The US Plastics Pact is a voluntary initiative based on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's global commitment. This pact involves cooperation between businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations to drive the transition towards a circular economy for plastics by reducing waste, improving recycling, and redesigning plastic packaging. Previously...

​In recent years, there has been intensified efforts to address the issue of plastic waste as governments across the world are attempting to close the loop. Through this push for effective waste management, chemical recycling has become a promising solution, offering a new approach to tackle the challenges posed by traditional plastic recycling methods. B...

Post-consumer recycled (PCR) content is a term that refers to materials that have been used and then recovered from products that have been disposed of by consumers, such as plastic bottles, aluminium cans, and paper. These materials are then recycled and used to make new products. This is a topic that has been gaining significant traction in the United S...

Waste Tracking is not a new concept – it is to monitor the movement of waste from one place to another, such as from household waste collectors to a recycling facility. It has been seen as a common mandatory requirement in lots of countries to keep the waste management process organized. Usually, waste type, waste quantity, drop-off details etc, are requi...

​EPR legislation, SB54 or the Plastic Producer Responsibility Act, was signed by Governor Newsom into law on 30th June 2022. The bill requires that businesses in California take responsibility to pay for the cost associated with the recovery of materials they sell in the state.SB54 passing has kept the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, a plastics fee ballo...

Due to changes in French law, there are now even stricter regulations regarding the labels on packaging in France. As a result, the main producer responsibility organisation, CITEO, has published labelling guidelines for their members, showing the mandatory labels to be used.France is introducing new sorting labels, and part of this change expands the use...

​This blog is part of a wider series from Lorax EPI, taking a deep dive into the current and future landscapes for packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations on a global scale.Currently, EPR legislation in Latin America is in its early stages. Some countries have passed EPR framework, allowing for more formal regulations to be introduced...

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme, launched the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment in October 2018. Signatories of the Commitment represent over one-fifth of all plastic packaging produced worldwide, and over 500 businesses, governments and industry organisations are united behind a common vision and ta...

In April 2018, the UK announced that it was establishing the world's first Plastics Pact as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy. The Pact is meant to bring together all key stakeholders to move towards a circular economy for plastics and plastic packaging in particular. In the last few weeks, two new national Pacts have been anno...

​Packaging, particularly plastic packaging, is often marked with a number of labels which the consumers may believe are linked to whether or not they can be recycled. Some are mandatory, others are optional, and some countries are changing the law around recycling labelling (see our earlier blog post​ on some of these changes).​ But do you know what som...

​The Lorax EPI blog has focused a lot in recent months on the steps being taken by governments around the world (e.g. in France, China, Turkey and South Korea) to reduce plastic and other packaging waste. However, manufacturers and NGOs are voluntarily making commitments of their own. We recently discussed the launch of the European Plastics Pact, but w...

​China has recently published details of its plans to significantly reduce plastic pollution within five years. ​ The new legislation will introduce bans on ultra-thin plastic bags and the production and sale of disposable PS foam tableware. Other products that will be affected include plastic straws, disposable...

​The Republic of Korea has published an amendment ​to its Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling Resources (link in Korean), in reaction to China's ban on imports of foreign waste which has resulted in local waste collection companies refusing to collect certain types of refuse. As a result of the amendment, companies operating in Korea must underta...

​Did you know that new regulations on​ WEEE and packaging will come into effect in Singapore from 2020? The Resource Sustainability Act 2019 will affect companies operating in Singapore who produce or import electronic and electrical equipment (including batteries), as well as those who supply goods in packaging.​Obligated companies will need to register...

The Environment Audit Committee (EAC) is investigating the social and environmental impact of disposable fast fashion and the wider clothing industry. The inquiry is looking into how clothes can be recycled, and the waste and pollution reduced. On 27th November, the EAC questioned leading high street, luxury and online fashion retailers as part of their i...

This week, 24 – 30th September, is the UK's 15th annual recycle week. This year's theme is: ‘Recycling. We do. Because it matters.' which aims to encourage the public to recycle more, by demonstrating the benefits of recycling items from all around the home. This year, plastic and recycling is very much in the spotlight, this is a great opportunity for bu...

At RWM this year we heard from Costa Coffee on how they are making sure that plastic lined take away coffee cups are being recycled. This is big news right now, consumers are more aware than ever of the environmental impacts of plastic and are turning against items such as single use take away cups. The Environment Audit Committee proposed a latte levy an...

A report by the National Audit Office examined the packaging recycling obligations in the UK in response to a request from the Environmental Audit Committee. The report was published on 23 July and below summarises the key findings. The UK's Environment Audit Committee asked the National Audit Office to review the system due to concerns that it could b...

On 12th July, Recycle BC published their revised plan as the second phase of their steward consultation of the program. The program is the only residential packaging and paper product (PPP) program in Canada that is entirely financed and operated by producers. In 2017, 175,000 tonnes of the programs members' material were recovered, achieving a recovery r...

The Environment and communications references committee has made many recommendations to the Australian government concerning the waste and recycling industry. Following evidence and comments from the industry, proposals have been submitted relating to the establishment of a circular economy; prioritisation of the waste hierarchy; the phasing out of petro...

Today, 18th April, the European Parliament voted to approve the package, a key part of the Circular Economy Action Plan, to update the current waste management rules. There was an overwhelming majority with 639 votes to 13 and 17 absentions. There are new, ambitious recycling and landfilling targets which will be used to increase the re-use of materials a...

On 18th December, the Estonian presidency reached a provisional agreement with representatives of the European Parliament on all four legislative proposals of the waste package. The revised circular economy package was presented by the European Commission on 3rd December 2015 with four waste legislative proposals of the waste package and an Action Plan in...

​The Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act requires manufacturers who sell covered electronic equipment​ (CEE) in New York to provide a convenient system for collecting, handling and recycling or reusing electronic waste. The law, signed in on 28th May 2010, prohibited consumers from throwing out e-waste in their normal rubbish bins. Manufac...