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
The Arkansas Recycling Equipment Tax Credit Program was created by Act 654 of 1993. The program encourages recycling by allowing Arkansas taxpayers a 30 percent state income tax credit for the purchase of equipment used...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
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (“NREL”) announced the publication of research titled: Paper and Cardboard in the United States: geographic, market, and energy assessment (“Analysis”) - The Paper was...more
The Supreme Court of Oregon (“S.Ct.”) addressed in a December 7th Opinion an issue involving the “Auto Dismantler Exemption” (“Exemption”) to the State of Oregon’s solid waste permitting program. See PNW Metal Recycling, Inc....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
Project W alumna Sarika Bajaj and her co-founder Tushita Gupta are solving a 186 billion-pound problem. That's 186 billion pounds of textiles that are discarded each year, while less than 1% of that waste is recycled. With...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
New Legislation Recently Passed and Signed- The Legislature recently passed and the governor signed AB 2048. The law requires...more
What's Happening? The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) published proposed regulations to amend the Recycling and Disposal Reporting System (RDRS) to increase the specificity of waste...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
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
The Solid Waste Association of North America (“SWANA”) and three other organizations filed joint comments addressing questions posed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) in the following document: ...more
Authored by Jace Motley and co-authored by Walter Wright. The United States Senate passed S.3743 by unanimous consent which is titled: Recycling and Composting Accountability Act (RCAA)...more
The National Waste & Recycling Association (“NWRA”) submitted comments to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) addressing its proposed rule titled: Enhancement and Standardization of...more
The Arkansas General Assembly through Act 748 of 1991 established a tax credit program for facilities establishing or expanding processes that utilize recyclables. The recycling tax credit has been very beneficial to...more
For the past five months, Proskauer has acted as pro bono counsel to Instituto Recicleiros (Recicleiros), a Brazilian non-profit, in obtaining a grant from the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW). AEPW is an industry-founded...more
The National Waste & Recycling Association (“NWRA”) and Solid Waste Association of North America (“SWANA”) sent a May 10th joint letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the leadership of the following Congressional...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
On October 5, 2021, California’s Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 343 (SB 343) prohibiting the use of the chasing arrows symbol on non-recyclable products and packaging. Under the new law, a product or packaging that...more
On September 10, 2021, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a Compliance Advisory announcing updated deadlines and filing requirements for “business concerns” that are engaged in soil and fill...more
The United States Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) and LafargeHolcim (“Lafarge”) announced on July 22nd a cooperative agreement research project (“Project”) to study: . . . how construction and demolition (C&D) materials can...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