Forest Sector Welcomes Natural Resource Canada’s Clean Growth Program

Recycling facilities in North Carolina and Texas will use Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI)’s aluminum beverage can capture grants to install equipment that will result in 540 tons, more than 36 million aluminum beverage cans, per year being captured that were previously missorted. These recycling facilities are the initial recipients of a grant program made possible with the generous support of can manufacturers Ardagh Group and Crown Holdings. The Recycling Partnership helped select the grantees and will provide technical assistance to ensure successful implementation. The grant program builds off the CMI research released last year that found it is critical to capture all used beverage cans (UBC) flowing through material recovery facilities (MRF), which play the critical role in the U.S. recycling system of sorting recyclables. This research concluded that most MRFs in the United States would not be able to operate without the revenue from UBCs considering they are consistently the most valuable beverage package material in the recycling stream.

“EPA’s proposed rule recognizes Washington’s stringent, but attainable standards to protect human health for all communities, and we will work to see that this dynamic is ultimately maintained,” said Harman. “Washington has a long record of scientifically-based environmental stewardship. The 2016 rule proposed for withdrawal imposed federally-mandated, unachievable standards that provide no measurable human health improvement.” BACKGROUND: AF&PA has long advocated that the Obama Administration’s federal rule wrongfully over-rode Washington’s comprehensive approach to high water quality standards. In February of 2017, AF&PA joined with eight other organization in filing a joint petition with EPA, arguing that the Washington state standards provided a more attainable, yet protective approach to water quality. Click Read More below for additional information.

Paper or plastic? It’s a debate that has raged for years about a variety of goods, including grocery bags, food packaging materials, lollipop sticks, personal care items and other single-use products. The latest item to make headlines is the humble straw. Plastic drinking straws are ubiquitous, but they may soon take a backseat to paper drinking straws. A series of highly publicized California rulings has sparked a growing movement to ban plastic drinking straws in the United States, with proponents citing environmental concerns. One of the newest laws on the California books makes it illegal for restaurant servers to give guests plastic straws unless asked. Several California cities have followed suit by enacting local ordinances that ban the distribution or sale of plastic drinking straws in some food-service establishments. And it’s not just in California. Several major U.S. cities are putting laws in place to discourage the use of plastic drinking straws and stirrers. Amidst the growing debate, public pressure has also driven businesses — from Starbucks and Bon Appétit to SeaWorld and Disney — to announce their own plans to eliminate plastic drinking straws. Click read more below for additional detail.