September 2015

Product Stewardship in the News

EPR, pharmaceuticals and the US Supreme Court
Heidi Sanborn, executive director of the California Product Stewardship Council, writing in the August issue of Waste Advantage, explains the ramifications for extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws from the recent Supreme Court decision regarding Alameda County's pharmaceutical stewardship ordinance. In August, two more California counties passed ordinances for medicines: Marin County passed a Safe Drug Disposal Ordinance, similar to the law passed in King County in 2013, and Los Angeles County approved the start of such an ordinance process. Visit the California Product Stewardship Council for more information.

Paint RFPs
PaintCare and the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) seek proposals for two paint projects: a source reduction study and an Oregon consumer awareness survey. Deadline for each proposal is Sept. 18, 2015.

California adds fourth R - Refill - to keep propane tanks out of the trash
An article in Waste360 highlights the recent success in California of a refillable gas cannister program. "Californians purchase some 4 million of the 40 million disposable one-pounders [propane gas cylinders] sold annually nationwide... To keep them out of the waste stream, the Golden State is promoting small refillable canisters that make reuse as simple and routine as exchanging the 20-pound propane containers that fuel barbecue grills... Kamps Propane... has taken a leadership role with a statewide campaign called Refuel Your Fun, funded with a CalRecycle grant. About a year ago, Kamps devised Little Kampers, refillable one-pound cylinders that can be bought and traded in via the company’s network of retail outlets and exchange services." One-pound disposables—which can be recycled like any other steel once freed of gas by experts—have become an eyesore and a financial headache at iconic landmarks. For instance, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks spent $2,656 for proper handling and recycling of the 2,125 cylinders it collected last year. And Sunnyvale, CA spent $144,000 to properly dispose of the 16,000-plus cylinders workers pulled from sorting lines between 2010 and 2013. (photo courtesy Kamps Propane)

The state of the art of extended producer responsibility
The Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) hosted an August 12 webinar on extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs and how they are and should be organized and implemented, resulting in what Resource Recycling called a "fierce discussion." ILSR made the entire webinar recording and slides available on YouTube.

Lessons in producer responsibility from Canada
In the August issue of Resource Recycling, experts Usman Valiante and Glenda Gies contrasted the differences in shared producer responsibility in Ontario and full producer responsibility in British Columbia.

Retailers tackle chemicals policy 
Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families celebrated progress made this year in convincing large national retail chains to phase out chemicals or begin chemicals policy planning.

Resources & Programs

LightRecycle Washington recycles 400,000 lights
In the first six months of Washington's mercury-containing lights stewardship program, January 1 through June 2015, LightRecycle collected more than 420,000 units for recycling, about 200,000 pounds of mercury-containing lights, from 315 collection sites. Find a collection location near you.

Job: Senior Policy Analyst at Oregon DEQ 
Deadline extended to Sept. 7, 2015: The Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is hiring a Senior Policy Analyst in its Materials Management Section in Portland, supporting the implementation of Materials Management in Oregon: 2050 Vision and Framework for Action. Apply for the Operations and Policy Analyst 3 (Senior Policy Analyst) position.

Job: Policy Liaison at LHWMP 
The Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County (LHWMP) is hiring a Project Program Manager III - Policy Liaison in Seattle, to provide a wide range of policy-related support for their multi-jurisdictional program, including product stewardship initiatives at local and state levels, policy changes through local and state ordinances, laws, licensing, building codes, and purchasing guidelines. Apply for the PPM III - Policy Liaison position by Sept. 10, 2015.

Report and webinar on British Columbia's container deposit law
The Container Recycling Institute (CRI) released a report critiqueing the British Columbia container recycling system and will hold an upcoming webinar to discuss the results on September 9.

Upcoming Events

• The Environmental and Economic Performance of Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling in British Columbia (webinar): Sept. 9, 11am Pacific
• From Managing Waste to Managing Materials: Implementing Oregon's 2050 Vision (webinar): Sept. 15, 9:30-11am Pacific
• Public and Private Partnerships: Success in Skagit County: Sept. 17, 9:15am - 3:30pm Pacific, Burlington, WA
• National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day (nationwide): Sept. 26, 10am-2pm
• Conference on Canadian Stewardship: Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, Banff, Alberta, Canada
• Drug Take-Back at Retail Pharmacies (webinar): Oct. 15, 11am-12:30pm Pacific
• 2015 U.S. Product Stewardship Forum: Dec. 8-9, Boston, MA