Fall into Producer Responsibility

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Fall is here and Policy Now is bringing you the latest updates on extended producer responsibility and other legislation impacting the industry.

I’m Stefanie Valentic and I would like to introduce myself as a new reporter here at Resource Recycling. Over the past five years, I have been covering the industry and I’m excited to bring you monthly insights into the policy conversations shaping the recycling sector.

This October, learn about the evolving landscape of EPR legislation nationwide and the essential role PROs play in policy implementation.

Send me an email with a topic you’d like to see covered in future editions of Policy Now, or just to discuss current legislative efforts. I look forward to the conversation!

—Stefanie Valentic, Policy Now Editor and Reporter, Resource Recycling

E-scrap EPR round-up

Battery recycling legislation is moving through several different states, as evidenced at eSummit in Minneapolis in September.

At the event, Jason Linnell of the National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER) discussed an amendment to Illinois HB 3098 Consumer Electronics Recycling Act (CERA) at this year’s eSummit in Minneapolis. The 2025 CERA amendment modernizes the original electronics recovery law legislators first passed in 2017.

“It adds to the definition of covered devices to include home audio components and peripherals. So a few new devices may be covered, not dramatic expansion like we’re seeing in other states, like in Oregon, or some of the things that are added in Hawaii, but we do have some more more products being added, and that again, contributes to the differences that we have among states and the products that are being covered,” he said.

Linnell added the amendment also changes who is eligible for collection services.

“In the beginning this program, up until now, has been just for households. It clearly defines household electronics as the items that are covered and only households or consumers could participate in these free programs. It changes that to something that we see in other states, which is anyone having seven or fewer covered devices at a time,” he explained.

“That could be a small business, it could be a small school, it could be any type of entity. If you’re going to a collection site and you have seven or fewer covered devices, they’re not going to question whether you’re a household or whether what type of entity you are. We’ve seen that with the Oregon program since the beginning and many other states. It works relatively well to make sure that collection sites aren’t having to determine if you are really a household.”

Linnell further alluded to Oregon’s E-cycles state program, which will include device categories such as game consoles that manufacturers will now be required to register.

Tricia Conroy of the Manufacturers Recycling Management Company (MRM), discussed changes to Oregon’s E-Cycles program, scheduled to take effect in January 2026. MRM was among the companies that submitted producer responsibility organization (PRO) proposals to the state earlier this year, both of which were rejected.

Conroy said an expansion on the types of devices covered and accepted at collection sites as well as convenience requirements will modernize the program, which first launched in 2009.

“There’s much more emphasis on ensuring equitable service… one per 10,000 people. There’s much more specificity about equitable service in underserved communities. There’s more detailed geographic requirements now and there’s a fair financial compensation requirement for manufacturers,” she said.

Furthermore, the updates establish a formal mechanism for a leading PRO and the NCER will coordinate the state’s program going forward.

Conroy also spoke about additional requirements from manufacturers, saying there will be a greater emphasis on public education, GPS tracking and evaluation components for the DEQ.

“It changes their administrative requirements pretty significantly. They continue oversight of plants, but they have a much more stepped back role, sent to the coordinating body and PROs,” she said.

“They have increased substantially the number of the items that can be included and dropped off at collection locations,” she added.

California is moving forward with its SB 1215 electronics law, requiring consumers to pay 1.5% for an expanded list of battery-embedded devices.

Hawaii’s latest e-waste law revisions expanded both the range of electronics eligible for collection and the number of manufacturers required to fund the program, while also adjusting the state’s weight-based recycling targets to address compliance challenges.

I hope to see you this month at E-Scrap Conference 2025 in Grapevine, Texas, Oct. 27-29. As they say, everything is bigger in Texas and this year’s event will bring together the biggest and brightest industry minds to solve today’s e-scrap challenges.

Vape recycling needs policy

I recently connected with Michael Duckworth, founder of Positive Energy Environmental Solutions, via video conference. Duckworth established the company in 2023 after identifying a critical infrastructure gap for vape recycling in Nebraska and nationwide.

He outlined how EPR policy is essential for establishing responsible collection systems for battery-embedded vapes, which are predominantly incinerated. This has contributed to a measurable increase in fires in refuse vehicles and at transfer facilities, MRFs and landfills.

“We’ve got to use EPR to our advantage, so that way we can provide funding solutions for operators and for municipalities and government because it all breaks down to money, money, money,” Duckworth said. “Who’s paying for it? That’s the matter and with nicotine, specifically, there’s a lot of challenges with e-manifest reporting and regulatory hurdles that are costly and there is no solution right now.”

Battery-embedded vapes are classified as household hazardous waste under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Contamination from nicotine, cannabis or other substances further complicates an already complex recycling process, compounding stringent regulatory requirements and creating barriers to both collection and processing.

“Vapes are the worst thing that ever came to this earth and they’re here by the millions. Just in America we throw away 5.7 vapes every second, now we’re almost up to six vapes every second every day of the year. 365, 24/7. That is insanity. And that’s just in the US and worldwide, we’re at 10 to 15 devices every second,” Duckworth said.

Duckworth referenced Nebraska’s recent passage of its Safe Battery and Recycling Act, which regulates limited vapes and funds the development of a PRO, as an emerging framework for addressing the escalating vape disposal crisis.

Reporter Scott Snowden covered the record-setting rise in facility fires for National Fire Prevention Week, which is Oct. 5-11. Read it here.

Read more about my discussion with Michael Duckworth in my new column, Diversion Dynamics, in the November issue of Resource Recycling.

California climate disclosure laws update

Contributing writer David Daoud examined California’s preliminary roster of over 4,000 corporations subject to the state’s newly enacted climate disclosure mandates.

The first climate risk reports, in the form of mandatory public filings, are due in January 2026. This new clarity also means that suppliers, service providers and partners of listed companies will face significant pressure to support their clients’ climate disclosure requirements with granular data, auditing and traceability, whether or not they are named directly in the law.

The first critical milestone comes Jan. 1, when companies with more than $500 million in annual
revenue will be required to release their initial climate-related financial risk reports, capturing the previous year’s data. That’s quickly followed by the June 30 deadline for Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions disclosures, both direct and indirect emissions, subject to third-party validation.

Washington releases report on bag ban

The Washington State Department of Commerce released a report regarding the effectiveness of the state’s retail carryout bag policy prohibiting thin, 0.5 mil thickness single-use plastic bags.

While the state saw a decrease in the number of plastic bags handed out, the volume of plastic increased due to disposal of thicker plastic bags, originally intended to serve as a reusable alternative. The bags are about four times heavier in weight than more widely distributed grocery bags.

“Based on sales data from a carryout bag distributor, the number of plastic bags distributed in Washington fell by 50% between 2021 and 2022. However, during the same time, total plastic use by weight increased by 17%,” the report stated.

The report recommends a higher pass-through fee for each bag purchased, stating that an increase would be an incentive for customers to reuse fabric bags or plastic bags more often.

“Reusable fabric bags also generate external environmental and health damages that consumers do not face. As such, these bags will also be overused as they are underpriced relative to social costs. Encouraging reuse of these bags, to minimize total bags purchased, is critical,” the report stated.

Commerce Director Joe Nguyễn said in the report that “a policy approach that incentivizes bringing your own reusable bag through educational campaigns is critical to encourage sustainable actions by consumers and retailers.”

“However, strategically applying policy tools of bag bans, bag fees, recycled content minimums, thickness standards and other mandates may be most impactful to achieve environmental goals,” he added.

Colorado approval of oil PRO shows need for producer choice

As one of the first states to pass EPR legislation for packaging, Colorado is in the spotlight as it approaches implementation in early 2026. In September, the state’s Department of Public Health and Environment approved an individual program plan from the Lubricants Packaging Manufacturers Association (LPMA) – the first instance for an independent PRO.

“We’re very proud to be first,” said David Lawes, CEO of Interchange 360, under which LPMA operates.

In 2024, BP Lubricants USA (parent company of Castrol), Chevron USA, ExxonMobil, Pennzoil-Quaker State (which is owned by Shell) and VGP Holdings (parent company of Valvoline) became the founding members of LPMA, which is administered by Interchange 360. The group handles discarded packaging for such products as lubricating oil, oil filters, antifreeze and diesel exhaust fluid.

In an interview with Resource Recycling, Lawes said Colorado’s EPR law wasn’t one-size-fits-all. Read more from senior reporter Antoinette Smith here.

Learn more at the Plastics Recycling Conference, Resource Recycling Conference and Textiles Recovery Summit, uniting for the first time in San Diego from Feb. 23-25, 2026.

APR’s new design tool targets compliance

The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) will launch a new digital platform to help brands and packaging suppliers evaluate the recyclability of entire plastic packages and prepare for policy requirements in the US and abroad.

APR owns Resource Recycling, Inc., publisher of Policy Now. Unveiled at Pack Expo 2025 in Las Vegas, the APR Design Assessment Tool powered by Recyda is the organization’s first in-house managed system that moves beyond component checklists to a full-package review tied to the APR Design Guide for Plastics Recyclability.

“For more than three decades, the APR Design Guide has been the gold standard for recyclable plastic packaging design,” said Steve Alexander, APR president and CEO, in a statement. “This new tool takes that legacy to a new level, giving companies a one-stop solution to improve recyclability and compliance while saving time and money.”

Set to launch in the first quarter of 2026, the platform will provide real-time assessments, flag missing data and benchmark designs against the Design Guide so users can reduce errors, reduce compliance risk and simplify reporting. APR frames the effort as a way to centralize packaging specifications while keeping them current as official guidance changes. It will also be demonstrated at APR’s fall member meeting in Salt Lake City, Oct. 21-23.

Fall into Producer Responsibility – October 2025