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
As our readers are likely familiar from our past blog posts here, here and here, in September 2022, EPA proposed to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under section 102(a) of Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a prepublication version of a Final Rule that would designate two of the Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) as Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
The Office of the Attorney General (“AG”) of the New Hampshire Department of Justice announced in a January 25th news release the indictment of Hammond Grinding and Recycling Inc. a/k/a F.C. Hammond & Son Lumber Co....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
Proposed rules would increase the stringency of Clean Air Act standards applicable to facilities that burn 250 tons or more of municipal solid waste per day. Among the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") latest...more
Global political and business leaders have purported ambitious climate-focused goals for the decades ahead, such as eliminating landfill waste by 2030, transitioning to 100% renewable energy use by 2035, and achieving...more
As lithium-based batteries become more prevalent in everything from electric vehicles (EVs) to industrial-scale batteries, as well as e-scooters and personal electronics, more questions arise regarding how to properly manage...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
Materials Covered by the Law SB 54 applies to single-use packaging that is routinely recycled, disposed of or discarded after its contents have been used or unpackaged. This includes items that are typically not refilled or...more
In GreenRoots, Inc. v. Energy Facilities Siting Board, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), for only the second time, had an opportunity to interpret the Environmental Justice Policy (EJ Policy) promulgated by the...more
For the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC” or “Department”), discretion has been the better part of valor when considering enforcement of certain provisions of the Revised Part 360 Solid 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
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
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
The 87th Legislative Session’s filing deadline of March 12, 2021 has come and gone, giving us an opportunity to survey the full suite of environmental bills – air, water, waste, procedural – that will be considered, debated,...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 United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (“Court”) in a February 21st Order addressed a dispute involving a waste disposal contract. See WM Mobile Bay Envtl. Ctr., Inc. v. City of Mobile, No. CV...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
Earthjustice on behalf of a number of environmental organizations sent a February 7th letter to United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator Andrew Wheeler styled...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