Maria Rachal

Washington, D.C., United States

Editor at Packaging Dive

Editor at Industry Dive

Editor at @industrydive

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Articles

US senators call on EPA to study reuse, refill

1 week ago | packagingdive.com | Maria Rachal

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. A pair of U.S. senators active in recycling policy introduced their latest bill this week, this time focused on reuse. U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced the Research for Environmental Uses and Sustainable Economies (REUSE) Act.
New York legislative session ends without Assembly vote on packaging EPR

1 week ago | packagingdive.com | Megan Quinn |Maria Rachal

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. The New York state legislature did not pass a contentious extended producer responsibility for packaging bill as its work wrapped up this week. The legislature’s formal session came to a close in the wee hours of Wednesday without the Assembly bringing the bill to a vote. This is the second time in as many years that the New York Senate passed the bill but the Assembly didn’t take a vote on it.
Sonoco hires CFO with manufacturing background

1 week ago | packagingdive.com | Maria Rachal

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Name: Paul JoachimczykPrevious title: CFO at American WoodmarkNew title: CFO at SonocoSonoco named a new chief financial officer on Tuesday. Paul Joachimczyk will assume the role June 30.
California delays compostable packaging crackdown before USDA vote

1 week ago | packagingdive.com | Maria Rachal

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. The Biodegradable Products Institute announced that CalRecycle has granted an extension pushing back an effective date under California law AB 1201 that would have restricted sales of compostable packaging in the state come 2026. The updated date is now June 30, 2027. AB 1201 stipulated that products labeled “compostable” must be allowed in compost as approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program.
How shareholders voted on plastics and packaging proposals in 2025

2 weeks ago | packagingdive.com | Maria Rachal

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Shareholder advocacy groups promoting different paths forward on corporate approaches to plastics and packaging are each touting symbolic successes as proxy season comes to a close. Groups such as the conservative National Legal and Policy Center and corporate social responsibility-focused As You Sow filed shareholder resolutions with major retailers and CPGs including Walmart, Mondelēz and The Home Depot.
The state packaging EPR club swaps stories as implementation advances

2 weeks ago | wastedive.com | Maria Rachal

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. State leaders who are advancing extended producer responsibility for packaging policies and programs have a growing number of counterparts to learn from and lean on. Numerous state lawmakers and regulators discussed implementation updates and how they’re communicating and collaborating across states during the 2025 U.S. Product Stewardship Forum in Wheeling, Illinois, last week.
The state packaging EPR club swaps stories as implementation advances

2 weeks ago | packagingdive.com | Maria Rachal

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. State leaders who are advancing extended producer responsibility for packaging policies and programs have a growing number of counterparts to learn from and lean on. Numerous state lawmakers and regulators discussed implementation updates and how they’re communicating and collaborating across states during the 2025 U.S. Product Stewardship Forum in Wheeling, Illinois, last week.
‘A wild ride’: California EPR regulatory revision process advances

2 weeks ago | wastedive.com | Maria Rachal

CalRecycle is reviewing a new set of comments on draft regulations for SB 54, California’s plastic source reduction and extended producer responsibility for packaging law. Comments were due to the agency June 3, a few weeks after the draft text was released. Packaging interest groups highlighted ongoing concerns around timelines and flexibility.
Washington’s recycled content fines on producers drop

2 weeks ago | packagingdive.com | Maria Rachal

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. The Washington Department of Ecology last week announced a new round of fines related to a 2021 law that currentlyrequires a minimum of 15% recycled content in plastic beverage containers. The law also covers recycled content in trash bags. The agency fined 23 plastic producers a combined $277,000, calculated based oneach company’s 2024 sales in the state and how far off the businesses were from required thresholds.
California advances bills to limit PFAS and other toxics in food packaging

2 weeks ago | packagingdive.com | Maria Rachal

This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. The California legislature passed the halfway mark of its session at the end of last week. Friday was a key deadline for each house to pass bills introduced in that house. This is how some of the more notable packaging-related bills fared:AB 1148This bill would spur regulations to block the manufacture, distribution or sale of food packaging with intentionally added bisphenols or orthophthalates come 2027.