WASHINGTON PASSES BATTERY EPR LEGISLATION |
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Consumers don’t always know the difference between single-use and rechargeable batteries, which is why the national Call2Recycle voluntary rechargeable battery program inadvertently collects single-use batteries from manufacturers that do not contribute to the cost of recycling them. But Washington State’s battery Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) bill, now on the governor’s desk, includes a broad scope – including portable and medium-format batteries – of both single-use and rechargeable batteries, which is essential to an effective system because it fairly allocates recycling costs to all battery manufacturers and eliminates free riders. This legislation levels the playing field and sets a new standard for battery EPR in the U.S. by including e-mobility batteries and specifying provisions for eco-modulated fees that encourage design for recycling and resource conservation, as well as other attributes that reduce environmental impacts and costs of managing batteries. Read more in our news alert.
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COLORADO TAPS PACKAGING PRO |
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PSI CELEBRATES EXPRA'S GLOBAL EXPANSION |
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Last month in Brussels, PSI’s CEO and Founder, Scott Cassel, joined more than 100 representatives from the world’s leading nonprofit packaging PROs to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance (EXPRA), a long-time PSI Partner. The conversation covered the past, present, and future evolution of packaging EPR in Europe. Scott joined a panel of global packaging EPR experts to share his thoughts about why there is a need to exchange packaging EPR information globally and how this can take place. At the event, Joachim Quoden, EXPRA’s founding Managing Director, announced that the Packaging Forum from New Zealand recently joined EXPRA, thus extending its reach to 32 PROs from 30 countries in Europe, Canada, the Middle East, Latin America, and now the Southern Hemisphere. We are proud to be part of the global EPR community!
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GREEN GUIDES UNDER REVIEW |
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PSI and the Pack Green Coalition, a PSI partner, submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its request for input regarding its review of the Green Guides – we look forward to seeing revisions in the way that “recycling” is defined. Learn more on the blog.
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Members and Partners receive regular legislative updates and can track EPR bills and laws in our Legislation Library.
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REGISTER FOR OUR FREE WEBINAR |
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PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: GDB INTERNATIONAL |
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GDB Paint & Coatings, a PSI Partner, gives new life to leftover and discarded paint through its sustainable recycling process. In 2022 alone, GDB reused paint and other materials to make 3 million gallons of recycled paint – enough to paint all the homes in Salt Lake City. Not only does this reduce the amount of waste being disposed, but it also saves resources by reusing the materials that would otherwise be wasted. This process has significant environmental and economic benefits, providing a competitive edge in the market by positioning the company as an environmentally responsible and innovative player in the paint industry. Learn more on the blog.
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PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: PAINTCARE |
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GDB Paint & Coatings, a PSI Partner, gives new life to leftover and discarded paint through its sustainable recycling process. In 2022 alone, GDB reused paint and other materials to make 3 million gallons of recycled paint – enough to paint all the homes in Salt Lake City. Not only does this reduce the amount of waste being disposed, but it also saves resources by reusing the materials that would otherwise be wasted. This process has significant environmental and economic benefits, providing a competitive edge in the market by positioning the company as an environmentally responsible and innovative player in the paint industry. Learn more on the blog.
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Excellent summary of the current state of EPR legislation from Route Fifty, the publication that connects state and government leaders, which interviewed PSI’s CEO and Founder, Scott Cassel: “It took a while for the political will in the United States, at the state level, to be willing and able to introduce and enact these laws. I think that the groundwork that we had set from 2000 was fertile soil for the packaging EPR bills to finally take hold.”
Great conversation on the Capitol Pressroom radio show centered around New York's mattress EPR legislation: "The idea of shifting the onus of recycling on to manufacturers has been a hot topic at the Capitol in recent years, with debates over new mandates on packaging production and the adoption of a law governing carpet recycling. Now lawmakers are considering a program to mandate recycling of mattresses, which will cut down on a major source of trash, according to Scott Cassel, CEO and founder of the Product Stewardship Institute."
RecyclingToday shared PSI’s reporting on Washington State passing battery EPR legislation, including perspective from PSI, before we had a chance to issue our correction. WasteAdvantage shared our reporting with the correct information.
eScrap News reported on Oregon’s Bill 3220, which unanimously passed the House of Representatives on March 22nd, and would update the 14-year old E-Cycles program to modernize electronics collection and processing in the state, and referenced PSI’s work with Oregon DEQ to facilitate multiple stakeholder meetings and recommend policy revisions.
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May 10 Paris - Scott Cassel, PSI’s CEO and Founder will present on U.S. packaging EPR at the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) global EPR workshop.
May 11 Kalamazoo, MI - Amanda Nicholson, PSI’s Chief Operating Officer, will present on opportunities and approaches for EPR across multiple product categories at the Michigan Recycling Coalition Annual Conference. Register here.
May 22 Concord, NH – Scott Cassel, PSI’s CEO and Founder, will present a keynote with Dan Leif of Resource Recycling and David Biederman, formerly of SWANA, at the Northeast Resource Recovery Association Conference. Register here.
May 22 Steamboat Springs, CO – Lelande Rehard, PSI’s Senior Associate, Policy & Programs, will speak about growing opportunities for EPR in Colorado. Register here.
May 23 Bolton Landing, NY – Scott Cassel, PSI’s CEO and Founder, will join Dr. Amit Goyal of SUNY Buffalo’s NYS Center on Plastics Recycling and Innovation for "New Advances in Science Supports Better Recycling” moderated by Lauren Laibach of NAPCOR at the New York Federation Solid Waste and Recycling Conference and Trade Show. Scott will discuss the complexity of interests regarding “chemical recycling” technologies and how these views influence packaging EPR legislation. Register here.
June 30 Washington, DC – Scott Cassel, PSI’s CEO and Founder, will present on U.S. Packaging EPR at the Chemical Watch Food Contact Regulations conference. Learn more about Chemical Watch here.
September 26 Boston, MA – Scott Cassel, PSI’s CEO and Founder, will present on packaging EPR at the Sustainable Packaging Coalition ADVANCE conference. Register here.
October 17 Boston, MA – Scott Cassel, PSI’s CEO and Founder, will present on Packaging EPR Global Trends at PSX 2023. Registration coming soon!
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In 2022, the U.S. and Canada reported nearly 400 fires — but a lack of official data means the actual number is probably much higher. TIME's article explains factors — increased demand, flammable (aerosols) and self-igniting (lithium ion batteries) materials, and our hotter, drier climate, among other factors — and calls out EPR as a proposed solution.
A new survey commissioned by Covanta, a PSI partner, found that nearly half of Americans want to hold corporations more accountable for climate action — including 48% who believe producers should be more responsible for waste management and 63% that believe companies should have strong sustainability platforms.
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The American Coatings Association and PaintCare are staffing up! If you’re interested, opportunities are listed on this page.
We regularly share information like this on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. If you'd like to get these updates in real time, please follow our accounts. Thanks!
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WEBINAR ARCHIVES: MATTRESS EPR |
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EPR laws for mattresses have the capacity to spur substantial increases in recycling rates and reduce illegal dumping, particularly when legislation includes performance goals and/or collection site convenience metrics. In 2013, Connecticut became the first state in the country to enact a mattress EPR law, followed by California and Rhode Island that same year. Last year, Oregon enacted the first U.S. EPR mattress law in almost a decade, building on the existing three laws.
What have we learned that can help these and future programs achieve the greatest impact? In our recent webinar, experts included Scott Klag formerly of OR Metro, Doug Kobold from the CA Product Stewardship Council, Terry McDonald of St. Vincent de Paul, Tom Metzner from CT DEEP, and Mike O’Donnell from the Mattress Recycling Council, in a conversation moderated by Suna Bayrakal, PSI’s Director of Policy and Programs. The webinar was open for the entire PSI community to attend; however, the recording is accessible only to PSI’s Members and Partners.
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The Product Stewardship Institute is a policy advocate and consulting 501(c)(3) nonprofit that powers the emerging circular economy. We rely on the generosity of our members, partners, and supporters to convene diverse stakeholders to build extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies, programs, and laws. Thank you!
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The Product Stewardship Institute, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and provider. Persons with disabilities who require alternatively formatted materials to ensure effective communication should contact Amanda Nicholson at amanda@productstewardship.us or 617.236.4855, TTY: use 711 or 800-439-2730; MassRelay.
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