Persistent Herbicides – Heating Up

USCC is asking all members in the coming week to take part in our campaign to flood the U.S. EPA with requests to severely restrict Clopyralid, one of several persistent herbicides that have dogged our industry for more than a decade. They were designed by pesticide companies to kill broadleaf weeds, but live on through the compost process, affecting plants of compost customers who use affected compost. The U.S. EPA’s process for delisting these pesticides (or modifying their allowed use) has been going on since 2014 when US EPA opened the comment period. We will need your help! (Watch for an email with the information on Monday.)

New Jersey Recycled Content Bill

USCC is recommending that Sen. Bob Smith’s bill, SB2515 requiring recycled content in plastic containers and bags exempt compostable products with ASTM D-6400 or BPI certification since it is difficult to recycle PLA resins found in most of the products.

Michigan Solid Waste Definitions

A suite of bills is in hearings in Michigan this week that would better define compost facility sizes, feedstocks and provide the state with more financial assurance tools for “bad actors” whose compost facilities must be closed. USCC is signing onto a letter of the Pro Recycling Business Alliance supporting the bills.

To see more of the business being considered by the Legislative and Environmental Affairs Committee, visit our Advocacy Alerts and Announcements page.