maryland: The making of SB 901

Published: May 4, 2025
Updated: May 5, 2025
by Marissa Heffernan

The final bill builds on previous legislation, resulting in an EPR program that will take shape in 2028. | Evan Lorne/Shutterstock

After five years of work and many interim steps, Maryland became the sixth U.S. state to pass extended producer responsibility legislation for paper and packaging, continuing the policy’s evolution in the country.

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

Packaging EPR bills take shape in a dozen states

Published: April 4, 2025
Updated: April 7, 2025
by Marissa Heffernan

Advocates for the New York Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act held a press event on March 19 at the state capitol. | Office of State Sen. Pete Harckham/Tom Staudter

Lawmakers in a dozen states have introduced bills concerning extended producer responsibility for packaging, ranging from studies and tweaks of current programs to full EPR programs.

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

Oregon stakeholders work on the wine bottle question

Published: February 28, 2025
Updated: February 28, 2025
by Marissa Heffernan

HB 3433 would add glass wine bottles to Oregon’s container deposit program, but the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative does not want to take on the additional material stream. | Fotosr52/Shutterstock

The question of how glass wine containers should be managed in Oregon – under the state deposit return system or under extended producer responsibility – remains active, though wine bottles seem destined for EPR for now.

Posted in News | Tagged EPR/Stewardship, glass, industry groups, Policy Now |

Right-to-repair movement continues to grow

Published: January 31, 2025
Updated: January 31, 2025
by Marissa Heffernan

Looking across all product categories, right-to-repair legislation has been introduced in 49 out of 50 states in the past few years. | maxfrost/Shutterstock

The momentum behind consumer electronics right-to-repair bills that has been building since 2021 doesn’t seem to be ebbing, with 10 bills introduced so far this year and supporters anticipating far more to come.

Posted in News | Tagged brand owners, legislation, Policy Now |

Producers moving toward EPR readiness

Published: January 3, 2025
Updated: January 3, 2025
by Marissa Heffernan

Despite progress, producers are largely still not ready for approaching EPR requirements, industry players predict. | Josep Curto/Shutterstock

With about six months to go until the first extended producer responsibility program for packaging in the U.S. goes live, producers are still largely unprepared but moving in the right direction, those monitoring the transition said.

Posted in News | Tagged EPR/Stewardship, industry groups, Policy Now |

Policy updates from the E-Scrap Conference

Published: November 5, 2024
Updated: November 5, 2024
by Marissa Heffernan

Emmanuel Nyaletey, founder and CEO of BridgeSolar, speaks during a panel on navigating Basel Convention changes in electronics recycling at the 2024 E-Scrap Conference. | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling, Inc.

Chatter about legislative effects on the industry permeated much of the 2024 E-Scrap Conference, especially uncertainty around upcoming changes to the Basel Convention, and several sessions dug deep into new laws and coming policy trends in the e-scrap industry.

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