Despite progress, producers are largely still not ready for approaching EPR requirements, industry players predict. | Josep Curto/Shutterstock
With about six months to go until the first extended producer responsibility program for packaging in the U.S. goes live, producers are still largely unprepared but moving in the right direction, those monitoring the transition said.
Emmanuel Nyaletey, founder and CEO of BridgeSolar, speaks during a panel on navigating Basel Convention changes in electronics recycling at the 2024 E-Scrap Conference. | Big Wave Productions/Resource Recycling, Inc.
Chatter about legislative effects on the industry permeated much of the 2024 E-Scrap Conference, especially uncertainty around upcoming changes to the Basel Convention, and several sessions dug deep into new laws and coming policy trends in the e-scrap industry.
California’s extended producer responsibility for packaging law requires EPS food service ware and packaging to demonstrate a recycling rate of no less than 25% by Jan. 1. | Minh Mi Goi/Shutterstock
Expanded polystyrene food service ware producers have only a few months left to prove that the material has a recycling rate of at least 25% in California or face the prohibition of selling into the state.
Many states have explicitly included e-commerce and remote distribution in extended producer responsibility laws, seeking to capture a significant portion of packaging material that moves in and out of states. | GroundPhoto/Shutterstock
As states work through rulemaking for packaging extended producer responsibility laws, they’re dealing with a very modern twist: how to handle e-commerce.
Re-TRAC CEO Josh Reid explains why consistently collected, standardized data is vital for the recycling industry’s future. | Joyseulay/Shutterstock
With negative mainstream media coverage eroding public trust in recycling, now is the time to make changes, and an important piece of those improvements is accurate, standardized data collection.
California sent a handful of bills to the governor’s desk, including bills on food waste, plastic film, and the deposit return system. | Jonathan-Lenz/Shutterstock
Several states have late summer ends to their legislative sessions, including New Hampshire, Massachusetts and California, and in the final days several recycling related bills passed.
Eco-modulation is commonly introduced after an EPR program is established, as it requires a strong foundation of data. | Olivier-Le-Moal/Shutterstock
Many recycling industry players and brands are now familiar with the base concept of extended producer responsibility for packaging, but now advisory boards, producer responsibility organizations and state regulators are working on another complex, interrelated concept: fee eco-modulation.
Eureka Recycling, which operates a MRF in Minneapolis, supported the packaging EPR bill. | Courtesy of Eureka Recycling
After months of collaboration and negotiation, stakeholders in Minnesota walked away with an extended producer responsibility bill for packaging that had elements both familiar and unique, and an overarching question: Is this the first state in a new wave of EPR or a continuation of early adopters?
Graphic by Eunomia Consulting
Across the United States, there is growing consideration among advocates and legislators regarding the role of policy in advancing recycling services to ensure equitable access and opportunity to residents while maximizing environmental and economic outcomes. This is exemplified through recent progress in extended producer responsibility policy for packaging. In 2024, nine states – from New York to Tennessee – have introduced legislation for packaging EPR, with the Minnesota governor recently signing an EPR bill, while the four states that have already passed EPR are rapidly moving through implementation phases.
The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act AB 5322 in the Assembly Codes committee and its companion bill, SB 4246, is in the Senate finance committee. | robert-paul-van-beet/Shutterstock
New York legislators are once again pushing to become the fifth state in the U.S. to implement extended producer responsibility for packaging.