[OKRA] Industry reacts to passage of Colorado packaging EPR bill

[Ellen Bussert]

[image: image.png]
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a hot topic in many States.  Is
EPR the right answer to all products?  There is serious debate about when
EPR works and when it will fail.  There are EPR laws in Oregon and Maine.
Colorado's bill is awaiting the Governor's signature before it becomes
law.  As we hear more and more about EPR, maybe it is time we start
thinking about what would work best in Oklahoma.





[image: image.png]
Industry reacts to passage of Colorado packaging EPR bill
<https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2022/05/17/industry-reacts-to-passage-of-colorado-packaging-epr-bill/>
Published: May 17, 2022
Updated: May 17, 2022
by Marissa Heffernan
<https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/author/marissa/>
[image: Various household packaging and recyclable materials.]

*Colorado is the third state in the U.S. to pass a packaging extended
producer responsibility bill, and the first in the 2022 legislative
session.* | *Arturs Budkevics/Shutterstock*

While many industry leaders praised the recent passage of a Colorado bill
establishing extended producer responsibility for printed paper and
packaging, others are calling for Gov. Jared Polis to veto it.

Katherine Lugar, president and CEO of American Beverage (formerly called
the American Beverage Association), said in a press release
<https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/05/Colorado-approves-HB1355-EPR-press-release_final.pdf>
the
legislation “is a model for creating a circular economy for recyclables,
and we encourage Gov. Polis to sign this legislation into law.”

“Our 100% recyclable bottles and cans are made to be remade, and one of our
industry’s highest priorities is getting them back,” she said, adding that
the bill will help reach that goal.

However, in a statement issued
<https://www.afandpa.org/news/2022/afpa-urges-colorado-governor-polis-veto-epr-scheme>
immediately
after passage, the American Forest & Paper Association urged Polis to veto
the legislation.

“An EPR scheme is not the right policy approach for sustainable paper
products,” said Terry Webber, AF&PA’s vice president of industry affairs.
“Colorado should instead focus on addressing underfunded and underdeveloped
recycling programs.”

The state Senate on May 11 voted
<https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2022/05/11/paper-and-packaging-epr-bill-passes-in-colorado/>
21-14
to approve House Bill 22-1355 <https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb22-1355>,
which passed
<https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2022/05/03/colorado-epr-bill-passes-house/>
the
state House of Representatives on May 2. Polis has 30 days to sign the bill
into law. The bill became a flashpoint
<https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2022/04/27/paper-recycling-sits-at-center-of-evolving-epr-debate/>
in
a wider industry conversation about the pros and cons of the funding
concept.

HB22-1355 mandates
<https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2022/04/20/unique-epr-bills-advance-in-hawaii-colorado/>
that
companies that sell consumer-facing packaging and some printed paper join a
producer responsibility organization (PRO) or submit an individual plan,
with exceptions for smaller business and highly regulated packaging, such
as medicines. The PRO would then, through dues, fund and manage a statewide
recycling system.

The PRO may then use up to 5% of the dues it collects for administration,
but cannot use any dues for employee bonuses. Every three years, starting
in 2028, the state will also conduct a review of consumer-cost impacts
resulting from the program.

Before the plan goes into effect, the PRO must hire an independent third
party to do a needs assessment of the state’s current recycling services
and what is needed to expand access and improve rates. That must be
finished by 2024, according to the bill.

Colorado is the third state in the U.S. to pass a packaging extended
producer responsibility bill, and the first in the 2022 legislative
session. In 2021, EPR bills passed in Oregon
<https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2021/06/29/oregon-legislation-revamps-recycling-in-multiple-ways/>
 and Maine
<https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2021/06/22/maine-lawmakers-approve-first-in-nation-packaging-epr-bill/>
and
were signed into law.
Supporters urge signing of bill

Among the bill’s supporters was Colorado nonprofit recycling organization
Eco-Cycle. Kate Bailey, policy and research director at Eco-Cycle,
emphasized the process that led to the crafting of the bill.

“Our success is due to the broad coalition of supporters that we brought
together, including national businesses, in-state businesses, local
governments, urban-rural small and large, recyclers and the environmental
community,” she said in an interview, “and that this really was a
collaborative effort to put together a policy that’s built off proven best
practices around the world and tailored to fit Colorado.”

In a press release sent out after passage of the bill, Bailey said the
policy will make it easy for all Coloradans to recycle more plastics,
aluminum cans, glass bottles, cardboard and printed paper and will help
create a more resilient domestic supply of recycled materials for
manufacturers and businesses.

“Amid historic supply chain disruptions, rampant climate change and
pervasive plastic pollution, there has never been a more important time to
invest in recycling,” she said.

In addition to the AF&PA, the National Waste and Recycling Association’s
(NWRA) Rocky Mountain chapter opposed
<https://wasterecycling.org/press_releases/nwra-rocky-mountain-chapter-testifies-against-colorado-epr-legislation/>
the
bill. Barrett Jensen, government affairs manager at Waste Connections of
Colorado, testified on behalf of the NWRA Rocky Mountain chapter at a May 4
hearing.

Jensen argued that studies on current European EPR policies found there is
no evidence that EPR has led to the use of more recycled content and that
EPR would raise prices for consumers.

The chapter recommended doing a needs assessment before adopting an EPR
program.

The legislation was supported
<https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/04/EPR-Local-Elected-letter.docx.pdf>
by
many local government leaders, as well as several large brands and
packaging producers, including
<https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/04/CGF-Colorado-EPR-Support-Letter.pdf>
Amcor,
Coca-Cola, L’Oréal USA, Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo, SC Johnson and Unilever
United States.

Local business owner Adam Hill, who owns recycling operation Direct
Polymers, said he is often “challenged by not getting enough local
feedstock of recycled plastic.”

“We oftentimes have to bring materials in from many states away to meet our
production needs, when much of that feedstock is available right here in
Colorado,” he said in a press release. “HB22-1355 will jump-start recycling
in Colorado and will mean a larger, more consistent stream of plastic scrap
that we can bring in, reprocess and sell to local and regional
manufacturers.”

State Rep. Lisa Cutter, one of the sponsors of HB22-1355, said in the
release that the bill will “protect our climate, create an easier and more
consistent system of recycling throughout the state and contribute to
creating a circular economy.

“We’ve been laggards in this area, and this gives us the opportunity to be
leaders,” she said.
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