Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs are intended to make the producers responsible for continued stewardship of products’ entire lifecycle through end of use. The intention of these systems is to take the financial burden off of municipalities and tax payers while motivating manufacturers to design products with a lower environmental footprint. The concept first began implementation in Europe in the 1990s, helping to drive the development of recycling, re-manufacturing infrastructure and packaging reduction.
As the costs and impacts of waste have become more evident here in the US, and channels for exporting waste to foreign markets have closed, regional governments have struggled to address the growing volumes of trash. According to the EPA, packaging waste makes up about 1/3 of all municipal solid waste going to landfill and without a unified Federal policy on recycling, local municipalities have found themselves responsible for developing a patch work of localized mitigation solutions. Over the last few years, states have begun developing their own EPR programs focused on packaging, starting with Maine in 2021, now expanding to 7 states across the country.
California is the largest state economy to sign an EPR law. SB54 has the goal of significantly reducing single use plastic and ensuring that 100% of packaging is recycled or composted by 2032. This ambitious plan will be paid for by taxes levied on product producers that will be paid to Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) in charge of managing manufacturers, recyclers and distributing funds to achieve the programs goals.
Due to the size of California's economy and their history of influencing development of policy across other states, SB54 will be critical for all manufacturers to watch closely and build their risk mitigation plans around. With less than 13 months before a fee structure is announced and implemented, the companies who have been proactive on packaging sustainability will find themselves at a competitive advantage. Those who have been resistant to change may have a challenging road ahead as they scramble to catch up. Does your business have a plan for EPR?
Read more about SB54 here: https://calrecycle.ca.gov/packaging/packaging-epr/
Image credit: https://trashlucky.com/en/epr-thailland/
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