Podcast - Hot Topics in Nuclear Waste
On July 1, the California Department of Resources, Recycling, and Recovery (CalRecycle), a California agency tasked with implementing the state’s sustainability laws, released its latest draft of regulations for California...more
The Trump administration’s plan to repeal a rule prohibiting logging and road construction in undeveloped parts of national forests would remove protection from more than 4 million acres of forestland within California’s...more
On June 4, 2025, the American Biogas Council, a national trade association representing the U.S. biogas industry, released new data analyzing each state’s untapped potential to generate renewable energy by diverting organic...more
Health care facilities' compliance with medical and hazardous waste disposal laws comes under scrutiny in recent—and costly—investigations in California. ...more
California moved closer to implementing its ambitious extended producer responsibility (EPR) law when the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) recently released revised draft regulations under Senate...more
Key Takeaways - - Effective January 1, 2026, products must meet far more stringent requirements to be labeled as "compostable" or "home compostable." - Most packaging currently labeled as compostable is not compliant with...more
California recycling claims restrictions - On April 4, 2025, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) published its Final Findings of the SB 343 Material Characterization Study. The report...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Owens-Brockway Glass Container Inc. (“OB”) entered into an April 8th Consent Agreement (“CA”) addressing alleged violations of the Resource Conservation and...more
In what should be welcome news to industry and others who generate hazardous waste in California (including contaminated soil), the California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through the Department of Toxic Substances...more
CalRecycle, the agency overseeing California’s recycling and waste management programs, reports that Californians dispose of 1.2 million tons of textiles annually, accounting for 3% of landfilling. California Senate Bill (SB)...more
What Happened - On Monday, October 14, 2024, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecyle) opened a public comment period on changes to the previously proposed regulations implementing the...more
Producers who may qualify for an exemption under California’s extended producer responsibility (“EPR”) packaging law (“SB 54” or the “Act”) should consider reviewing CalRecycle’s recently released Proposed Draft Regulation...more
Tomorrow, February 1, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) will host a hybrid question and answer session to discuss the draft rulemaking on their extended producer responsibility (EPR)...more
A California appellate panel has handed environmental and community groups a legal victory in their decades-long dispute with the Port of Los Angeles over its failure to enforce air pollution controls at China Shipping's...more
Within the last month, California has made significant strides toward its bid to create a circular economy for certain packaging and food service ware materials. On January 8, 2024, California's Department of Resources...more
On 28 December 2023, CalRecycle published the results of the preliminary Material Characterization Study required under SB 343, codified as Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 42355.51. The preliminary findings identify the types of...more
A group of 18 California children – ranging in ages from 8 to 17 – has filed a new constitutional climate case in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...more
Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 54 on June 30, 2022, creating an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program and imposing some related prohibitions for certain single-use packaging and plastic single-use food service ware...more
It is probably fair to say that SB 54 – California’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) law imposing source reduction and recycling requirements on single use packaging and plastic food service ware – is not only the...more
On March 29, 2023, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) held a workshop on Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) and forthcoming regulations under the Plastic Pollution Prevention...more
On February 28, CalRecycle held an informational workshop for SB 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. The workshop focused on the Advisory Board and Needs Assessment components of...more
California’s SB 54, or the Plastic Producer Responsibility Act, represents a substantial expansion of the increasingly popular form of legislation focused on extended producer responsibility (EPR) for plastic recycling. While...more
Late last year, California enacted significant new restrictions on products and packaging bearing recyclability claims, including the chasing-arrows symbol commonly used to connote that packaging is recyclable. In order to...more
By now, readers likely are familiar with the series of “retail hazardous waste” enforcement actions being brought across the state of California. For several years, various retailers have been targeted for coordinated,...more
Companies should consider taking proactive measures to avoid being blindsided by future microplastic-related laws. California’s adoption of the Statewide Microplastics Strategy is the first attempt by a U.S. state to...more