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A Word About Recycling with Ollie Maier

Sunday, July 5, 2020

Last week we spoke about how the Federal Government is trying to update laws to help encourage and make it easier to recycle plus make it more profitable for the companies involved in it. We ended with:

And as a senator ex plained, “There is a consensus that the federal government can play a greater role in facilitating recycling but the details of what that role should be are subject, as you know, to debate.” (That’s how our government works.)

We then commented that this week, we would cover a little of what some states are doing/considering in laws to do with recycling after the time-out for the virus. It is also taken from the same Resource Recycling newsletter. So here goes.

Starting with Colorado, we find they recently approved a recycling market support bill. This bill “… requires the state’s environmental agency to take steps in planning for a recycling end-market development center.”

“It also directs the agency to ‘create policy and legislative recommendations that will help product manufacturers play a larger role in designing, managing and financing programs for endof-life management of their products and packaging.’”

Next to Michigan where lawmakers were provided information on a group of six new bills. These bills “… would modify the state’s solid waste system by amending regulations and adding definitions, in part to incorporate recycling and other materials recovery facilities into state regulations.”

The bills are also designed to modernize some parts of the state’s solid waste system by also focusing on materials management instead of just solid waste management. Officials are hoping the changes will help the state meet its goal of having at least a 45% recycling rate,

As a spokesperson commented, “We need policy to really turn our liabilities into assets, and we are poised to make that shift right now,” He added, “We have funding in hand. The vast majority of stakeholders support these updated policies. There’s no better time than now.” (314)

Now to New Jersey. There, a recycled-content requirement for many types of packaging was initiated. Some of these requirements would be: 1) plastic beverage containers would need to include 10% recycled plastic by 2022, 25% by 2026 and 50% by 2031; 2) Glass containers would be required to include 35% recycled content by 2022; 3) Paper bags would be mandated to have 40% recycled content by 2022.

Additionally, trash bags would need to have a 10% recycled-content requirement. Also, although not having to do with recycled content, the bill would ban the sale of polystyrene packing peanuts.

In Florida, a new bill contains what we thought was an interesting requirement on contaminated materials. The article stated, “Of particular note, the bill states that private haulers and MRFs are “not required to collect or transport contaminated recyclable material’ from a community if the material is contaminated beyond what is allowed in the contract.”

Lastly, to California. (Sorry, the article didn’t cover Texas.) In the Golden State, part of the update of the current policy is a focus on market development. There, the group working on the update is challenged with “… creating policy recommendations to help the state meet market development, waste reduction and emission reduction goals.”

Till next week, do have a great one... and we hope your 4th was Happy, Safe, and Healthy (and you recycled all those beverage cans and bottles).

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666