“America’s Plastic Makers are helping lead the way toward ending plastic waste by investing, innovating, and driving policies that treat used plastics as a resource for making new products. One of the reasons plastics are so widely used in packaging is that they allow us to do more with less, which inherently reduces waste and carbon emissions, an increasingly important factor as we collectively work to address climate change.

Researchers have shown how disposable face masks could be recycled to make roads, in a circular economy solution to pandemic-generated waste. Their study shows that using the recycled face mask material to make just one kilometer of a two-lane road would use up about 3 million masks, preventing 93 tons of waste from going to landfill.

New York State Sen. Todd Kaminsky and Assemblyman Steve Englebright have introduced S.1185A, which would require packaging producers in the state to pay for recycling.

The bill states that by shifting the responsibility from local governments to corporate producers for the end-of-life disposal of packaging and paper products, recycling in the state will increase. Under the bill, producers would be required to finance the recycling of their paper products and packaging materials but also would be rewarded for enhancing the recyclability of the items.

Though recycling businesses often have large numbers of people of color at lower levels of the workforce, racial disparities are wide at the upper ranks.

Read full story at Resource Recycling

Recycling helps the planet and empowers our communities. Unfortunately, many people do not fully understand what happens to their recyclables after they are put in the bin. Even fewer understand the need to purchase recycled products to complete the cycle of recycling.

This new Buy Recycled initiative seeks to change that.  

Cleanup Program in Portland, OR Neighborhood Means WCleanup Program in PortlanThe Cigarette Waste Recycling Program, an initiative by the Pearl District Neighborhood Association, was started by Dave Mitchell. “The program is designed to collect as many cigarette butts as we can, using 65 receptacles that are attached to parking poles,” explained Mitchell. He put up cigarette disposal boxes around the neighborhood in 2019 where smokers can safely discard the waste.

Oregon lawmakers will consider legislation this year designed to make that process easier by requiring manufacturers to make repair tools, parts and instructions readily available. on “fair and reasonable terms.” House Bill 2698 is among two-dozen similar bills before state legislatures across the country this year.

Read full article at The Oregonian

The Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners recently released a report detailing ways forward for durable reusable packaging systems that reduce the need for single-use packaging. In the report, Bringing Reusable Packaging Systems to Life, Closed Loop Partners draw on insights from multiple reusable cup pilots conducted in partnership with the NextGen Consortium and IDEO, outlining key lessons learned and sharing a blueprint and open-source resource to encourage collaboration and the growth of reuse models.