The Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides) were first released by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 1992 and have been revised several times since then. The Green Guides were designed to prevent marketers from misleading consumers by using certain environmental claims on their products. The guides are not laws, they do ...

​As anyone who has tried to design a packaging solution that can be placed in multiple markets will know from bitter experience, European labelling legislation is complex and occasionally contradictory. Does the EU's proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation offer some hope for the future?At the moment, there are no mandatory EU-wide labelling re...

​Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging has seen rapid growth in the United States over the last 2 years. Four states have already passed EPR legislation, with seventeen more states having proposed EPR bills during their 2022 legislative sessions. The perspective of EPR in the United States is centred on the financials of waste management, t...

​Common misconceptions around the terms 'compostable / biodegradable / recyclable'. Sometimes when packaging says its 'environmentally friendly' or 'green', it's not all it's cracked up to be! We've put together a quick list of things to be aware of when you buy packaging that claims to be 'compostable', 'biodegradable' or 'recyclable', and some different...

​After much speculation and anticipation, the EU has released its proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, a revision to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD). One of the key changes within the proposal is a change in legal standing, turning it into a 'Regulation' and not a 'Directive'. This means that if implemented, the new regula...

​This year has been groundbreaking for extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation in the United States. On June 3rd this year, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 22-1355 into law, joining California, Oregon and Maine as the first four US states to pass this form of legislation.Colorado's EPR law affects producers of packaging and cert...

​Many countries around the world have established extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws; yet to companies new to this sector, it can often be unclear what data is necessary upon complying with these regulations. Each country's EPR system varies, meaning that there are different data requirements and obligations for each, alongside many differing rep...

Waste Tracking is not a new concept – it is to monitor the movement of waste from one place to another, such as from household waste collectors to a recycling facility. It has been seen as a common mandatory requirement in lots of countries to keep the waste management process organized. Usually, waste type, waste quantity, drop-off details etc, are requi...

​The European Union's current battery legislation was introduced in 2006 with Directive 2006/66/EC. With the current directive being subject to differing interpretations and with battery technology having changed substantially since 2006, the EU is now working on implementing new regulations. First presented in 2020, the new battery regulations showcased ...

​With increasing numbers of countries starting to mandate the use of recycled material in plastic packaging (see our previous blog for more details), where will we get enough recycled plastic from?Mechanical: using heat and shear to convert waste material into recycled material of the same type;Physical (or dissolution): using solvents or other chemicals ...

​Across the globe we are starting to see more movement on mandatory requirements being established for post-consumer recycled content (PCR) to be included in packaging. With the likes of Sweden and a handful of the US states already having mandatory requirements in place, will it be long until we see more countries implement these requirements? With the...

​The French producer responsibility organization for packaging, CITEO, released specific and thorough labelling guidance for their members at the end of last year, to help producers follow the less-detailed requirements of the law. As explained in a previous Lorax EPI blog from last year, the French law requires producers to include component pictograms (...

Maine's extended producer responsibility (EPR) bill, otherwise known as LD 1541, was signed into law by Governor Janet Mills on 12 July 2021. It was the first of its kind in the United States and, when it comes into force in 2026, it will establish a European-style producer responsibility system in Maine. This will mean that producers of packaging materia...

​For companies that are new to the world of environmental compliance, it can be difficult to know where to start. A number of countries both in Europe and across the world require you to report the amount of packaging, waste electronics (WEEE) and batteries that you place on the market, as part of extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws. There will be...

​EPR legislation, SB54 or the Plastic Producer Responsibility Act, was signed by Governor Newsom into law on 30th June 2022. The bill requires that businesses in California take responsibility to pay for the cost associated with the recovery of materials they sell in the state.SB54 passing has kept the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, a plastics fee ballo...

​We are now fast approaching the upcoming changes in Germany for anyone who places packaging onto the German market. If you are a producer/retailer who places packaging onto the German market then you will need to make sure you are compliant by 1 July 2022. If you are a producer/retailer who places electronic equipment or batteries onto the German market...