NWPSC October Newsletter

King County, Washington sent this bulletin at 10/24/2024 10:16 AM PDT

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October 2024

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The NWPSC monthly newsletter serves as a resource to all NWPSC members, providing readers with Oregon and Washington product stewardship program updates, product stewardship news across the U.S., legislation tracking and analysis, and information on upcoming waste-related events. We at the NWPSC would love to hear your thoughts on the newsletter so we can work on improving these newsletters to serve you all as best as possible. Please take a few minutes to fill out the NWPSC Newsletter Satisfaction Survey.

 

Programs & News – Oregon & Washington

OR RMA: Circular Action Alliance Submits Revised Program Plan
In late September, Circular Action Alliance (CAA) submitted its second draft / revised producer responsibility program plan for Oregon’s producer responsibility program for packaging after CAA’s first draft of the program plan was rejected by the OR DEQ, as anticipated, in late July. CAA’s revised program plan addresses the four conditionally approved and fourteen not approved sections of the original program plan. Public comments on unapproved sections of CAA’s second draft program plan are open through October 28 and should be submitted to rethinkrecycling@deq.oregon.gov. CAA expects to submit a third and final plan by the end of the year. Even with revisions, it is expected that CAA will be able to launch the program successfully on July 1, 2025.

Jurisdictions in WA Stop Recycling Glass
Since Ardagh Glass Packaging curtailed their production of glass wine bottles in Seattle in July, processors have struggled to recycle glass. The situation is expected to be temporary and is caused in part by market forces, including reduced demand for locally produced wine bottles, and an influx of cheaper imported glass wine bottles from China, Chile, and Mexico. There is currently no timeline for when Ardagh will resume operations. Skagit County has stopped accepting glass at all transfer stations and customers are advised to dispose of glass containers with household garbage. The City of Port Angeles is temporarily pausing its household glass recycling program. Other jurisdictions such as City of Tacoma, Jefferson and Clallam Counties are stockpiling glass, but may need to send glass to landfill as they are running out of storage capacity. While it won’t resolve the immediate situation, EPR for glass and other packaging materials would be a long-term solution for creating robust and sustainable markets for glass recycling.

Washington State Fines 35 Companies Violating Recycled Content Plastics Law
In 2021, Washington passed SB 5022, which sets requirements for the use of recycled plastic content in beverage containers and trash bags beginning in 2023, with the goal of increasing market demand for recycled plastics. In early October, Ecology announced that it had fined 35 companies a total of $416,554 for not reaching the recycled content requirements in their products. Clorox faced the largest fine for non-compliance, $67,196, with their post-consumer recycled plastic in packaging actually decreasing from 11% in 2018 to 10% in 2023. However, Ecology highlighted that 93 obligated producers met or exceeded the required benchmarks. Ecology still has concerns regarding unregistered producers in the program, stating, “The agency believes there may be hundreds of plastic producers that fall under this law who have not registered their products.”

Ecology Hosts Solar Panel Manufacturer Meeting for Feedback on Stewardship Plans and the Legislative Proposal to Delay the Program
Ecology hosted a meeting for solar panel manufacturers in late September, where they provided feedback on stewardship plans Ecology has received, provided information on how solar panel manufacturers can submit a stewardship plan, and introduced and presented the 2025 legislative proposal. Ecology’s 2025 legislative proposal for the solar panel stewardship program would delay the implementation of the solar panel stewardship program and establish an advisory council to analyze roadblocks and provide recommendations on how to implement the Washington solar panel stewardship program. The meeting video and slides are available to the public.

 

Programs & News – Other States

California Passes First-in-the-Nation Textiles EPR Law
In late October, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the “Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024,” a first-in-the-nation textiles EPR law that will make apparel and textile producers responsible for collecting, repairing, and recycling their products. Apparel and textile producers in California must form and join a producer responsibility organization (PRO), which will develop and operate the plan for managing their products under the law. CalRecycle must approve the PRO by March 1, 2026, adopt regulations to implement the program by July 1, 2028, and the PRO must submit its plan by July 1, 2030. In response to the passage of California’s bill, fashion industry groups, such as American Circular Textiles, called for a similar action on a federal level.

Understanding Packaging EPR Producer Fees
Packaging producers, government agencies, and CAA have been working closely to determine and assess the fee structure in the upcoming packaging EPR programs. Although there isn’t a clear picture yet of the exact fee structure in the five states, CAA has been working to harmonize fee assessments across the states to streamline compliance. The newly appointed CEO of CAA, Jeff Fielkow, announced that CAA is trying to simplify the process of calculating fees for producers and noted that in the absence of a federal EPR system, CAA is working to provide a harmonized experience for producers wherever possible.

Paying Their Fair Share: CAA and States Detail Approach to EPR Enforcement
As states get closer to rolling out their packaging EPR programs, producers are beginning to take steps to become compliant with the new legislation and are learning more about the penalties for noncompliance. As of Colorado’s October 1st producer registration deadline, CAA announced it has registered 1,520 producers in Colorado and is using various strategies to identify potential unregistered producers in Colorado and the other states. Unregistered and uncompliant producers in Colorado, Oregon, and the other states with packaging EPR legislation may face financial penalties and may be forced to pull their products from the shelves for egregious noncompliance.

SWANA Publishes New EPR Guidelines
The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) announced its updated guiding principles on EPR. The guiding principles, developed by SWANA’s Sustainable Materials Management Technical Division Advocacy Committee, address critical aspects of EPR policies for various products and packaging, such as the role of EPR in supporting recycling and reuse systems and how EPR can promote worker safety.  

Bill in Congress Calls for 30% Recycled Content in Plastic Packaging
In late September, U.S. Representatives Larry Bucshon, R-IN., and Don Davis, D-NC, introduced the “Accelerating a Circular Economy for Plastics and Recycling Innovation Act,” which aims to increase the use of recycled material in packaging. The bipartisan bill would establish a 30% minimum post-consumer recycled content in plastic packaging by 2030 and set an evaluation and certification process for tracking the content mandate. The bill would also require the National Academy of Sciences to study the impact of greenhouse gas emissions of certain product materials, and the bill would set detailed definitions for chemical recycling. The American Chemistry Council (ACC), Berry Global, LyondellBasell Industries, and the Expanded Polystyrene Industry Alliance (EPS Industry Alliance) have all come out in support of the bill.

 

Events & Webinars

 

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