January 2022

Legislation

Renewing Washington's recycling system EPR bill 
SB 5697, renewing Washington's recycling system and reducing waste, which would create an extended producer responsibility (EPR) system for consumer packaging and paper products (PPP), was introduced in the Washington legislature last week and has a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday January 18 at 10:30am.

The bill would create a coordinated, transparent statewide system for residential recycling that is funded by the producers of PPP; residents would no longer have to pay for recycling and local governments could seek reimbursement for their recycling services. The bill builds upon SB 5022 and HB 1118 from past legislative sessions. Read factsheets, watch recent webinars, and learn more about the bill and why EPR is a solution.

SB 5658, concerning the recyclability of products and packaging, is a competing bill backed by the Washington Refuse & Recycling Association (WRRA) that would require accurate claims about recyclability on products and packaging and add recycled content requirements for plastic tubs, thermoform plastic containers, and single-use plastic cups. This bill is also scheduled for a public hearing Tuesday January 18 at 10:30am.

Washington batteries EPR bill
HB 1896, providing for responsible environmental management of batteries, is an EPR bill for batteries that would establish a statewide battery stewardship program to ensure proper handling, recycling, and end-of-life management of used batteries. The bill would increase collection, reuse, and recycling of batteries, and reduce the safety risks for waste management workers and facilities. Batteries are a concern because of the toxic or corrosive materials they contain, but also because improper disposal can lead to fires in waste management trucks and facilities. Washington previously considered, but did not pass, a battery bill in 2013.

Fair Repair in Washington
HB 1810, promoting the fair servicing and repair of digital electronic products, was heard January 13 in the House Consumer Protection and Business committee.
Another repair related bill, HB 1801, would establish a commission to develop a repairability score, from 1 to 10, for digital electronic products. 

EPR for wind turbine blades
SB 5492 would establish a producer responsibility program for wind turbine blades and is the same as SB 5174 from last session.

Other bills
HB 1830, clarifying that certain reusable packing materials are exempt from sales and use tax, would clarify that reusable packaging utilized by the apple industry is exempt from sales tax, but could be expanded for more types of packaging.
SB 5837 would amend the single-use plastic bag ban that is in effect by removing reusable plastic bags as an option and only allow a reusable plastic bag to be provided if it contains or wraps hot food.

Visit Zero Waste Washington to learn more about other recycling and waste management legislation.

Oregon legislative session begins Feb. 1, 2022
The Oregon Legislature held hearings in preparation for its short session which will begin on February 1. The Senate Interim Committee on Energy and Environment met on January 11 (meeting agenda, materials, video recording) and heard invited testimony that provided a good overview of the Bottle Bill program and of concept legislation (LC 151) to improve the workings of the program, including adding wine in cans.

Also at the Jan. 11 hearing, Senator Manning described the producer responsibility for mattresses bill he is sponsoring, SB 570 A, the same bill considered in 2021.

Programs & News

Job opening in product stewardship
PaintCare has a job opening for a regional coordinator for Washington to "assist with maintaining and monitoring the paint stewardship program in Oregon and Washington... PaintCare is committed to making it easy and convenient for households, businesses, and institutions to recycle postconsumer (leftover) paint in states with paint stewardship laws."

Electronics EPR in Washington state
The E-Cycle Washington electronics producer responsibility program collected more than 15 million pounds for recycling in 2021. Washington's electronic producer responsibility program covers TVs, computers, monitors, tablets, and portable DVD players but does not include computer peripherals and other electronics such as keyboards, mice, printers, and phones. Learn more and find a recycling location near you on the E-Cycle Washington website.

Existing EPR programs in Oregon and Washington

Both states already have multiple producer responsibility programs for certain products, which offer convenient, safe, recycling or disposal: PaintCare in both states, electronics recycling by Oregon E-Cycles and E-Cycle Washington, mercury-containing lights in Washington, drug take back or safe medication return in Oregon and Washington, solar panels in Washington, and now Oregon's packaging EPR recycling modernization act. 

Events & Webinars

• EPR 101: modernizing recycling in Washington with the RENEW Act: Dec. 9, 2021 NWPSC webinar
• Packaging EPR 101: Nov. 22, 2021 webinar from Washington State Recycling Association (WSRA)
• PaintCare Washington: July 15 webinar from WSRA
• Rolling out the Carpet to Recycling and the Circular Economy: May 25-26 webinars from PSI
• EPR Master Class, Part 3: May 27 third webinar in a series of webinars from ISWA, EXPRA, and PSI
• Three Faces of Extended Producer Responsibility: April 27 webinar from Conference on Canadian Stewardship
• Unmasking and understand the waste stream: March 6 webinar from Discard Studies
• 2021 Plastics Policies Roundup: Feb. 25 webinar from UPSTREAM
• Rewarding Recycling - learnings from the world's highest-performing deposit return systems: Feb. 23 webinar from TOMRA
• Recycled content policy, targets, and measurement: Feb. 11 webinar from Reloop and Eunomia
• Plastic Waste Exports and the new Basel Convention Rules: Jan. 12 webinar from e-Stewards
• What Packaging EPR means for Haulers and MRFs: Dec. 16 webinar from PSI, ISWA, EXPRA
• The United States of Plastic - a conversation with Dr. Jenna Jambeck and Dr. Kara Lavender Law: Dec. 16 webinar from UPSTREAM
• EPR Master Class: series of webinars from ISWA, EXPRA, and PSI
• National Policy Town Hall on National Legislation and Regulations: November 5 webinar from NRC
• Duke Plastics Policy Inventory: June 24 webinar
• Indisposible: the Safety and Future of Reuse: April 30 webinar from Upstream
• E-cycling and COVID-19: challenges, opportunities, and changes: webinar video from e-Stewards
• EPR for Packaging in Europe: video of Dec. 5, 2019 webinar with Clarissa Morawski of Reloop Platform
• National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC) webinars: www.nsaction.us/webinars
• Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) webinars: www.productstewardship.us/page/Webinar-Recordings
• Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) webinars: sustainablepackaging.org/events/virtual
• Upstream webinars: www.upstreamsolutions.org/videos

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.

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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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