[Podcast] Catching Up on Canadian Environmental Regulation
The Great Green North: A Discussion on Canada’s Environmental Regulations
Recent Actions on Ag Biotech by EPA’s Emerging Technologies Branch
An Update on the Legal Landscape Surrounding Plastic Pollution - It’s hard to reflect on “Our Power, Our Planet” this Earth Day without discussing plastic. Plastic is deeply embedded in our daily lives. Consider, for...more
Two significant developments have recently emerged concerning California’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law, SB 54, which aims to phase out single-use plastics. The landmark law for packaging and plastic food...more
Introduction - On December 31, 2024, the Government of Canada published a guide for reporting to the Federal Plastics Registry (Registry). As discussed in our previous bulletin, the Government of Canada established the...more
As extended producer responsibility (“EPR”) programs unfold in several U.S. states, Environmental General Counsel is using its international connections within IR Global – a multi-disciplinary professional services network –...more
The National Association for PET Container Resources (“NAPCOR”) issued a document titled: 2023 PET RECYCLING REPORT (“Report”). ...more
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently unveiled its National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution (Plastic Pollution Strategy), a comprehensive document that outlines voluntary measures and regulatory...more
In late November, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decertified 10 class actions that had accused Nissan of selling cars and SUVs with defective automatic emergency braking systems. The court found it...more
In an important decision regarding plastic recycling and disposal, the New York Supreme Court has dismissed the NY Attorney General's lawsuit against Pepsico for allegedly contributing to plastic pollution in New York...more
In November 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") released its National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, a comprehensive plan with the goal of eliminating the release of plastic waste into the...more
On November 21, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of the National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution: Part Three of a Series on Building a Circular Economy for All. According to...more
What Happened - On Monday, October 14, 2024, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecyle) opened a public comment period on changes to the previously proposed regulations implementing the...more
On September 26–27, 2024, a bipartisan group of state attorneys general (AGs) was joined by nonprofit advocates, academics, and industry stakeholders for a Plastics Forum convened by Connecticut AG William Tong and the State...more
On September 22, 2024, the State of California Department of Justice announced that it filed a lawsuit in the San Francisco County Superior Court against ExxonMobil “for allegedly engaging in a decades-long campaign of...more
California AG Rob Bonta sued global energy giant ExxonMobil Corporation for allegedly deceiving the public about the recyclability of plastic products and creating a global plastics pollution crisis in violation of state...more
On July 1, 2024, CalRecycle published an updated list of covered material categories as required by California’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) law. SB 54 was signed into law by Governor Newsom in June 2022 and...more
As we wrap up our week-long celebration of Earth Day with insightful articles focusing on various aspects of plastic pollution, this final article focuses on how the courts are being asked to step into ring and referee the...more
This year’s Earth Day theme is “Planet versus Plastics.” When most people think of plastic pollution, their minds likely conjure up an image of single-use plastics—such as grocery bags, beverage container rings, or discarded...more
On March 31, Circular Action Alliance (“CAA”), the Producer Responsibility Organization (“PRO”) for California, Colorado, and the only contender for PRO in Oregon, submitted the first draft of its Program Plan (“the Plan”)...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
Since July 2021, when Maine passed the nation's first extended producer responsiblity ("EPR") packaging law, four other states (Colorado, Oregon, California, and Maryland) have enacted EPR packaging laws. For brevity, we...more
On September 4, 2023, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INCPP) released a draft proposal on the reduction of global plastic pollution. The so-called “Zero Draft” proposes measures to address...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
North Little Rock, Arkansas, will be the site of a new glass recycling plant beginning in early 2024. The companies involved in this endeavor are EPIC Glass Recycling (“EPIC”) and ACE Glass and Plastics Recycling...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
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