HOBI Weekly Blog Recap (6/27-30/22)
Colorado’s packaging and EPR bill, HB22-1355, passed the state House of Representatives May 2 and then the state Senate later May 11, but has since stirred controversy within the industry over pros and cons regarding the funding concept.
The bill requires companies that sell consumer-facing packaging and printed paper to join producer responsibility organizations (PROs), or to submit an individual plan, which would fund and manage a statewide recycling system through dues. In addition, the PRO will be able to use no more than five percent of the dues paid for administration but will not be able to use dues for employee bonuses. HB22-1355 mandates that the PRO hire an independent third party to do a needs assessment of the state’s current recycling services before the plan goes into effect, and must be completed by 2024.
The bill’s supporters include American Beverage (formerly the American Beverage Association), Colorado nonprofit recycling organization Eco-Cycle, and the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR). The APR expressed their support in a recent press release stating, “We strongly support HB22-1355 being signed into law. Colorado residents deserve a modern, effective recycling system and businesses need clean, reliable and domestic sources of recycled materials to make new products and packaging.”
Eco-Cycle’s policy and research director, Kate Bailey, also voiced support for the bill in a press release stating that the policy will make it easier for all Colorado residents to recycle more plastics, aluminum cans, glass bottles, cardboard and printed paper. However, others in the industry disagree, and many have called for the state’s governor, Jared Polis, to veto the bill.
Among those pushing back is the American Forest and Paper Association who issued a statement soon after the bill was passed claiming, “An EPR scheme is not the right policy approach for sustainable paper products. Colorado should instead focus on addressing underfunded and underdeveloped recycling programs.”
Others have also voiced opposition including the National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) Rocky Mountain chapter. On behalf of the NWRA, government affairs manager at Waste Connections of Colorado, Barrett Jensen, argued that there’s been no evidence found that EPR has led to the use of more recycled content. Jensen also argued that EPR would raise prices for consumers. Before adopting such a program, the Rocky Mountain chapter suggested a needs assessment first.
Despite clashing opinions, HB22-1355 has seen more support than anything else, making Colorado the third state in the U.S. to pass a packaging extended producer responsibility bill, as well as the first state in the 2022 legislative session, preceded by Oregon and Maine in 2021.
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