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
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
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
Over the course of the last two decades, non-industrial businesses in California have faced increased scrutiny of their compliance with the complex rules related to their management of regulated wastes, such as hazardous...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 United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") on April 10, 2024 issued the first-ever federal regulatory limits on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. The EPA's PFAS drinking water...more
Countries are preparing for a new round of negotiations on an ambitious legally binding international treaty to address plastics pollution across the entire life cycle of plastics per the UNEA 5.2 mandate in resolution 5/14....more
Global supply chains are complex webs that span continents, cultures, and economies. They move goods and services across borders to meet the demands of consumers worldwide. However, this complexity often obscures the...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
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
A California appellate panel has handed environmental and community groups a legal victory in their decades-long dispute with the Port of Los Angeles over its failure to enforce air pollution controls at China Shipping's...more
Companies that produce and discharge pollutants are subject to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversight under the Clean Water Act. The EPA routinely conducts inspections focused on federal laws like Oil Pollution...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 Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) circulated a reminder that states: The 2023 Biennial Report module in RCRAInfo is now open to start capturing data....more
On October 18, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention submitted a final rule for publication in the Federal Register, amending 40 CFR Part 372, involving reporting...more
Virginia developers take note: changes to the Virginia stormwater construction permitting program have been made over the last few years, and more changes are expected in upcoming months. While navigating those changes,...more
In The Graduate, Mr. McGuire pulls aside Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman, and utters “one word” of career advice – “plastics.” Benjamin’s diffident reaction reflects his wealthy suburban character’s utter lack of...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: USEPA has published a new Memo on RCRA Applicability to End-of-Life Lithium Batteries. ...more
It is probably fair to say that SB 54 – California’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) law imposing source reduction and recycling requirements on single use packaging and plastic food service ware – is not only the...more
The Battery Council International (“BCI”) released a report addressing the recycling rate of United States lead batteries. The document is titled: National Recycling Rate Study Publication Date: July 2023 (study years...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) recently released a “Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution.” Depending on its ultimate composition, the final strategy could materially affect the...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
A 2022 Interagency Sea Level Rise Technical Report, authored by various governmental agencies, found that global mean sea levels could rise between one and seven feet by 2100. This would me significant impacts to the more...more
Earlier this month, a team of researchers out of the UK, Canada, and New Zealand published a first-of-its-kind study in the peer-reviewed Journal of Hazardous Material Advances, examining the microplastics pollution potential...more