At the 2024 annual meeting, PSI CEO Scott Cassel said there were 57 EPR bills introduced this year across the U.S., showing the growing need for PSI’s services. | ESB Professional/Shutterstock
The Product Stewardship Institute is planning to spend $1.4 million in 2025, as growing interest in extended producer responsibility policy is creating more demand for PSI’s support.
At the 2024 annual meeting, PSI CEO Scott Cassel said there were 57 EPR bills introduced this year across the U.S., 15 of which were aimed at amending existing programs.
Abby Boudouris, PSI president and senior legislative analyst at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, said the work that PSI does “is not always in the spotlight, but it is foundational.”
EPR has reached a tipping point in the U.S., she added, but “as we look to the future, it’s clear we have a lot to do.”
“Together we can continue to advance EPR, paving the way for a more sustainable future,” Boudouris said.
In the 2024 fiscal year, PSI netted about $1.2 million in revenue and had slightly more than that in expenses, said Jennifer Semrau, board treasurer and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources waste reduction and diversion coordinator. The difference was covered by PSI’s modest reserves, she added.
By percentage, 2024’s revenue came mainly from government at 51%, followed by corporate funding at 35%, 8% from events or other sources and 6% from foundations and NGOs.
For 2025, PSI’s goal is $1.48 million in revenue (projected to be 7% from foundations and NGO, 9% from events or other sources, 38% from corporate sources and 46% from government). The group is expecting $1.4 million in expenses.
The additional funding in 2025 will allow PSI to hire more policy staff, do more education and assist a growing number of stakeholders in developing EPR policy, Semrau said.
In other business, six people were elected or re-elected to serve two-year terms as board members: Semrau; Tom Metzner, an environmental analyst with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection; Mia Roethlein with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s Solid Waste Management Program; Seth Hackman, a GIS specialist at New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection; Mallory Anderson, a policy specialist at Minnesota’s Hennepin County Environment and Energy Department; and Jen Holliday, director of public policy and diversion facilities in Vermont’s Chittenden Solid Waste District.