APR to hold 2017 Spring Meeting in California in June

Environmental regulators from CalRecycle, California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, will discuss possible future changes in the regulatory climate that could affect plastics recycling in the state at the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) Spring Meeting in Sacramento, California, June 6-8, 2017. 

Washington-based APR, a leading international trade association representing the plastics recycling industry, says it has worked over the past several years with CalRecycle to boost the supply and to enhance the quality and value of recycled plastics in that state and beyond.

“APR has worked closely with CalRecycle for many years now,” says Steve Alexander, APR executive officer. “We feel these presentations represent a unique opportunity for our industry to hear directly from the regulatory community on issues which could impact the direction of plastics recycling for years to come. As a bellwether state, California sets the tone for the entire country.”

Three separate CalRecycle departments will present to APR members. Topics include updates on existing programs, such as mandatory recycled content, degradable additives, product bans, the Plastics Market Development Program, the California Refund Value (CRV) and enforcement of California’s Rigid Plastic Container Packaging (RPPC) Program law. Potential future regulatory actions, such as extended producer responsibility (EPR), product bans, changes in the resin identification code and others, also will be addressed, the APR says.

“As we have seen in the past, regulations passed in California are often duplicated in other states,” says J. Scott Saunders, general manager of Troy, Alabama-based KW Plastics Recycling and APR board chair.  “In 2013, APR worked to pass degradable plastic labeling laws in North Carolina and Alabama shortly after the law was passed in California. Being informed of the California regulatory climate is essential to APR members.”  

Visit www.plasticsrecycling.org for additional information, including the upcoming meeting and agenda.