Two City Councilmembers are pushing legislation that would create composting and electronics waste drop-off sites to compensate for recycling reductions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the Community Organics and Recycling Empowerment (CORE) Act, the city would place three drop-off sites for organics and community recycling centers for hazardous or e-waste in each community district by June 2021. The 177 centers would be open 20 hours a week, at minimum.

Welcome new student member Hayden Hendersen!

Name: Hayden Hendersen

In what university/college are you currently enrolled, or if an AmeriCorps volunteer, where are you working/volunteering?

Portland State University

Tell us about your major or current career path.

The pandemic is changing the dialogue around reusable packaging, although not everyone agrees that this shift is necessarily a bad one.

Last April, Arlington County ditched its curbside glass recycling program as separating out and recycling glass had become overly expensive. Instead, Arlingtonians were asked to drop off their glass recycling at dedicated containers that were then taken to Fairfax County for reuse in construction, building, and — more recently — recycling into new glass products.

The Washington-based American Chemistry Council (ACC) and Sonoma, California-based More Recycling (MORE) have announced a new website designed “to accelerate end market development” for plastic scrap.

“The Recycling Market Development Platform will help connect stakeholders, accelerate the continued growth of plastics recycling and provide guidance on how to better support plastics’ circularity,” says the ACC and MORE in a news release. “This free, open-source digital platform was developed by MORE with ACC as a founding partner.”

At the request of the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, the U.S.

EPA is encouraging all Americans to recycle materials from their households and properly dispose of personal protective equipment (PPE), especially during the Coronavirus public health emergency. Recycling isn’t just good for the planet by reducing the amount of waste going to landfills and saving energy, it also supports American manufacturing.

On May 11, U.S.

In a letter sent to congressional leaders May 5, the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) calls upon legislators to prioritize critical infrastructure industries, including waste and recycling, in the next COVID-19 relief package that Congress will take up soon. The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) designated the waste collection industry as essential in March.