Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) published a consultation document on July 4, 2024, seeking input from stakeholders on a proposed roadmap for addressing plastic waste and pollution from the textile and apparel...more
What is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)? Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy enacted by several states, which extends a manufacturer’s responsibility for its product packaging...more
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is about to come into force and will significantly change packaging laws across the EU. The aim of the legislation is to eliminate packaging waste by ensuring that all...more
What You Need To Know In A Minute Or Less - For both consumers and producers, the recent seismic shifts in packaging—from materials to circularity advertising—have been hard to miss. The past few years have introduced several...more
Producers who may qualify for an exemption under California’s extended producer responsibility (“EPR”) packaging law (“SB 54” or the “Act”) should consider reviewing CalRecycle’s recently released Proposed Draft Regulation...more
Within the last month, California has made significant strides toward its bid to create a circular economy for certain packaging and food service ware materials. On January 8, 2024, California's Department of Resources...more
On 28 December 2023, CalRecycle published the results of the preliminary Material Characterization Study required under SB 343, codified as Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 42355.51. The preliminary findings identify the types of...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a far-reaching and enormously important final rule (Rule) on Oct. 11, 2023, requiring comprehensive reporting of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured...more
The automotive industry continues to grow a record of sustainability, improving fuel efficiency and proliferating electric vehicles, and adopting eco-friendly manufacturing processes. Along with these important sustainability...more
Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 54 on June 30, 2022, creating an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program and imposing some related prohibitions for certain single-use packaging and plastic single-use food service ware...more
Minnesota is competing with Maine to have the most rigorous regulations for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed HF 2310 into law on May 24, 2023. Similar to Maine's PFAS requirements,...more
At the end of June, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz – “BMUV”)...more
New York may be on board to be the fifth state in the nation to hold producers responsible for packaging products. Thus far, Maine, Oregon, Colorado, and California have enacted extended producer-responsibility laws....more
The new requirements under the German Packaging Act (Verpackungsgesetz, VerpackG) present a challenge and an opportunity for companies that have to re-design their operational processes to comply with the new requirements. If...more
On 10 December 2020, the European Commission published a proposal for a new EU Regulation concerning batteries and waste batteries ("Battery Regulation"). The Battery Regulation is part of the European Green Deal and aims to...more
Se ha aprobado el PERTE en Economía Circular, que pretende cambiar la economía hacia un tratamiento circular de los productos que minimice el uso de las materias primas, permita la incorporación de materiales reciclados y...more
A law adopted by the California State Legislature in October 2021 creates new requirements for the labeling of packaging that is intended to be disposed of in the blue curbside recycling bins used by California residents,...more
Last week, California’s Governor signed a law that will likely impose significant limitations on companies’ abilities to make recyclability claims or use the popular “chasing arrows” symbol in California....more
As the world contends with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, activists are sounding the alarm over another pandemic: the plastic pandemic. Environmentalist groups have been warning Americans about our overconsumption of plastic...more
Last month, Maine signed the nation’s first packaging-based extended producer responsibility program into law, signaling a possible sea change in the way we handle recycling in the United States....more
What is happening? Connecticut has joined several other states in imposing plastic recycling mandates on manufacturers. These laws seek to improve the market for recyclables by establishing recycled content minimums for...more
The Oregon legislature is considering House Bill 2065 (Bill or HB 2065), a bill designed to restructure Oregon’s recycling system. The Bill is the result of the Oregon Recycling Steering Committee, a collaborative process to...more
On 1 January 2021, changes came into effect that affect recovery and recycling targets for packing and packaging waste for retailers and manufacturers in England. With significant change already imminent for UK retailers and...more
Even though Oregon is considered the third greenest state in the United States, and a national leader when it comes to recycling, Oregon’s waste-management programs are not actually recovering all of the state’s recyclable...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