News

In a December 2016 public meeting, CalRecycle rejected the carpet industry's stewardship plan and is pursuing enforcement actions. Resource Recycling covered the challenges in current carpet recycling markets and the industry's failure to meeting recycling goals.

Passing a strong extended producer responsibility (EPR) law – whether at the state or local level – starts with building multi-stakeholder support, including from industry, state and local governments, organizations, and legislators. In nearly 20 states across the country, product stewardship councils, or groups of local government representatives working to reduce the environmental and public health impacts of consumer products, are a key conduit to building critical local support needed to pass effective, strong EPR bills across a wide variety of product categories.

A report by a British think tank urged the introduction of extended producer responsibility (EPR) as the key to boosting recycling in England. Materials Recycling World wrote about the report that "producers should take responsibility for most of the cost of collections because they have the greatest ability to influence product design," suggesting that "producers that desi

In an article in the Vancouver Sun, researchers at the University of British Columbia recovered copper, silver, and rare earth metals from LED (light emitting diode) lights recycled "using techniques like the ones employed by the mining industry" to finely grind them up.

As of January 2017, King County residents now have a safe and convenient way to dispose of unwanted medicines: participating pharmacies, clinics, hospitals and law enforcement offices will accept most prescription and over-the-counter medicines for disposal. The Secure Medicine Return program is ongoing and funded by the drug companies that sell medicines into King County.

Find a nearby recycling location for electronics and mercury-containing (fluorescent) lights, listed by Washington state legislative district (LD).

The Washington State Recycling Association (WSRA) held a WRED event in Vancouver, WA on Dec. 1, 2016 to explore ways to increase paint recycling in Washington State.

The LightRecycle Washington product stewardship program for mercury-containing lights recycled 899,871 mercury-containing lights between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2016, weighing 427,878 pounds!