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
The Supreme Court of Oregon (“S.Ct.”) addressed in a December 7th Opinion an issue involving the “Auto Dismantler Exemption” (“Exemption”) to the State of Oregon’s solid waste permitting program. See PNW Metal Recycling, Inc....more
The Court of Appeals of Arkansas (“Appellate Court”) addressed in a November 29th Opinion the Arkansas Regional Solid Waste Management Districts’ (“ARSWMD”) ability to assess certain fees. See Benton County Regional Solid...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
What's Happening? The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) published proposed regulations to amend the Recycling and Disposal Reporting System (RDRS) to increase the specificity of waste...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
The Solid Waste Association of North America (“SWANA”) and three other organizations filed joint comments addressing questions posed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) in the following document: ...more
For the past five months, Proskauer has acted as pro bono counsel to Instituto Recicleiros (Recicleiros), a Brazilian non-profit, in obtaining a grant from the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW). AEPW is an industry-founded...more
The National Waste & Recycling Association (“NWRA”) and Solid Waste Association of North America (“SWANA”) sent a May 10th joint letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the leadership of the following Congressional...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
On October 5, 2021, California’s Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 343 (SB 343) prohibiting the use of the chasing arrows symbol on non-recyclable products and packaging. Under the new law, a product or packaging that...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
A United States District Court (W.D. Washington) (“Court”) addressed in a January 14th Order a challenge to certain provisions of a solid waste flow control ordinance (“Ordinance”). See Skycorp LTD v. King County, 2021 WL...more
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (“IRSI”) submitted October 2nd comments to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) on the agency’s draft National Recycling Strategy (“Strategy”). EPA released...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
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (“ADEM”) is proposing to issue an Administrative Order (“AO”) to KMAC Industrial and Recharge (“KMAC”) to address alleged violations related to certain solid waste/recycling...more
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (“CalRecycle”) filed an administrative enforcement action (styled as an “Accusation”) against CVS Health Corporation and CVS Pharmacy, Inc., (collectively “CVS”)...more
The Arkansas Court of Appeals (“Court”) addressed in an October 30th opinion a dispute between the Benton County Regional Solid Waste Management District (“Benton District”) and the Boston Mountain Regional Solid Waste...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