Brazil has recently seen significant updates to solid waste management regulations at the national level. These include new regulations which address: the qualification criteria of managing entities; the qualification...more
Massachusetts residents and businesses dispose of enough trash yearly to fill up about 31 Fenway Parks. Despite decades of government policies to reduce waste, we continue throwing away about six million tons of waste each...more
As lithium-based batteries become more prevalent in everything from electric vehicles (EVs) to industrial-scale batteries, as well as e-scooters and personal electronics, more questions arise regarding how to properly manage...more
A bill amending the Alabama Solid Wastes and Recyclable Materials Management Act by specifying when local approval of solid waste disposal permit modifications is necessary has passed both houses of the Alabama Legislature...more
Late last year, California enacted significant new restrictions on products and packaging bearing recyclability claims, including the chasing-arrows symbol commonly used to connote that packaging is recyclable. In order to...more
Perhaps not as glamorous as the Times Square crystal ball, but something else drops at the start of the New Year: The threshold for mandated food waste separation and recycling by certain industrial and commercial facilities...more
The United States District Court for the District of Texas (“Court”) addressed in an August 4th Opinion issues arising out of a solid waste storage and recycling facility/shingle pile in Dallas, Texas. See Marsha Jackson v....more
I undertook an Arkansas Environmental Federation webinar held by the organization’s Land and Sustainability Committee on May 20th titled: Solid and Hazardous Waste/Recycling Administrative/Judicial Developments: 2020-2021...more
Summary - The Pennsylvania legislature is close to enacting House Bill 1808. Already approved by the Pennsylvania House, the measure could benefit an emerging industry known as Advanced Recycling that diverts single-use...more
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has scheduled additional online public hearings and extended the comment period on the Draft 2030 Solid Waste Master Plan. Issuance of the final plan is...more
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (“ISRI”) issued its 2019 Recycling Industry Yearbook (“Yearbook”). The 2019 edition is the eighth year that ISRI has published a Yearbook on this topic....more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) has issued a new edition (January 2020) of its quarterly newsletter. DEQ describes the newsletter as providing...more
WCA Waste Corporation (“WCA”) announced in a January 14th news release it acquired the Little Rock Division of Central Arkansas Recycling and Disposal Services, LLC (“CARDS”). WCA describes itself as a vertically...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a “streamlined system” for managing hazardous waste aerosol cans as Universal Waste. The Agency believes that the new system will be...more
My law firm colleague Stuart Spencer undertook a presentation at the Arkansas Environmental Federation 52nd Annual Convention and Trade Show on October 17th in Hot Springs titled: Recycling: Impacts on State, Changing...more
On July 2, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided the case of California Communities Against Toxics, et al. v. EPA. In this decision, the court rejected the latest petition to strike or...more
Pierce Atwood’s Environmental and Land Use Practice Groups are pleased to provide a summary of key environmental legislation from the 129th Maine Legislature’s First Regular Session, which adjourned sine die, on June 20,...more
Technological innovations are creating ways to re-use, and in some cases profit from, materials recycled and materials discarded in waterways. ...more
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (“APR”) issued a December 2018 report entitled: Life Cycle Impacts for Postconsumer Recycled Resins: PET, HDPE, and PP (“Report”) - The Report was submitted by Franklin Associates....more
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery issued proposed regulations to reduce organic waste in landfills as required by Senate Bill 1383. The bill directed CalRecycle to adopt regulations to reduce...more
The Chinese government issued a document on December 21st titled: Notice on Adjusting the Catalogue of Imported Waste Management (“Notice”) - The Notice addresses standards previously issued that are denominated the: ...more
The Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Protocol (“SWEEP”) issued a December 14th document titled: The SWEEP Municipal Standard (“Municipal Standard”) - Municipal Standard is characterized as evaluating the...more
Mr. Bernie Lee of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (“ISRI”) undertook a presentation on recycling markets at a December 6th Recycling Committee meeting at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments in...more
The Solid Waste Association of North America (“SWANA”) announced a technical policy citing the need for entities to measure recycling progress and encourage the development of a consistent methodology. The document is...more
The Solid Waste Association of North America and National Waste & Recycling Association (collectively “SWANA”) announced an amendment/update to the document they drafted in 2015 titled: Joint Advisory on Designing...more