Contact: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON (June 8, 2022) - Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $375 million in funding through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for new recycling, reuse and waste prevention programs. The Agency published three Requests for Information seeking input on the design of these new materials management initiatives, the first step in the process to implement the largest EPA investment in recycling in 30 years.

NEWMOA in conjunction with NERC are seeking feedback and comments on the Minimum Post-consumer Recycled Plastic Content Draft Model Requirements for the Sale of Trash and Carry-out Bags and Food, Beverage, and Household Product Containers. The public comment period for the Draft Model Legislation is open until February 11, 2022, midnight Eastern.

Waste and recycle companies could be in for sticker shock when it comes to their commercial insurance renewal this year and next.  3 Top Insurance Companies for our industry Liberty Mutual, EMC and Allianz are preparing to non-renew their waste haulers and recyclers.  If you are with one of these insurance companies and you are getting non-renewed, be advised. 

Why is this happening?

The U.S. recycling of plastic bottles, nonbottle rigids and film declined by 27 million pounds in 2019, or 0.5 percent, according to a new report released today by the Association of Plastic Recyclers, Washington. The report was sponsored by the APR, the Foundation for Plastic Recycling and the American Chemistry Council (ACC). According to the ACC, the decline points to systemic issues in U.S. recycling.

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Keep America Beautiful® has released data from its 2020 study on litter in America. The Keep America Beautiful 2020 National Litter Study provides a comprehensive understanding of the quantity, composition, and sources of litter along roadways, waterways, and in non-roadway areas across the United States. The organization’s 2020 study is a follow up to its landmark 2009 study, which builds on a history of science-based litter research started by Keep America Beautiful in 1969.

If food scraps from households are composted, should that count in the nation’s recycling rate? What if they’re fed to livestock or processed in anaerobic digesters?

Those are just a couple of the many questions the EPA is grappling with as it seeks to define exactly what “recycling rate” will mean. Last fall, the agency released a national recycling rate goal of 50% by 2030. Using current methodologies, the EPA estimates the U.S. has a 32% recycling rate.

To help retailers clarify the recyclability of their packaging, Trex Co., Winchester, Virginia, has introduced a free package labeling initiative as part of its NexTrex Retail Recycling Program.

International environment consultancy Eunomia, with support from 

A new report developed by the Solid Waste Association of North America’s (SWANA's) Applied Research Foundation (ARF) addresses the issue of increased contamination in curbside recycling programs in recent years and its effect on costs and safety at material recovery facilities (MRFs).