United States
The head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee used a recent hearing to question EPA decision-making on regulating one type of advanced recycling technology.
Bill Wood: "I am tired of writing about [inflation], and you are undoubtedly tired of reading about it. ... I do not make the trends; I just identify and analyze them."
Auto industry executives and analysts have lamented wide swings in federal policies that come every four to eight years, arguing that more moderate changes to emissions standards and electric vehicle rules would be easier for the industry to navigate.
The EPA is adding styrene, vinyl chloride and other plastics-related chemicals to ongoing human health reviews, but some said the incoming Donald Trump administration could have a significant impact.
At a Rhode Island legislative hearing, a coalition of plastic recyclers and glass and metals packaging industries said conditions are primed for U.S. states to adopt combined bottle bill and extended producer responsibility policies.
A progress report from the U.S. Plastics Pact called for urgent action toward making plastics packaging greener, even as it noted some progress toward its goals.
Bill Wood: "Barring an unforeseen catastrophe, the U.S. economy will enter 2025 with solid momentum."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is calling for the creation of a national extended producer responsibility (EPR) framework for plastics, an increased emphasis on the environmental and health impacts for communities near plastics plants and a more thorough accounting of plastics that end up in waterways.
With potential tariffs, real worker shortages and rising geopolitical risks, forecasting the impact of a second Trump administration on reshoring in the United States is difficult, one group says.
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