Illinois Recycling Foundation's November newsletter highlights sustainability wins across the state.

🌱 When Recycling Champions Gathered in Peoria, something different happened. Instead of the usual conference silos, the Illinois Counties Solid Waste Management Association (ILCSWMA), Illinois Recycling Foundation (IRF), and SWANA Land of Lincoln Chapter joined forces for the 2025 Illinois Circularity Conference presented by Recycle Coach—and the results were electric. County waste managers debated EPR policy with state legislators. AI researchers showed composting operators how algorithms could revolutionize circular economy startups. And everyone tackled the hard questions: PFAS contamination, lithium battery fires, and whether Illinois is ready for packaging Extended Producer Responsibility. The highlight? Watching Marta (Touloumes) Keane receive a standing ovation for 37 years of pioneering work in recycling and product stewardship. From running one of the nation's busiest HHW sites to championing Illinois' groundbreaking battery stewardship law, Keane embodies what sustained commitment to circularity looks like. Senator David Koehler challenged attendees: "Don't wait for perfect legislation. Come to Springfield and help us write better laws." And IEPA Director James Jennings reminded everyone: "We can't protect Illinois without you." This wasn't just another conference—it was Illinois' sustainability community coming together to say: we're ready for something better than the status quo, and we're going to build it together. Read the full story of collaboration, innovation, and the people making circular economy real in Illinois ⬇️https://lnkd.in/gxMPTpuY ⬇️https://lnkd.in/g6P2sY2Y #CircularEconomy #Recycling #Illinois #Sustainability #EPR #WasteManagement #ProductStewardship

Michigan’s iconic “bottle bill” has made the state a recycling leader for nearly fifty years, but return rates have recently dropped to an all-time low. ♻️ A new report from the UM-Center for Sustainable Systems explores how Michigan can modernize its deposit system and rebuild its recycling momentum.

Kane County is partnering with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (MMC) and neighboring counties on “Feed the Cart," the largest recycling education and improvement campaign in Illinois history. The three-year initiative, funded through a $2 million U.S. EPA Recycling Education and Outreach grant, the largest awarded to Illinois in more than 30 years, aims to increase recycling rates by 15% and reduce contamination in the recycling stream. The campaign covers six of the state's most populous counties: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will, representing nearly eight million residents. While recycling is already well established in these communities, regional diversion rates have stalled at around 30–35%, short of the EPA's national goal of 50% by 2030. In Kane County, “Feed the Cart" will promote consistent recycling education, encourage residents to recycle more effectively, and emphasize the importance of reducing contamination, such as keeping non-recyclables out of bins, to improve the quality and value of recyclable materials. The campaign's goals are to: Increase participation in recycling programs. Improve the quality of materials placed into recycling carts. Highlight the environmental and economic benefits of recycling. Encourage residents and businesses to purchase products made from recycled materials. The impact of “Feed the Cart" will be measured over three years, with results expected in 2027. #whykane #recycling #feedthecart https://lnkd.in/gD2vgH-y

The next generation of Aussies are thinking big and planting bold ideas, with Coles Group and Planet Ark awarding 20 schools across the country a share in $100,000 to turn their sustainability projects into a reality this National Recycling Week.   Saltwater P-9 College in Melbourne’s western suburb of Point Cook will use its $5,000 grant to launch a student-led initiative to create eco-bricks – reusable building materials developed from plastic waste.   Coles Chief Commercial and Sustainability Officer Anna Croft said the students’ bright ideas prove a more sustainable future begins in the classroom.   “The creativity and drive of this year’s competition entrants is inspiring. Our young Australians are not only learning about sustainability but finding clever, practical ways to care for their local environments,” she said.   Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week runs until 16 November and Coles is proud to be the major sponsor for a fourth consecutive year.   #NationalRecyclingWeek   Anna Croft | Debra Galle | Brooke Donnelly | Caitlyn Brooksbank | Tillie Priestley | Iman Osman | Scott Nicholson | Rebecca Gilling | Adam Culley | Alex Adda | Hailey Durham

Over 220,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in Australian landfills each year. We're delighted to be part of this pilot to develop and test new methods for collecting, sorting, processing, and recycling unwanted clothing to reduce landfill waste being delivered by SCRgroup Australia. Our WRAP Asia Pacific team are providing global insights and expertise across textiles collection, sorting, and recycling from our recent work, including our Automatic-sorting for circularity in textiles project in the UK: https://bit.ly/4ofWQHa This pilot is one of seven new projects rolling out across Australia as part of the Seamless Circular Clothing Textiles Fund. It's hoped these initiatives will provide crucial insights for developing a national clothing stewardship scheme. RMIT University Reground #TransformTextiles #WRAPTextiles WRAP Textiles #CircularLiving #WRAPAPAC #WRAPAsiaPacific Stephanie Downes Melanie Uzzell

🔥 It's Trailblazing Tuesday 🔥 Durango School District is leading the way with two sustainability programs that prove small steps can make a big impact. 🥛 Bulk Milk Program – Say goodbye to single-use milk cartons! Students are now filling reusable cups from self-serve dispensers — cutting waste and teaching everyday stewardship. ♻️ Film Plastic Recycling Program – Those tricky plastics (think produce bags and bubble mailers) are being collected in our schools and transformed into many in-demand products including asphalt additive for stronger Colorado roads. (Ripple effect: Reduced need for roadwork = fewer traffic delays = you save time, gas money, and carbon emissions!) 💪 From the cafeteria to the classroom, our students are learning how innovation and care for the planet go hand-in-hand. 🌎 Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/gzXMQHCg #TrailblazingTuesdayDSD #WeDreamInGreen

At Brightsite, we believe that a circular chemical industry must not only recycle materials, but also safeguard our water systems. Our new growth area Water-safe Plastic Recycling explores how washing, pre-treatment and recycling processes can be redesigned to minimise microplastics and harmful substances in wastewater, ensuring that recycled plastics are sustainable in every sense. 🤝 Together with our partners Circle Infra Partners, TNO, Ebert HERA B.V., Brightlands Circular Space and Brightlands Chemelot Campus, we’re developing practical frameworks to make this vision reality. “By integrating water safety into the design phase, we can make circular plastics truly safe-by-design.” Read more 👇 https://bit.ly/3WRuXJD Lianne Van Oord

"The research reveals a promising foundation for expanding film and flexible packaging recycling through Store Drop-off programs. There is clear evidence that these programs can be effective when properly communicated. The study demonstrates that targeted awareness efforts — particularly through improved bin signage and clear packaging labels like How2Recycle — have the potential to support behavioral change." -Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) https://lnkd.in/gwQUVqNh

Proud to share a significant sustainability milestone in North Texas! WM has officially opened our new $62 million Fort Worth Recycling Facility — a state-of-the-art operation designed to drive circularity and expand access to recycling across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. With the capacity to process up to 144K tons of material annually, this investment is part of WM’s broader commitment to building a more sustainable future, with over $1.4 billion planned across 39 recycling facilities in North America by 2026. I’m incredibly proud of our team and the role we’re playing in helping communities recycle more, recycle better, and move closer to a circular economy. #Sustainability #WeAreWM #CircularEconomy #FortWorth #WM

♻️ Grateful to Resource Recycling, Inc. for the opportunity to share this perspective and to the Container Recycling Institute for their invaluable data insights. While seven states pilot EPR for packaging programs, recycling refunds are a proven, bipartisan solution to create jobs, strengthen communities, cut pollution, and fuel a more circular economy. 🔄 As Heidi Sanborn, MPA notes in this month's issue, deposit return systems (DRS): ✅ Deliver 11–38x more jobs than curbside programs alone ✅ Keep aluminum, glass, and PET circulating in the U.S. economy ✅ Cut litter by up to 50%, saving communities time and money ✅ Provide a bipartisan, common-sense path toward circularity Texas’ recent progress shows that momentum is building — and with strong public, private, and nonprofit collaboration, the U.S. can scale what already works. Read the full article here: Deposit Return Systems Deliver What America Needs: Jobs, Cleaner Water, and Resilient Supply Chains → https://lnkd.in/ekRvYKxJ #CircularEconomy #RecyclingRefunds #DepositReturnSystems #BottleBill #ReMadeInAmerica #Recycling #RecyclingMatters