MANAGING SOLID WASTE THROUGH PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP LAWS: EMERGING ISSUES AND TRENDS THE COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS FEBRUARY 2 2016
WHAT I LL COVER What is product stewardship? What are its goals? How has it worked?
WHAT IS PRODUCT STEWARDHIP? A policy in which the producer s responsibility extends to the postconsumer management of that product and its packaging.
GOALS Green design Internalize costs Lower tax burden
INDIVIDUAL OR COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY? Individual responsibility Collective responsibility (product stewardship organization)
EPR WORLDWIDE Europe: packaging & electronics Canada: widespread
EPR IN THE STATES
COVERED PRODUCTS Electronics: 25 Mercury: automobile switches: 15 Mercury: thermostats: 14 Mercury: lamps: 3 Batteries: 10 Paint: 8 Mattresses: 3 Carpet: 1 Other: 4
LOCAL LEGISLATION Pharmaceutical products Supreme Court ruling Sharps
DISAPPOINTING RESULTS 15-20% for waste electronics. 10-12% for rechargeable batteries Less than 25% for mercury auto switches Less than 10% for mercury thermostats
WHY DISAPPOINTING? OVERALL Inconsistent laws Lack of accountability mechanisms State program oversight Mostly small, occasionally generated products Evolving products static laws
BATTERIES Small, easy to forget about recycling Call2Recycle 19 years 5% increase 12.6 million pounds Voluntary vs. mandatory
MERCURY AUTOMOBILE SWITCHES & THERMOSTATS Mercury automobile switches: Limited generation Banned from disposal End of Life Vehicle Solutions Mercury thermostats Limited generation Other options Thermostat Recycling Corporation
ELECTRONICS Disparity in state laws Covered devices Covered generators Financing/collection models
ELECTRONICS Weak end markets Outdated laws CRT glass Collection programs ending or adding fees
PAINT, CARPETS & MATTRESSES Paint: 8 states Mattresses: 3 states Carpets: 1 state All require advance recycling fee
PAINT, CARPETS & MATTRESSES PaintCare High recovery rate Immediate use a factor? Impact HHW programs Mattress Recycling Council Carpet America Recovery Effort Little data on carpets & mattresses Both bulky, only occasionally generated
WHAT WORKS? Nash & Bosso: Success of EPR relies on the capacity of all policy actors to set high expectations for EPR programs and work in concert to achieve them. Such capacity is especially critical for state environmental agencies tasked with program oversight, which must have the institutional means to demand rigor and accountability when they review manufacturers plans, assess progress toward performance goals and pursue penalties as appropriate.
WHAT WORKS? Recovery goals Access/convenience goals Program awareness goals Transparent fee
GOALS: GREEN DESIGN Electrical & electronics equipment End-of-life vehicles No evidence green design for packaging Bans: ROHS & TPCH Bans: Mercury bans from auto switches & thermostats
GOALS: INTERNALIZE COSTS? Pass through cost inevitable
LOWER TAX BURDEN Local government impact Where does it apply Is it efficient
EXPANSION: SHARPS & PHARMACEUTICALS Pharmaceuticals in King County WA & several local governments in California Not implemented yet Sharps legislation?
EXPANSION: PACKAGING & PRINTED PAPER Simple in concept, complex in execution (PPI)
CHALLENGES FACING EPR FOR PACKAGING & PRINTED PAPER U.S. is not Europe (& vice versa) Recycling programs not tax dependent in U.S. Existing contractual/franchise arrangements Antitrust Funding vs behavior change
CONCLUSION 33 states with laws Funding mechanism Electronics most common & having problems Paint most successful One size fits all approach not work for different products Behavior change crucial
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Chaz Miller 202-364-3742 cmiller@wasterecycling.org https://wasterecycling.org 28
SOURCES From Birth to Rebirth: Will Product Stewardship Save Resources? Chaz Miller: https://wasterecycling.org/images/documents/our-work/ advocacy-issues/aba-fall-mtg-paper-final-091611.pdf Extended Producer Responsibility: An Examination of Its Impact on Innovation and Greening Products http://www.greenpeace.org/international/pagefiles/ 24472/epr.pdf Planning the Funeral at the Birth: Extended Producer Responsibility in the European Union and the United States, Noah Sachs, http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/elr/vol30_1/ sachs.elreuroexperiment.pdf
SOURCES Evaluation of Extended Producer Responsibility for Consumer Packaging : Grocery Manufacturers Association http://www.gmaonline.org/file-manager/sustainability/ GMA_SAIC_EPR_Report_091112.pdf Extended Producer Responsibility in the United States: Full Speed Ahead? Jennifer Nash & Christopher Bosso http://www.hks.harvard.edu/content/download/ 67662/1243458/version/1/file/Nash_Bosso_2013-10.pdf Extended Producer Responsibility Evaluation : Product Management Alliance http://www.productmanagementalliance.org/images/ PMA.SAIC.EPR.Evaluation.pdf
SOURCES Paint Stewardship: Effects on Household Hazardous Waste Programs Product Stewardship Institute http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/ www.productstewardship.us/resource/ resmgr/paint/ 2015.12.16_PaintCare_HHW_Stu.pdf
ADVOCACY GROUPS Product Management Alliance: http://productmanagementalliance.org/ Product Stewardship Institute: http://www.productstewardship.us/ Upstream: http://upstreampolicy.org/
MATERIAL SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS Call2Recycle http://www.call2recycle.org/ Carpet America Recovery Effort https://carpetrecovery.org/ Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse http://www.ecycleclearinghouse.org/ End of Life Vehicle Solutions http://elvsolutions.org/
MATERIAL SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS Mattress Recycling Council http://mattressrecyclingcouncil.org/ National Center for Electronics Recycling http://www.electronicsrecycling.org/ PaintCare http://www.paintcare.org/ Thermostat Recycling Corporation http://www.thermostat-recycle.org/
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