Vancouver, B.C. based Ocean Legacy Foundation (OLF), a Canadian non-profit organization that develops and implements worldwide plastic pollution emergency response programs, with the goal to end ocean plastic pollution, has launched EPIC Academy,  a free online educational platform providing worldwide communities with essential knowledge regarding ocean plastic pollution, cleanup efforts, and solutions for creating plastic-free lands and waters. 

In response to the recently held "Break Free From Plastics" online press conference held by proponents  pushing for the new bill's introduction into U.S. Congress, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) says the bill would "undermine its own goals." 

In today's volatile markets for recycled plastics, where demand for extremely high purity is the norm, and many overseas markets are closed to all but the purest of recovered material, recyclers more than ever need to produce uncontaminated, homogeneously sized product, with more efficiency, and with higher average throughputs. 

According to Altshausen, Germany-based STADLER, the recycling equipment and turnkey systems provider, while plastic is an exceptional product, with numerous benefits that have made it indispensable to modern life, its extreme durability creates a difficult end-of-life issue which needs to be addressed with urgency. 

The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) announced its strong opposition to the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, introduced recently in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. 

At the end of January, the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) was launched with the ambitious goal of addressing plastics packaging waste and pollution with immediate action and by creating a true circular economy for all plastics. The global Plastics Pact, which involves commitments from ten nations, including the U.S. which signed on in 2020, is spearheaded by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation globally and in Canada by host organization The Natural Step Canada, a national charity dedicated to the acceleration of the circular economy.

UK-based Viridor has a network over 300 advanced recycling, energy recovery and landfill diversion facilities with 600 waste collection vehicles. Viridor and TOMRA Collection Solutions have formed a partnership which brings extensive recycling expertise and experience together in a bid for the design, build and operation of the Scottish deposit return scheme (DRS) counting and sorting centres. Deposit return schemes for beverage containers play a vital part in preventing littering and driving sustainable recycling outcomes in more than 40 jurisdictions worldwide. It is acknowledged as a highly effective way to secure high community participation and high return rates. The deposit, being reimbursed in full, offers a financial incentive for consumers to return used containers for recycling.

Mack Trucks' Mack LR Electric model, the OEM's first fully electric refuse vehicle, is eligible for multiple incentive packages in the U.S. and Canada, including $120,000 per vehicle through the California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP).

A new report developed by the Solid Waste Association of North America's (SWANA) Applied Research Foundation (ARF) addresses the issue of increased contamination in curbside recycling programs in recent years and its effect on costs and safety at material recovery facilities (MRFs).

Peterbilt Motors Company has introduced an electric vehicle operating cost calculator for prospective Peterbilt electric vehicle customers.

Lion Electric has collaborated with Geotab to power the LionBeat advanced electric vehicle (EV) telematics system.

J&M Sanitation, a family-owned business serving Kuna, Idaho, has deployed two BYD all-electric Class 8 collection trucks, the first such battery-electric, zero-emission vehicles in Idaho. The trucks are replacing two current diesel vehicles, resulting in cleaner air and a lower carbon footprint. J&M is the first company in Idaho to own and operate electric refuse trucks and now operates two of only ten in North America.