Recycling update

[Carol Armstrong]

I have been sending articles at times explaining why recycling is not an effective form of reducing plastic waste, including the limitations to chemical recycling.  See this article about the decline of recycling in the EU, and how the US recycling is also at risk for crashing as an industry.  I've been reading articles for at least a year explaining how recycled plastics cannot compete with virgin plastic and the complex economic factors leading to this.

I don't see recycling as an issue for corralling our advocacy, but as a reality that should spur on a focus on reducing plastic usage.  

Below is a list of bills in the PA General Assembly that was updated in September 2025.  You will see there is only one bill - PA HB 1547 - that focuses on reducing single use plastic bag use in retail businesses, and it has remained in the Env. & Nat. Resource Protection Committee as of its introduction in June.  

Perhaps we should be focusing our advocacy on our Republican representatives and senators, however, we may need to wait-and-see on the 2026 elections.  HB 550 would be a high priority on my list, because it would protect children from Bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor, from being used in food and beverage containers for infants.  There are many Dem and Rep sponsors; we could ask for a SC analysis of why this bill, introduced to the Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee in February of this session, is not moving forward.

Carol A.

[Corinne Dieterle]

I agree that HB 550 is a high priority and non partisan ie. Should be supported in house and senate and both parties

Thanks

Corinne

Www.corinnedieterle.com

Sent from my iPhone so please excuse any typos

On Nov 12, 2025, at 5:25 PM, Carol Armstrong <mne...@gmail.com> wrote:



<image.png>

Carol A.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sc-pa-chapter-zero-waste-team" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sc-pa-chapter-zero-w...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sc-pa-chapter-zero-waste-team/CAHKpgwdPYrWqjCkpyp%2BbTiP-Kt%2Br%3DhH5cqYWzjOV5of%3DiNHibg%40mail.gmail.com.