Posts in Waste
California Takes Aim At Plastics Industry With New Law
California Takes Aim At Plastics Industry With New Law

California is taking aim at the plastics industry in an effort to reduce pollution and tackle climate change. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the nation's toughest rules on plastics reduction into law last week, requiring all packaging in the state to be recyclable or compostable by 2032, cutting plastic packaging by 25 percent in 10 years, and requiring 65 percent of all single-use plastic packaging to be recycled in the same timeframe. Kelly McBee, Waste Program Coordinator at As You Sow, explains the potential impact this law could have on reducing plastic pollution across the country. Read More →

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Waste, Circular EconomyAs You Sowhomepage, Kelly McBee, plastic waste
Nearly half of Amazon shareholders agree: Time to cut back on plastic packaging
Nearly half of Amazon shareholders agree: Time to cut back on plastic packaging

Even since 2021, Conrad MacKerron, As You Sow’s senior vice president, said that he’s observed a significant jump in support for plastics-related shareholder resolutions. “We saw a real shift,” he told Grist, including a 14 percent spike in yes votes for this year’s Amazon resolution compared to a similar proposal filed last year. Read More →

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Waste, Circular EconomyAs You Sowhomepage, Conrad MacKerron, amazon, plastic waste
Coca-Cola to boost use of refillable bottles in an ‘industry-leading’ move against plastic waste
Coca-Cola to boost use of refillable bottles in an ‘industry-leading’ move against plastic waste

“We are pleased to see the company increase its commitment to reusable bottles as a proven method to reduce single-use plastic waste and promote a circular economy for packaging,” said Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president at As You Sow, which declared the move “industry-leading” among consumer conglomerates.

“We agree with the company that reusable packaging is among the most effective ways to reduce waste, use fewer resources and lower carbon emissions,” he said.

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Waste, Circular EconomyAs You Sowhomepage, Conrad MacKerron, plastic waste, Consumer Packaging
Fixing your iPhone is about to get a lot easier
Fixing your iPhone is about to get a lot easier

Kelly McBee, waste program coordinator for As You Sow,, said she expected other manufacturers to follow in Apple and Microsoft’s footsteps. “I absolutely think we will see more of a domino effect,” she said. “These are two of the greatest players in this space, and they have set a new bar for their competitors.” Read More →

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Waste, Circular EconomyAs You SowJoseph Winters, waste, right to repair, rights to repair, homepage, Circular Economy
Walmart to cut virgin plastics use
Walmart to cut virgin plastics use

“The company has set a significant initial goal to reduce the use of virgin plastic,” says Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president of As You Sow “We encourage other companies to step forward and make bolder, larger absolute cuts in overall plastic packaging. Reducing virgin plastic use is a good start, but cuts in total plastic use have a greater impact. We need hundreds of companies to make significant cuts in single-use plastic packaging if we are to make meaningful progress in reducing the flow of plastic wastes into oceans.” Read More →

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Waste, Circular EconomyAs You SowDeAnne Toto, plastic waste, plastics, plastic pollution, Walmart, walmart
Microsoft has promised to actively look into right to repair
Microsoft has promised to actively look into right to repair

As You Sow calls Microsoft’s commitment “an encouraging step,” but it’s worth keeping in perspective that it is just a step — what Microsoft has actually done today is said that it’ll have a study done and then use it to “guide” its “product design and plans for expanding device repair options,” according to a statement emailed to The Verge by a Microsoft spokesperson. Read More →

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Waste, Circular EconomyAs You Sowrights to repair, Mitchell Clark
Bowing to investors, Microsoft will make its devices easier to fix
Bowing to investors, Microsoft will make its devices easier to fix

Kelly McBee, the waste program coordinator at As You Sow started intensively exploring the issue of electronic waste several years ago. After learning that Microsoft was actively contributing to the crisis through its restrictive repair policies, she reached out to the company to have a “good faith conversation” in May. It didn’t go well. Read More →

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Waste, Circular EconomyAs You SowMaddie Stone, rights to repair, homepage
Microsoft Has Committed to Right to Repair
Microsoft Has Committed to Right to Repair

“This is an encouraging step by Microsoft to respond to the upswell of federal and state activity in the right to repair movement,” Kelly McBee, waste program coordinator at As You Sow, said in a press release. “Excitingly, this agreement will begin to allow consumers to repair their Microsoft devices outside the limited network of authorized repair shops.” Read More →

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Waste, Circular EconomyAs You SowMatthew Gault, rights to repair