Electro-Extraction and the Future of E-Waste with Megan O'Connor, CEO and Co-founder of Nth Cycle - Battery + Storage Podcast
Reuse to the Rescue: Talking Water Reuse with Pat Sinicropi, Executive Director, WateReuse Association - Reflections on Water Podcast
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
Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) Chief Administrator, Environment, Caleb J. Osborne, submitted a January 12th request to the Arkansas Pollution Control & Ecology...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
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
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
On October 19, Ohio Attorney General (AG) Dave Yost filed a joint motion to enter into a consent order with two Columbus, OH properties, Garrison Southfield Park, LLC, and Olymbec USA LLC, settling claims that Garrison and...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
On April 18, 2023, the Government of Canada announced the launch of consultations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) with respect to...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) released the draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution (EPA 530-R-23-006) (Draft Strategy) on April 21, 2023. The...more
California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (the “Act” or “SB 54”) is a variation of the increasingly popular Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and circular economy frameworks in...more
On May 2, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of the Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution (Draft Strategy) for public comment. 88 Fed. Reg. 27502. EPA states in its April...more
On the eve of Earth Day, the Biden Administration announced a new “White House Interagency Policy Committee (“IPC”) on Plastic Pollution and a Circular Economy.” The IPC is tasked with coordinating federal efforts on plastic...more
On March 29, 2023, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) held a workshop on Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) and forthcoming regulations under the Plastic Pollution Prevention...more
Three hundred million tons of plastics are produced each year worldwide. Less than 10% of plastic waste in the United States is recycled each year. With projections showing that plastics production is expected to triple over...more
California’s SB 54, or the Plastic Producer Responsibility Act, represents a substantial expansion of the increasingly popular form of legislation focused on extended producer responsibility (EPR) for plastic recycling. While...more
On December 5, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Georgia held that a total pollution exclusion (TPE) in a CGL policy relieved the insurer of any obligation to defend or indemnify a recycling company in a...more