Green duty or dirty deal? States put cost of package waste on companies.

Portland

States in the United States want to introduce new recycling systems that require packaging manufacturers to pay for the inevitable disposal – but the industry is trying to stop the movement.

Maine was the first state to pass such a program in July when Democratic Governor Janet Mills signed a bill requiring manufacturers of products containing packaging materials to pay into a new state fund. The fund reimburses the municipalities for recycling and disposal costs.

Oregon has passed a similar bill to be signed by Democratic Governor Kate Brown, and at least six other state legislatures have similar bills pending, said Yinka Bode-George, environmental health manager with the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators. Legislators in at least four other states have also expressed an interest in such bills, she said.

States with active bills – most of them democratic – include large, influential economies like New York and California. Environmentalists in these and other states believe it is long overdue to shift the cost of packaging disposal from taxpayers to manufacturers.

Other laws like Maine would encourage the industry to stop making excessive packaging in the first place, Ms. Bode-George said. “That culture of throwing things away after one use is part of the problem,” she added. “It is important for the manufacturers of these materials to really pick them up.”

Maine’s law aims to reduce plastic, cardboard, paper and other packaging waste by requiring so-called “producer payments”. Companies can cut payments by implementing their own independent recycling programs or simply reducing packaging. The fees go to a private organization that reimburses communities for recycling and waste disposal costs and invests in education aimed at reducing packaging and improving recycling.

The Oregon bill differs slightly in that it requires packaging manufacturers and manufacturers to create a nonprofit group tasked with developing a recycling plan for packaging materials.

Proponents of these strategies sometimes refer to them as “extended producer responsibility”. They are widespread in Europe as well as in some Canadian provinces. The National Waste & Recycling Association, a Virginia-based trade group, has stated that if they focus on “incentivizing new markets for recycled materials,” because all of these recyclables need buyers, they can support such programs.

“The most important thing is that there is a market for it,” said Brandon Wright, a spokesman for the group.

However, the moves have caused severe setbacks in several sectors of American industry, where there are widespread fears that the new laws will drive up business costs in some states. New recycling obligations could cause companies to pull out of these states or pass costs on to consumers, industry members say.

The American Institute for Packaging and the Environment, or AMERIPEN, which represents the packaging industry, had asked Ms. Mills to veto Maine’s law and plans to play an active role in an upcoming rulemaking process, said Dan Felton, executive director of the group.

AMERIPEN was hoping to work with Maine on another new recycling program, but the bill passed leaves “producers and the Maine people out of the process and is forced to pay the bill for a system that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection will do only one is “. Decision Makers, ”said Mr. Felton.

The proposed recycling laws have also caused setbacks from industries that rely on packaging instead of directly. Robert Luria, manager of government relations at Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, told a state committee that Maine law “has the potential to increase inefficiency in the Maine recycling system.”

Recycling, especially plastics, has been made even more difficult by China’s decision to stop accepting plastic waste from other countries.

Proponents say the new recycling laws could help with this waste disposal problem by reducing reliance on single-use plastic products. The Maine bill “sends a strong signal that it is time for big companies and brands to do their part to help curb plastic pollution and reduce wasteful packaging,” said Sarah Nichols of the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

In Maine, industry leaders who oppose the bill know the changes are imminent and are working with the state to come up with rules they can live with.

The industry is also preparing for other states to follow Maine’s example, said Christine Cummings, executive director of the Maine Grocers & Food Producers Association.

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“I think this is just the beginning of what this program will grow to be both in Maine and across the country,” said Ms. Cummings.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.