Environmental, Health & Safety

What you need to know about federal and state regulatory and state legislative decisions impacting printing and packaging.

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Breaking and up to date news on EHS and Sustainability issues impacting the printing and packaging industry

Big News! U.S. Postal Service Announces No Rate Hike in January 2025

There is good news to share that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced that there will not be a price increase in January 2025 for Market Dominant products, which includes Periodicals, Marketing Mail, First-Class Mail, and Package Services. In the September 20, 2024, announcement, Postmaster General …

Reducing Plastic Waste and Modernizing Recycling Infrastructure Bill

On September 19, the Accelerating a Circular Economy for Plastics and Recycling Innovation Act of 2024 (H.R. 9676) was introduced in the House by Representatives Larry Bucshon (R-IN-8) and Don Davis (D-NC-1). The bipartisan legislation seeks to tackle plastic pollution and improve the sustainability …

PRINTING United Alliance Joins Coalition Letter in Support of the No IRIS Act

The No Industrial Restrictions in Secret Act (No IRIS Act) of 2024 (H.R. 7284 / S. 3724) was introduced in Congress to protect American manufacturers’ ability to compete and innovate by ensuring that federal regulations are based on sound science. The No IRIS Act would prevent the U.S. Environmental …

PRINTING United Alliance Opposes New Tariffs on Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates

On September 13, PRINTING United Alliance, in partnership with the News/Media Alliance, sent a cross-industry coalition letter to the International Trade Commission (ITC) urging the commissioners to reject antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) on imports of aluminum lithographic printing plates …

Court Blocks National Implementation of FTC Noncompete Ban

In April of 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a final rule that banned non-competition agreements nationwide in most employment agreements. The final rule was immediately criticized and challenged in the courts. The final rule was scheduled for implementation on September 4, 2024, but has …

What Small Businesses Need to Know about the Corporate Transparency Act

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is a new federal law that took effect on January 1, 2024. The law aims to curtail money laundering and other financial crimes, including bad actors concealing illicit activities through anonymous shell companies. But the CTA places a heavy burden on small business …

Safety & Health Services

Protecting workers is a number-one priority for the printing industry. It pays to be aware of what you need to do to implement a safety and health program. Take advantage of PRINTING United Alliance's information and services to integrate safety into your workplace and update your safety and health programs
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Environmental Compliance Support

We are here to help! All printing operations have environmental compliance obligations, at federal and state levels. Contact PRINTING United Alliance for up to date information on your specific state requirements for air, hazardous waste, wastewater and stormwater requirements.

Fact Sheet: New York’s Regulations on Stand-Alone Printing Cleaning Equipment

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) issued a letter to PRINTING United Alliance on July 6, 2021, providing much needed guidance on how stand-alone press cleaning machines will be regulated under the NYSDEC code. The equipment in question is commonly found in screen, flexographic, and rotogravure operations and used to clean screens, flexographic plates, flexographic plates mounted to cylinders, anilox rolls, ink, and press components such as coating application components, ink, and coating trays, etc. The letter from NYSDEC now ensures that printing operations in New York will continue to be allowed to use this equipment as they were almost prohibited from being used.

Download this fact sheet for more information on how NYSDEC now regulates stand-alone printing cleaning equipment.

Anti-Microbial Coatings Fact Sheet

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a renewed interest in anti-microbial coatings as one method to help stop the spread of the virus. While anti-microbial coatings are not new, their use during the COVID-19 pandemic has increased as new ones have been developed and are being deployed. Anti-

microbial coatings are highly regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) so those who want to use them need to be aware of the requirements.

Members can Download this fact sheet fact sheet and watch this video for an introduction and basic background information on the types of anti-microbials, how they work, an overview of EPA’s regulations, and what marketing claims are allowed by EPA.

Federal and State Environmental Agency Regulations

PRINTING United Alliance is your advocate before federal and state environmental agencies. Since the late 1980s, we have been working to ensure that all regulations -- air, waste and water -- that are adopted reflect the technologies used by our industry sector.

Over the last 20 years our industry has made great strides in reducing its environmental footprint. Current and near-term regulations, as well as pollution prevention and waste minimization practices, have contributed to this phenomenon.

PrUA stands ready to help you understand the environmental issues you face on a daily basis. Contact Marci Kinter or Gary Jones with your questions at Government Affairs.

  • EPA's Toxic Substances Control Act
    If you use, manufacture, supply or import chemicals, you need to be aware of changes the U.S. EPA is making that will impact you. Check with PRINTING United Alliance for the latest updates regarding new programs under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA).
  • Air Permitting Issues
    Do you use products containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs)? Do you operate print equipment? States require all facilities to determine if air permitting is required. Do you know yours? Contact us for a quick look at your state’s requirements.
  • Air Pollution Control Regulations
    Your facility doesn’t have to be in California to need to worry about reducing air emissions. Do you know if your state regulates what you put into the air? Contact us for a look at what your state has implemented.
  • Hazardous Waste
    All facilities generate hazardous waste. How much you generate determines what you need to do. Do you know your generator status? And what requirements might apply to you? And, yes, used shop towels need to be considered as well. Contact us to learn more about what PRINTING United Alliance has to offer to help you along this pathway.

EHS Consulting Services

PRINTING United Alliance has a hand-picked team of many talented third-party consultants to provide expertise on environmental health and safety regulation compliance right to your door.

Whether you are just starting out and need help creating written policies and programs, assistance creating an effective training program, advice on an OSHA citation, or you want to improve any aspect of your current environmental health and safety plans, our consultants are here for you.

We Can Help You with All of Your EHS Requests

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): We can help you navigate through OSHA citations, prevent violations from occurring, guide you through what to expect in an OSHA audit, etc.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Need guidance on complying with your federal, state, and local agencies’ requirements? Look no further. Our consultants can help with compliance with air emissions, wastewater, storm water discharges, hazardous and solid waste, and community right-to-know requirements.

Department of Transportation (DOT): If you ship more than a specific amount of hazardous materials, your company needs to register with the DOT. Employees handling any amount of DOT hazardous materials or signing an EPA Hazardous Waste Manifest, must receive training every three years.

Do You Need Consulting Services?

PRINTING United Alliance provides technical assistance and services designed to allow printing operations to manage OSHA compliance and stay informed. Contact PRINTING United Alliance’s Government Affairs staff with your consulting needs and we will match you with an outside consultant that is best suited for the job.
Contact Government Affairs