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PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Executive Director, executive.director@nerc.org
Date: May 12, 2017

National Compendium of State Disposal Bans & Mandatory Recycling Laws Released

The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) has updated its compendium of state disposal bans and mandatory recycling laws around the country.  This unique resource provides state-specific information, including contact information, which materials are banned for disposal and to whom the ban applies, as well as what has to be recycled and by whom.  The document is available for free download: Disposal Bans and Mandatory Recycling in the United States

Interestingly, every state but one, Montana, has at least “something” banned from disposal in its solid waste facilities—at a minimum lead acid batteries, as is the case in Arizona and Wyoming.  And, twenty-two states have at least one mandatory recycling requirement. 

NERC Map of Recycling Laws

The most commonly banned materials are presented in the following chart.
Disposal ban chart

Among the 22 jurisdictions that have mandatory recycling requirements, the following materials are those most frequently impacted.
Mandatory Recycling Chart

In addition, there are bottle bill laws in 10 states and Guam: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont.