NWPSC February 2021 Newsletter

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February 2021

Legislation

Washington product stewardship bills (session runs Jan. 11 to April 26):Washington needs producer responsibility (YouTube screen shot)
Packaging: SB 5022 was introduced as a packaging producer responsibility bill, but a substitute bill (2SSB 5022) was adopted that contains three elements: requiring minimum recycled content for plastic beverage containers; banning the sale and distribution of certain expanded polystyrene (EPS) products; requiring single-use food service-ware be offered on request. The substitute bill passed the Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology committee on February 3, and the Ways & Means committee Feb. 16, and awaits the Rules committee.
SB 5022's companion, HB 1118, did not receive a hearing, retains its producer responsibility system requirements, and remains in the House to possibly be considered again in the second year of the biennium, 2022.

Right to Repair: HB 1212, concerning the fair servicing and repair of digital electronic products, was heard in the House Consumer Protection & Business committee but did not move forward by the Feb. 15 policy committee cutoff. Right to Repair legislation has been introduced, but not passed, each year since 2017.

Wind turbine blade recycling: SB 5174, which would require manufacturers to finance the takeback and recycling of wind turbine blades, passed the Senate Environment committee, Ways & Means committee, and awaits the Rules committee. 

Solar stewardship delay: HB 1393, which would further delay by another two years, until 2025, the implementation of the photovoltaic module stewardship and takeback program (enacted in 2017), passed out of committee and awaits a House floor vote.

Safe Medication Return: HB 1161, which makes adjustments to the existing Safe Medication Return law that began statewide collection recently, passed out of committee and awaits a Rules vote.

Visit Zero Waste Washington to learn more about other legislation.

Oregon product stewardship bills (session runs Jan. 19 to June 28):
Modernizing Oregon's recycling system: SB 582-1 is the result of the Recycling Steering Committee (RSC), convened for two years to modernize Oregon's recycling system, which would require producers of covered products to join a producer responsibility organization, submit a program plan to DEQ, and to reimburse local governments for certain expenses, among other requirements of a statewide EPR system for consumer brands and packaging producers. The Senate Environment committee is scheduled to hear the bill Feb. 25. The National Law Review and OPB covered the legislation which has become SB 582-1.

Mattress stewardshipSB 570 had a hearing January 28 and is still under consideration. 

Right to RepairHB 2698 is scheduled to be heard March 1 in the House Business & Labor committee.

HHW stewardship: HB 2955, which establishes a product stewardship program for household hazardous waste (HHW), had a hearing and is still under consideration. 

EPR for PPP in other states:
Packaging EPR legislation has been introduced in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington this year. Legislators in these nine states have joined together to form the National Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging Legislator Network "in the hopes that a more synchronized, uniform, and interstate approach to so-called EPR legislation would be easier for industry to implement," according to Spectrum News

The New York Times covered NY's packaging EPR bill, while Resource Recycling covered bills in Massachusetts and Maryland as well as a proposal from the Recycling Leadership Council for “federal policy concepts, focused on data collection and reporting, standardization of recycling systems nationwide, and financing for infrastructure and end market development."

Programs & News

21 producer responsibility programs in British Columbia
A two-part series in Waste 360 examines British Columbia's 21 producer responsibility programs as well as Ontario's plans to update their packaging EPR program. 

British Columbia's 21 EPR programs based on product type put the "onus on producers to pay for end-of-life management, producers are left to find the way they think will work best. They hire a stewardship agency to run the program or run it themselves." The BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy "wanted producers to take full responsibility; not just pay the cost. [Government] wanted to get out of managing. And an anticipated benefit was if they were going to pay the tab, they would want to find the most efficient way to run the program." The BC Ministry "reviews and approves the plans, which are up for renewal after five years. They must meet key performance measures, and publicly disclose their annual reports demonstrating they are doing so... The Ministry requires 75% of all packaging to be recycled, and the industry is consistently meeting or exceeding that goal."

"The business opportunities have drawn local companies, meaning plastics from polystyrene to rigids to films are recycled and used in the province... The majority of the materials we collect are destined for local end markets; approximately 92% of it is managed by recycling." 

"While many communities across North America have had to curtail or suspend existing (non-EPR) packaging recycling programs due to limited processing abroad, BC is expanding its program. Over the next two years more single-use items such as plastic stir sticks, cutlery, straws, lunch bags, disposable plates, bowls, and cups, will be collected for recycling. And it will be up to those obligated producers to ensure these materials have minimal contamination and sustainable recycling markets are secured."

Producer responsibility may be the right thing
In Waste 360, Chaz Miller, who has written critically of producer responsibility programs in the past for the WCRRCexamines the complexity of the U.S. garbage and recycling collection system: "our 50 states, 3000 counties and more than 10,000 municipal governments have not adopted a uniform approach... All garbage is truly local." Miller concludes that "producer responsibility may be the right thing for American curbside recycling. But it is a totally new program. We have to get it right the first time. Once a new system is entrenched, it will be hard to change."

Repair and repairability in France
The BBC reports that, in an effort to defuse the "vast amount of avoidable waste," last year France passed an "index of "repairability" ratings for appliances such as washing machines, lawnmowers, televisions and smartphones. In doing so, the French government hopes to increase the electronics repair rate to 60% within five years. Those rules came into force in January and require manufacturers to display ratings – similar to the energy ratings system already widely in place – that are calculated using five measures: ease of repairability, price of spare parts, availability of spare parts, availability of repair documentation and a final measure that will vary depending on the type of device. After the first year, a fine of up €15,000 (£13,300/$18,200) will be given to producers, distributors and sellers who don't comply. The bill also includes a "durability" index from 2024 that will have new criteria such as product reliability and robustness."
Visit The Repair Association for more information on Right to Repair legislation and advocacy in the U.S.

On Wishcycling and Responsibility
In the journal Discard Studies, Rebecca Altman writes on the origins of the term "wishcycling" and concludes that "individualization shifts attention and agency for issues from industry and systems to individuals and their knowledge and habits." 

"Indeed, plastic bags, while technically recyclable, often are not recycled. Further, the distribution of buyers and markets is uneven, which is why recycling programs are regionally-specific and ever-shifting... For plastics, recycling hasn’t diminished plastics production, which has continued to rise. It hasn’t necessarily lessened fossil fuel extraction either... Let’s say more Americans recycled their plastics, and this resulted in an influx of more recycled plastic onto the market. Even with robust closed loops achieved, does anyone really think that the executives at one of these multinationals would get to the point of saying, 'well, you know, it’s good that the need for input materials is being met by recycled plastic… that means that this year we can scale back production a bit.'

Indeed, according to the International Energy Agency, as of 2018, the plastics industry is banking on growing plastics and petrochemicals production to sustain future growth in oil and gas production. In fact, the IEA reports, as energy and transit systems shift toward renewables, petrochemicals and plastics “are rapidly becoming the largest driver of global oil consumption.”"

EPA grant for Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities
EPA  Region 10 announced a grant funding opportunity open to state and local governments, tribes, nonprofits, and schools to "improve community health, resilience, and/or sustainability through pollution prevention and/or sustainable materials management implementation." EPA is hosting two informational webinars and applications are due April 30.

Events & Webinars

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Northwest Product Stewardship Council (NWPSC)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.

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