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Exclusive-California commission claims retailers violating plastic bag law

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Big retailers are breaking California law and misleading consumers by selling plastic shopping bags bearing language and symbols that falsely suggest the bags can be recycled, a state-appointed commission alleged this month.

The group has asked California to force retailers to strip these bags of the ubiquitous “chasing arrows” logo and the words “recycle” and “recyclable,” Reuters has learned. If successful, that move could make the sacks ineligible for sale at checkout counters throughout America’s most populous state. The commission also is taking aim at padded envelopes and packaging materials used for home delivery, and plastic films on some grocery items.

In a Dec. 3 letter viewed by Reuters, the California Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling asked the California attorney general and regulator CalRecycle to crack down on what it claims is illegal labeling that’s undermining the state’s efforts to tackle plastic pollution.

Fooled by recycling symbols, Californians mistakenly are tossing this material into curbside collection programs that don’t accept it, the commission said. That’s driving up costs for recycling companies to fish the stuff out of the waste stream and fix equipment jammed by these soft plastics.

The complaint did not single out any retailers by name. The California Grocers Association (CGA) said it does not believe current recycling labels on reusable bags are misleading. CGA spokesperson Nate Rose said the bags meet the law’s certification guidelines – including requirements that they be made of a minimum of 40% post-consumer recycled material and be durable enough to be used 125 times.

In an interview with Reuters, Heidi Sanborn, chair of the recycling commission, said it’s not surprising that Californians are confused.

“It is a Wild West of recycling labeling in California and there is no sheriff in town,” said Sanborn, founding director of the National Stewardship Action Council, which works to cut product waste. The 16-member commission is comprised of waste industry executives, environmental advocates and public officials. It is tasked with advising CalRecycle and providing recommendations for improving the state’s recycling system.

The commission’s complaint comes as California grapples with what critics say has become a loophole in the state’s 2017 ban on single-use shopping bags. That legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, came amid fierce opposition from the plastics industry, which spent nearly $6 million in a failed bid to stop it, according to state lobbying records.

A compromise provision in the measure allowed retailers to sell reusable plastic bags for a minimum of 10 cents each. The legislation also states the bags must be capable of being recycled in California.

It’s that provision that has the recycling commission clamoring for enforcement by the state. In practice, converting soft plastics such a shopping bags and packaging films into new products is so cost-prohibitive that recyclers say no market exists for this material. Thus, these items are not widely accepted in curbside recycling programs across California. For that reason, the commission says, they should not be labeled “recyclable.”

Similarly, the commission alleges that some retailers, amid rising public pressure to reduce waste, are deceiving consumers with language stating that their bags and plastic films can be returned to participating stores for recycling.

Four commission members told Reuters that retailers have not shown evidence that these programs are, in fact, recycling this material. In-store recycling bins, they said, tend to attract a jumble of trash that ends up in landfills.

Among retailers touting bag-return programs is CVS Pharmacy, the drug store unit of Rhode Island-based CVS Health Corp. The chain sells reusable plastic sacks bearing the chasing arrows logo and fine print instructing consumers to “recycle this bag in participating stores.”

CVS Health spokesperson Eva Pereira did not respond to questions about how many of the company’s more than 1,100 California stores participate. She said CVS hires outside firms to handle its store take-back recycling initiatives “and expects that those partners’ processes are compliant with applicable law.” One of the company’s main recycling solutions vendors, g2 revolution, did not respond to requests for comment.

Amazon.com Inc, too, promotes a plastics take-back program in California. Spokesperson Saige Kolpack said the Seattle-based retailer is “making rapid progress” in reducing its use of single-use plastic packaging. When asked by Reuters to provide evidence that waste returned through its California initiative is being recycled, she said: “We don’t have anything to share for that question.”

Walmart spokesperson Lauren Willis said the bags the retail giant sells in California are designed to meet the requirements of the state’s plastic bag law and “are 100% recyclable through our in-store collection program along with other polyethylene film items that aren’t typically curbside recyclable.” She did not respond to requests to provide documentation on how materials collected this way are recycled or how many of its California locations participate. Walmart has 311 retail units in California, including supercenters, neighborhood markets and Sam’s Club warehouse stores.

Lance Klug, a spokesperson for CalRecycle, said the regulator supports ending “deceptive” labeling on plastic bags and packaging films. But he said enforcement lies with local district attorneys and California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Bonta’s office said it is committed to enforcing state environmental laws, but said it could not comment on a “potential or ongoing investigation.”

If the state follows the advice of the commission, it could effectively end the sale of these bags and films in California, or force retailers to make them truly recyclable, said commission member Jan Dell, founder of environmental group The Last Beach Cleanup.

“This will destroy their ability to claim that their products are recyclable,” she said.

RECYCLING MENACE

Globally, less than 10% of all the plastic ever produced has been recycled, according to the United Nations, because it’s cheaper to bury or burn it.

This waste is clogging landfills, despoiling the oceans and harming wildlife. Governments worldwide have responded with polluter-pays laws and bans on single-use plastic such as drinking straws and shopping bags.

In California, the often thicker plastic bags now sold by retailers are supposed to be used dozens of times. In reality, environmentalists say, many consumers quickly toss them in the garbage. Worse yet, they said, those that end up in recycling bins are complicating the work of recycling firms.

Recyclers have to devote time and labor plucking bags out of the waste stream lest they damage their sorting machinery, said Pete Keller, vice president at Republic Services Inc, one of the largest U.S. waste managers. Errant bags frequently wrap around the rotating discs that separate waste by size and weight, he said, forcing recyclers to shut the equipment down.

Keller said he supports stripping recycling language from these bags as part of a wider education effort to get Californians to stop throwing them into their curbside bins.

The plastic industry said that would be a mistake as more would end up as garbage. Some labels direct consumers to a website called How2Recycle, which gives instructions for recycling through store programs, according to Zachary Taylor, director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance. The alliance is part of the Plastics Industry Association lobbying group that led the opposition to California’s bag ban.

“Removing state-mandated labeling…will drive more plastic to landfills,” Taylor said.

It remains to be seen whether California responds to the recycling commission and forces retailers to prove their reusable bags are truly recyclable.

Green groups say the state needs to begin cracking down now in preparation for an even bigger enforcement task ahead. In October, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a new environmental “truth in labeling” measure for all products and packaging sold in California – not just shopping bags. That legislation makes it illegal for companies to use the word “recyclable” or the chasing arrows symbol on items that aren’t recyclable in the real world.

That legislation goes into effect in June 2025. Between now and then, regulator CalRecycle must come up with a list of plastics which it deems recyclable in curbside programs.

 

(This story refiles to change ‘bans’ to ‘bags’ in paragraph 8.)

 

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington; editing by Rich Valdmanis and Marla Dickerson)

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The #1 Skill I Look For When Hiring

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September 17, 2024

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File this column under “for what it’s worth.”

“Communication is one of the most important skills you require for a successful life.” — Catherine Pulsifer, author.

I’m one hundred percent in agreement with Pulsifer, which is why my evaluation of candidates begins with their writing skills. If a candidate’s writing skills and verbal communication skills, which I’ll assess when interviewing, aren’t well above average, I’ll pass on them regardless of their skills and experience.

 

Why?

 

Because business is fundamentally about getting other people to do things—getting employees to be productive, getting customers to buy your products or services, and getting vendors to agree to a counteroffer price. In business, as in life in general, you can’t make anything happen without effective communication; this is especially true when job searching when your writing is often an employer’s first impression of you.

 

Think of all the writing you engage in during a job search (resumes, cover letters, emails, texts) and all your other writing (LinkedIn profile, as well as posts and comments, blogs, articles, tweets, etc.) employers will read when they Google you to determine if you’re interview-worthy.

 

With so much of our communication today taking place via writing (email, text, collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, ClickUp, WhatsApp and Rocket.Chat), the importance of proficient writing skills can’t be overstated.

 

When assessing a candidate’s writing skills, you probably think I’m looking for grammar and spelling errors. Although error-free writing is important—it shows professionalism and attention to detail—it’s not the primary reason I look at a candidate’s writing skills.

 

The way someone writes reveals how they think.

 

  • Clear writing = Clear thinking
  • Structured paragraphs = Structured mind
  • Impactful sentences = Impactful ideas

 

Effective writing isn’t about using sophisticated vocabulary. Hemingway demonstrated that deceptively simple, stripped-down prose can captivate readers. Effective writing takes intricate thoughts and presents them in a way that makes the reader think, “Damn! Why didn’t I see it that way?” A good writer is a dead giveaway for a good thinker. More than ever, the business world needs “good thinkers.”

 

Therefore, when I come across a candidate who’s a good writer, hence a good thinker, I know they’re likely to be able to write:

 

  • Emails that don’t get deleted immediately and are responded to
  • Simple, concise, and unambiguous instructions
  • Pitches that are likely to get read
  • Social media content that stops thumbs
  • Human-sounding website copy
  • Persuasively, while attuned to the reader’s possible sensitivities

 

Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: AI, which job seekers are using en masse. Earlier this year, I wrote that AI’s ability to hyper-increase an employee’s productivity—AI is still in its infancy; we’ve seen nothing yet—in certain professions, such as writing, sales and marketing, computer programming, office and admin, and customer service, makes it a “fewer employees needed” tool, which understandably greatly appeals to employers. In my opinion, the recent layoffs aren’t related to the economy; they’re due to employers adopting AI. Additionally, companies are trying to balance investing in AI with cost-cutting measures. CEOs who’ve previously said, “Our people are everything,” have arguably created today’s job market by obsessively focusing on AI to gain competitive advantages and reduce their largest expense, their payroll.

 

It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that most AI usage involves generating written content, content that’s obvious to me, and likely to you as well, to have been written by AI. However, here’s the twist: I don’t particularly care.

 

Why?

 

Because the fundamental skill I’m looking for is the ability to organize thoughts and communicate effectively. What I care about is whether the candidate can take AI-generated content and transform it into something uniquely valuable. If they can, they’re demonstrating the skills of being a good thinker and communicator. It’s like being a great DJ; anyone can push play, but it takes skill to read a room and mix music that gets people pumped.

 

Using AI requires prompting effectively, which requires good writing skills to write clear and precise instructions that guide the AI to produce desired outcomes. Prompting AI effectively requires understanding structure, flow and impact. You need to know how to shape raw information, such as milestones throughout your career when you achieved quantitative results, into a compelling narrative.

So, what’s the best way to gain and enhance your writing skills? As with any skill, you’ve got to work at it.

Two rules guide my writing:

 

  • Use strong verbs and nouns instead of relying on adverbs, such as “She dashed to the store.” instead of “She ran quickly to the store.” or “He whispered to the child.” instead of “He spoke softly to the child.”
  • Avoid using long words when a shorter one will do, such as “use” instead of “utilize” or “ask” instead of “inquire.” As attention spans get shorter, I aim for clarity, simplicity and, most importantly, brevity in my writing.

 

Don’t just string words together; learn to organize your thoughts, think critically, and communicate clearly. Solid writing skills will significantly set you apart from your competition, giving you an advantage in your job search and career.

_____________________________________________________________________

 

Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

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Politics likely pushed Air Canada toward deal with ‘unheard of’ gains for pilots

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September 16, 2024

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MONTREAL – Politics, public opinion and salary hikes south of the border helped push Air Canada toward a deal that secures major pay gains for pilots, experts say.

Hammered out over the weekend, the would-be agreement includes a cumulative wage hike of nearly 42 per cent over four years — an enormous bump by historical standards — according to one source who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The previous 10-year contract granted increases of just two per cent annually.

The federal government’s stated unwillingness to step in paved the way for a deal, noted John Gradek, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it plain the two sides should hash one out themselves.

“Public opinion basically pressed the federal cabinet, including the prime minister, to keep their hands clear of negotiations and looking at imposing a settlement,” said Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University.

After late-night talks at a hotel near Toronto’s Pearson airport, the country’s biggest airline and the union representing 5,200-plus aviators announced early Sunday morning they had reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike that would have grounded flights and affected some 110,000 passengers daily.

The relative precariousness of the Liberal minority government as well as a push to appear more pro-labour underlay the prime minister’s hands-off approach to the negotiations.

Trudeau said Friday the government would not step in to fix the impasse — unlike during a massive railway work stoppage last month and a strike by WestJet mechanics over the Canada Day long weekend that workers claimed road roughshod over their constitutional right to collective bargaining. Trudeau said the government respects the right to strike and would only intervene if it became apparent no negotiated deal was possible.

“They felt that they really didn’t want to try for a third attempt at intervention and basically said, ‘Let’s let the airline decide how they want to deal with this one,'” said Gradek.

“Air Canada ran out of support as the week wore on, and by the time they got to Friday night, Saturday morning, there was nothing left for them to do but to basically try to get a deal set up and accepted by ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association).”

Trudeau’s government was also unlikely to consider back-to-work legislation after the NDP tore up its agreement to support the Liberal minority in Parliament, Gradek said. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party has traditionally toed a more pro-business line, also said last week that Tories “stand with the pilots” and swore off “pre-empting” the negotiations.

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau had asked Ottawa on Thursday to impose binding arbitration pre-emptively — “before any travel disruption starts” — if talks failed. Backed by business leaders, he’d hoped for an effective repeat of the Conservatives’ move to head off a strike in 2012 by legislating Air Canada pilots and ground crew to stick to their posts before any work stoppage could start.

The request may have fallen flat, however. Gradek said he believes there was less anxiety over the fallout from an airline strike than from the countrywide railway shutdown.

He also speculated that public frustration over thousands of cancelled flights would have flowed toward Air Canada rather than Ottawa, prompting the carrier to concede to a deal yielding “unheard of” gains for employees.

“It really was a total collapse of the Air Canada bargaining position,” he said.

Pilots are slated to vote in the coming weeks on the four-year contract.

Last year, pilots at Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines secured agreements that included four-year pay boosts ranging from 34 per cent to 40 per cent, ramping up pressure on other carriers to raise wages.

After more than a year of bargaining, Air Canada put forward an offer in August centred around a 30 per cent wage hike over four years.

But the final deal, should union members approve it, grants a 26 per cent increase in the first year alone, retroactive to September 2023, according to the source. Three wage bumps of four per cent would follow in 2024 through 2026.

Passengers may wind up shouldering some of that financial load, one expert noted.

“At the end of the day, it’s all us consumers who are paying,” said Barry Prentice, who heads the University of Manitoba’s transport institute.

Higher fares may be mitigated by the persistence of budget carrier Flair Airlines and the rapid expansion of Porter Airlines — a growing Air Canada rival — as well as waning demand for leisure trips. Corporate travel also remains below pre-COVID-19 levels.

Air Canada said Sunday the tentative contract “recognizes the contributions and professionalism of Air Canada’s pilot group, while providing a framework for the future growth of the airline.”

The union issued a statement saying that, if ratified, the agreement will generate about $1.9 billion of additional value for Air Canada pilots over the course of the deal.

Meanwhile, labour tension with cabin crew looms on the horizon. Air Canada is poised to kick off negotiations with the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants this year before the contract expires on March 31.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Federal $500M bailout for Muskrat Falls power delays to keep N.S. rate hikes in check

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3 days ago

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September 16, 2024

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HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.

Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”

Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.

The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.

Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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