Materials stewardship is spreading fast — three states enacted battery EPR laws in just the first two weeks of April alone. Meanwhile, SWANA and PSI have formalized a partnership to tackle the emerging materials that keep operators up at night. Finally, the first nationwide data showing a real decline in food waste is turning heads. Here’s what’s moving this week.
In the news
This Week in Waste
Battery EPR Wave: Wisconsin, Kentucky & Oregon All Sign in April
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed AB 713 on April 2, creating a stewardship program covering rechargeable, non-rechargeable, and medium-format lithium-ion batteries. Kentucky followed with a voluntary program on April 10, and Oregon’s HB 4144 banned disposal of removable lithium-ion batteries in mixed municipal solid waste. Battery EPR is now among the fastest-moving legislative trends in the country — more than 61 million Americans are expected to live in states with mandatory household battery recycling requirements by 2027, up from fewer than one million in 2024.
Sources: Waste Dive ·
Resource Recycling ·
LightNOW
ReFED: U.S. Food Waste Declined for First Time Since COVID Dip
ReFED’s 2026 U.S. Food Waste Report, released April 7, shows total surplus food declined 2.2% in 2024 to approximately 70 million tons — driven by a nearly 950,000-ton drop in residential food waste. Funding for food waste solutions grew 6% to $794 million in 2025, and the U.S. Food Waste Pact doubled its signatories to 30. Rising food prices, business prevention strategies, and expanding policy support are cited as converging drivers of the progress.
Sources: ReFED ·
Waste Dive
SWANA & PSI Formalize Partnership on Emerging Problem Materials
SWANA and the Product Stewardship Institute have formalized a partnership focused on circular economy initiatives and materials that challenge recycling systems — specifically lithium-ion battery safety, vape disposal, and compressed gas cylinder management. The collaboration creates cross-organization technical workgroups, co-hosted webinars, and coordinated advocacy, recognizing that these waste streams require both industry and policy coordination to manage effectively.
Source: Resource Recycling
Foundational Knowledge
The More You Know
EPR: What Is It? What Is It Good For?
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) shifts the cost and operational burden of end-of-life product management from governments and taxpayers to the manufacturers who put products into the market. In a typical EPR program, producers must join a stewardship organization, fund collection infrastructure, and meet recycling or reuse targets. Battery EPR programs specifically aim to get hazardous lithium-ion cells out of the trash stream — where they cause fires — and into dedicated recovery pathways. If your jurisdiction is considering or just enacted an EPR law, understanding the model is the first step to preparing your facility.
From the SWEEP Blogs
Blog
SWEEP: A Common Framework for Sustainable Materials Management
As EPR, food waste reduction, and problematic materials diversion all accelerate simultaneously, the case for a shared performance framework has never been stronger. This piece explains why benchmarks like the SWEEP Standard are essential in a fragmented industry — and how they help organizations stay ahead of a rapidly shifting regulatory landscape.
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The SWEEP+ Standard Is Now Published
The SWEEP+ Standard is the world’s only comprehensive, measurable framework covering the full waste system — from collection and source reduction to disposal. Download it now and see how your organization measures up.