The coronavirus pandemic has created a wave of complications for the recycled plastics industry and hampered short-term supply of plastic waste, with several US areas suspending recycling programs, and concerns about transmission creating problems for waste processors.
Ten states in the US currently have “bottle bills”, or mandatory container buyback programs. Now, eight of these ten states – Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, New York, and Vermont – have temporarily halted enforcements that require retailers to participate in these container redemption programs. This means that residents in these states are no longer able to redeem their used beverage bottles for deposit value.
