First, we’re coming up on a major milestone in the effort to stop plastic pollution before it starts: phase one of the Virginia EPS foam ban goes into effect next week! Also, news about heat waves, droughts, battery disposal, and a federal reuse and refill study.

Styrofoam containers will soon be banned in Virginia – Virginia Mercury, June 23, 2025

The first phase of Virginia’s foam ban goes into effect on July 1. Starting next week, all food establishments with more than 20 locations in the Commonwealth will have to find alternatives to expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam for food and beverage containers. EPS foam, commonly known as Styrofoam™, although inexpensive to buy and insulative, is extremely polluting, cannot be truly recycled, and does not ever break down in the environment. Instead, it breaks up into tiny pieces that, when not captured in the waste stream, blow or float down waterways and end up in our oceans. This statewide ban will include a second phase that starts in a year on July 1, 2026, when food establishments of all sizes will have to comply. Virginia joins several other states that have already enacted foam bans, including Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, DC.

Safety rules face stress test as Baltimore continues trash collection amid heat wave – The Baltimore Banner, June 24, 2025

This week’s heat wave is likely to be a more common occurrence as the planet warms. Meanwhile, recent heavy storms and a series of low pressure systems brought enough rain to finally overcome a long-standing drought in the Washington, DC region. Such extreme weather events make for difficult working conditions for outdoor workers, including those involved in waste management. Maryland recently adopted new extreme heat standards requiring employers to provide hourly breaks, shade, and water for outdoor workers. Trash and recycling haulers are having to adjust collection schedules to cooler times of day or consider delaying collection until the heat dissipates. 

Officials: Calverton recycling plant fire brought under control – News12 Long Island, June 4, 2025

Few of us think about what happens to our trash and recycling once it is picked up from our curb or dumpster. Recycling facilities such as the one in this news story face ongoing safety risks from items improperly disposed of. Although investigators have not yet determined the cause of this devastating blaze, many such fires are started because unsuspecting residents place items such as batteries in their recycling bin. In fact, batteries–especially rechargeable lithium-ion types–need to be disposed of separately, either at a dedicated battery recycling drop-off or a household hazardous waste disposal facility. Here in Fairfax County, we have a battery recycling program with collection boxes (for small amounts only) at Government Center and each District Supervisor office. Alternatively, batteries of all types must be taken to the I-66 or I-95 transfer stations and placed into the household hazardous waste collection. No batteries should ever be placed in recycling bins.

US senators call on EPA to study reuse, refill – Waste Dive, June 20, 2025

A new bill has been proposed in the Senate directing the EPA to conduct an assessment of reuse and refill systems across industries. This could include food and beverage products, food service, cleaning products, personal care products, transportation and shipping of goods, and education institutions. The report provided by the EPA would provide costs and benefits of reuse and refill initiatives in these sectors and would explore its possibilities in various types of communities. The proposed report would provide important information to Congress and to local and state governments on how to best employ these systems. Reuse and refill systems reduce waste by encouraging a circular use of packaging rather than the conventional “take-make-waste” linear life cycle of most products in use today.