March 2016

Legislation

Washington state paint stewardship bill dead
HB 1571 did not get voted out of the Senate Energy, Environment & Telecommunications (EET) committee and is dead. The bill passed out of the House on Feb. 10 and was heard in the Senate EET committee Feb. 23. HB 1571 was initiated by the national paint manufacturing industry trade association, the American Coatings Association (ACA). HB 1571 would have created a collection program for the recycling or proper disposal of unwanted architectural paint in Washington state, similar to industry-operated PaintCare paint stewardship programs around the nation.

Paint manufacturer-run stewardship programs exist in eight states and eight Canadian provinces:

• British Columbia (1994)
• Oregon (2010)
• California (2012)
• Connecticut (2013)
• Minnesota, Rhode Island & Vermont (2014)
• Colorado & Maine (2015)
• the District of Columbia (2016)

Similar PaintCare programs are under consideration in:

• Illinois
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New Jersey
• New York
• the United Kingdom

A recent report on the success of PaintCare highlighted that local governments saved an average of $151,905 annually under PaintCare, retailers are highly satisfied, and paint recycling is more convenient under PaintCare.

Paint stewardship legislation was first introduced in Washington in 2013, making this the fourth year in a row the Washington Legislature has not passed a bill which has the support of paint manufacturers, environmental organizations, and Washington local governments. The Northwest Product Stewardship Council would like to thank the many businesses, nonprofits, local governments, and other organizations that have taken the time to contact their legislators and testify in support of this legislation.

Other states

• Packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation is under consideration in Rhode Island and Indiana
• Mattress stewardship legislation is under consideration in Maryland

News & Resources

E-Cycle Washington: 300 million pounds in seven years
In the seven years since E-Cycle Washington's 2009 start, the manufacturer-run product stewardship program has recycled over 300 million pounds of TVs, computers, and monitors, keeping an estimated 20 million pounds of lead out of landfills. Under Washington state law, manufacturers pay for the proper recycling or disposal of their products and consumers can recycle their used TVs, computers, laptops, tablets, monitors, e-readers and portable DVD players at no cost. An article in Waste 360 comparing the differences among state electronics laws said that it "is safe to say, none of the state EPR programs comes close to the program implemented in the state of Washington."

LightRecycle Washington: 1 million lamps recycled
Washingtonians recycled more than one million fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), high intensity discharge (HID) lamps and other mercury-containing lights since the LightRecycle Washington program launched Jan. 1, 2015. LightRecycle topped its 2015 goal by 4%, recycling 989,034 lights, then surpassed 1 million lights in January 2016. LightRecycle is a manufacturer operated product stewardship program run by PCA Product Stewardship, a nonprofit, and overseen by the Washington Department of Ecology under the state's mercury lights law. LightRecycle allows individuals and businesses to recycle up to 10 mercury-containg lights per day at over 220 collection sites throughout Washington – find a location near you.

RFP: paint source reduction
PaintCare and the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) released a revised Request for Proposals (RFP) to conduct research on the measurement of, and strategies for, reducing the generation of post-consumer architectural paint. The results of the study will enable PaintCare to measure progress toward post-consumer paint source reduction and set source reduction goals. The objectives of the project are to: develop a methodology to measure the amount of post-consumer paint; utilize the methodology to compare changes in the amount of leftover post-consumer paint over time; and make recommendations for strategies to reduce the generation of post-consumer paint. Responses are due April 15 and an open Q&A session will be on March 17.

US Circular Economy program from Ellen MacArthur Foundation
In an article in Environmental Leader, "to promote the circular economy in the US and eliminate waste, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has launched a US chapter of its Circular Economy 100 (CE100) program."

Upcoming Events

• Changes in the Waste Stream: the Future of the Curbside Material Mix (webinar): March 31, 10-11:30am Pacific
• National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day: April 30, 10am-2pm nationwide

Engage with the Northwest Product Stewardship Council
Add your voice and join the Northwest Product Stewardship Council (NWPSC) as an Associate, Steering, or Community member.
Follow the NWPSC on Twitter (@StewardshipNW) for product stewardship information from Washington, Oregon and elsewhere.

---

The Northwest Product Stewardship Council (NWPSC) is a coalition of government agencies in Washington and Oregon working on solid waste, recycling, resource conservation, environmental protection, public health and other issues. Together with non-government agencies, businesses and individuals, we form a network that supports product stewardship and extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies and programs. For more information, contact info@productstewardship.net or visit us at www.ProductStewardship.net.

Subscribe to the NWPSC Newsletter. For current subscribers: update your email, password, or unsubscribe on the Subscriber Preferences Page (you will need to use your email address to log in). If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com.

---