NWRA Continues to Push for Clarity in Labeling and a Reasonable Approach to EPR

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): NWRA applauds the EPA for its efforts to bring a national focus to improving waste management programs through decreased waste generation, environmentally sound management of waste and recyclables, and effective composting. They look forward to continuing to work with EPA to help support improved circularity of recoverable materials.

Recycling needs both public education and end markets to be successful. Public understanding of the recycling process needs to include an awareness of how improper disposal impacts global water quality. Successful recycling requires strong end-market demand. To create demand for recyclable materials, we strongly recommend EPA pursue:

•          Enhanced content commitments.

o    EPA should encourage the use of recycled content purchasing policies – not just within EPA but with private companies. EPA could also develop a purchasing policy framework for private businesses and resources on how to source products.

•          An EPA focus on reducing recycling contamination at the point of collection by working with the industry on labeling issues would be a step toward finding viable solutions.

EPA could also bring its influence to bear on hard-to-recycle items like batteries (not just but including lithium ion), tires, mattresses and paint. NWRA supports Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs for hard-to-recycle items.

“NWRA supports battery EPR programs, because there is a battery-related fire in the U.S. every day.  small format wafer and button batteries and rechargeable batteries are prolific in U.S. households,” said Michael E. Hoffman, NWRA president and CEO. “More than 40,000 consumer products (gift cards, toys to children’s flashing light shoes) contain an embedded battery; thousands more draw from rechargeable batteries (e-bikes, power tools to electric toothbrushes). Most households have more than 10 items in the home with a battery that becomes a fire hazard if not disposed of correctly at their end of life. A national EPR approach to eliminating the dangers imposed by improper storage, recovery and disposal of batteries should be an EPA priority.”

NWRA is actively engaged in EPR discussions nationwide on a state-by-state basis. We support the goals of increased circularity and improved recovery. However, we are also aware of multiple case studies that show packaging EPR does not achieve improved recovery rates of recyclables in well-established recycling programs. It does dramatically raise the cost of recycling (two-to-three-fold increase in cost with no appreciable increase in materials recovered) and while it shifts the cost burden to consumer packaging companies, those companies will then pass on their added costs to consumers which keeps upward pressure on inflation for many consumer products, especially food. This negatively impacts the most vulnerable to these inflationary pressures.

NWRA supports the objectives of EPA’s National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics. We believe successful composting of certified compostable products requires addressing labeling issues with products and public education to make certified compostable products accepted at more facilities, while also addressing contamination issues in organics composting.

NWRA will continue to proactively engage with the Agency on waste and recycling issues, as we work to find viable solutions to these important national issues. NWRA has previously supported EPA’s efforts to ratify the Basel Convention and continues to do so.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com