Weekly Policy Pickup
May 28
This week’s edition is heavy on rulemaking and program implementation of packaging extended producer responsibility in various states, as well as efforts to pass a similar law in New York.
And now, policy:
Bill Updates
In California, AB 2481 passed out of the Assembly and into the Senate on May 26. It would allow funds from the state beverage container deposit refund system (DRS) to be used for quality incentive payments for non-beverage glass.
In Tennessee, SB 1793 was signed by the governor on May 22. It requires certain state departments to file annual reports on recycling.
Rulemaking News
In Maryland, regulations were adopted to help the state implement its packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) law.
In New York, advocacy group Zero Waste Ithaca is trying to get the 15 structural problems it sees in the state’s proposed packaging EPR bills resolved. The problems include: Producer-controlled governance with no public-interest safeguards; no explicit ban on funding chemical recycling; lack of community reuse pathways; no guaranteed public access to producer-level data, PRO control of fee-setting and eco-modulation of fees, no ban on mass-balance accounting, and exposure to litigation, among other problems. It lays out those problems and some proposed solutions on its website.
In Washington, at the May 27 packaging EPR advisory board meeting, the board added comments to the draft rule language, going line by line. Rulemaking started on March 18, and final proposed language should be available by October 2027, with a goal of adoption in April 2028.
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Program Updates
In Oregon, at the May 27 packaging EPR advisory board meeting, board members heard presentations on detailed topic papers covering rule concepts for plastic packaging and yard debris, the question of including pressurized cylinders, aerosol containers, and glass on recycling acceptance lists, responsible end markets, rule concepts for specific covered product exemptions, and rule concepts for specific producer definition rule elements.
Looking Forward
In Minnesota, the state Pollution Control Agency published a request for comments, signaling its intent to begin rulemaking on its packaging EPR law. The comment period closes July 24.
–Marissa Heffernan