laws

If thermoforms have a recycling rate of between 50 and 75 percent, they can be exempted from some requirements.

But to do that, they would have to climb much higher bars than they can now. Some studies have found that less than 10 percent of thermoformed containers are recycled.

The legislation would exempt medical device, drug and infant formula packaging.

Wales and the other UK nations have introduced new "polluter pays" rules, which will also make companies that sell packaged goods pay for their waste to be recycled.

Companies responsible for the most commonly-littered items will also be required to pay for the clean-up in Wales and Scotland.

The "landmark changes" are part of Welsh Government efforts to become a 'zero waste nation' by 2050, and will come into force in 2024.

Wales is ranked third in the world for domestic recycling, the Welsh Government said.

Taking forward the clarion call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to eliminate single-use plastics, the environment ministry has notified comprehensive guidelines on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) on plastic packaging, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Thursday.

Announcing the notification of the new Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022 through social media late Thursday night, Yadav said the guidelines provide a framework to strengthen the circular economy of plastic packaging waste and promote alternatives to plastic.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried has begun pursuing a new rule-making process to mandate a phase-out of plastic foam packaging by thousands of businesses regulated by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

A law signed by Gov. Janet Mills on July 27 will set up a government panel under the state Department of Environmental Regulation to collect per-package fees from beverage bottlers and other consumer goods marketers. These yet-to-be-determined fees will be distributed to Maine municipalities to allay the cost of landfilling, recycling and other disposal methods. The fees will be structured so that the harder a package is to recycle, the higher the cost. It’s been estimated that Maine pays $6 million a year to dispose of packaging.