The topic is trash: FTC event explores recycling claims

There are a lot of famous trash talkers out there. Some professional athletes and a certain grouchy green resident of a street named Sesame come to mind. But when the FTC engages in trash talking – as we will at a May 23, 2023, national workshop – our purpose is to consider the current state of recycling practices and recycling-related advertising. We’ve just announced the agenda for Talking Trash at the FTC: Recyclable Claims and the Green Guides and we hope you’ll watch the half-day event in person or online.

The workshop is part of the agency’s regulatory review of its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims – the Green Guides, as people have called them since they were first issued in 1992. According to the agenda, speakers include local and state law enforcers, environmental advocates, industry representatives, and other experts.

Jim Kohm, Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection’s Division of Enforcement will convene the workshop with opening remarks at 8:30 AM Eastern Time. The first panel will consider the Current State of Recycling Market and Claims. The second panel will take a deeper dive into the Consumer Perception of Recycling Claims. The final panel will discuss the Future of the Green Guides. After closing remarks, the workshop will conclude at 12:45 PM.

Talking Trash at the FTC: Recyclable Claims and the Green Guides is open to the public and registration isn’t required. You can attend in person at the FTC’s Constitution Center auditorium, located at 400 Seventh Street, S.W., in Washington DC. Or you can watch the webcast from a link that will go live moments before the 8:30 ET start time on May 23rd. 

You’ll have until June 13th to file public comments about the topics discussed at the event.