The extended producer responsibility (“EPR”) programs for packaging that are currently unfolding in several states impose two primary obligations on producers of covered materials—reporting data and paying fees to a producer...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
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
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
Cannabis cultivation and processing are rapidly-growing industries, as hemp and both recreational and medical marijuana products are being legalized across the country. With this rapid growth and legalization, however, comes...more
Organic waste collection regulations became effective as of January 1, 2022 for local government jurisdictions in California. Since 2006 California has aggressively pursued establishment of economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG)...more
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has completed the relaunch of an emergency rulemaking to refine the process by which metal shredding facilities determine when hazardous waste management...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
CalRecycle Issues Guidance to Local Agencies The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery released guidance for how a city, county or a regional agency responsible for meeting Integrated Waste Management...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
The Solid Waste Association of North America (“SWANA”) issued a technical policy titled: Technical Policy 9.4. – The Long-Term Management of Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (“Policy”) - The Policy provides that at the...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule governing management of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals became effective August 21, 2019. The new regulations apply to the management of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals by...more
Pierce Atwood LLP offers this summary of Maine Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) standards as a convenience in evaluating PFAS and tracking Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulatory and Maine...more
The National Waste & Recycling Association (“NWRA”) issued a February 2019 Issue Brief titled: Recyclables: Changing Markets (“Issue Brief”) - A key focus of the Issue Brief is the impact of China’s establishment of a...more
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (“ISRI”) discussed in a publication yesterday certain aspects of the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) that United States and Canadian negotiators recently agreed to for...more
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (“ISRI”) submitted August 17th comments on China’s proposed revisions to its solid waste law (“Law”). The country is proposing to revise its Law for the stated purpose of...more
The parties litigating the denial by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) of a Regulation 5 permit for the C&H Hog Farms, Inc. (“C&H”) before the Arkansas Pollution Control of Ecology Commission have...more
The Trump Administration released the Fall edition of the semi-annual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions and the Regulatory Plan (“Plan”). Federal agencies twice a year produce in combination a...more