[cid:image001.jpg@01CE7BF5.6ACE9310] July 2013 [cid:image002.jpg@01CE7BF5.6ACE9310] LEGISLATION King County Board of Health Passes Safe, Convenient Drug Take-Back Law On Thursday, June 20, 2013 the King County Board of Health<http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/BOH.aspx> took a significant step towards reducing preventable deaths from drug overdoses by passing a Rule & Regulation<http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/BOH/MedicineTakeback.aspx> to create a drug take-back system for King County residents. The program promotes the safe disposal of unused prescription and over-the-counter medicines, and will be funded and operated by the drug manufacturers who produce the medications. View full press release<http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/news/2013/13062001.aspx>. Oregon's Paint Bill Awaits Signature HB 2048<https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2013R1/Measures/Overview/HB2048>, OR's paint bill, passed the House on June 27, 2013 and the Senate on July 1. The bill is now awaiting the Governor's signature. HB 2048 modifies the 2009 paint stewardship law relating to paint stewardship and repeals the sunset on the architectural paint stewardship program. For more information visit the NWPSC Paint webpage<http://productstewardship.net/our-activities/paint>. Mattress Legislation Passes in Rhode Island Rhode Island's mattress stewardship bill (S 261A<http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText13/SenateText13/S0261A.htm>) passed the House on June 27, 2013 and is now awaiting signature by the Governor. The legislation is the second of its kind in the same month, following Connecticut. The program puts the responsibility<http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/News/pr1.asp?prid=9522> for disposing of old mattresses in the hands of a Mattress Stewardship Council that will be overseen by the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation. The program will be funded through a fee added to the cost of new mattresses. New York Passes Mercury Thermostat Bill On June 24, 2013, New York State lawmakers passed a bill<http://www.nylcv.org/newsroom/releases/9441> that would ensure the safe, efficient and environmentally responsible collection of mercury thermostats. The bill, known as the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act (S.1676A/A.8084<http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S1676A-2013>), requires that manufacturers develop and implement a thermostat collection program that meets a pre-established goal of collecting 15,500 thermostats by 2015. The bill also calls for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) to establish annual collection goals thereafter, and to make changes to the program if manufacturers fail to meet these goals. This could include requiring manufacturers to pay financial incentives to recyclers to encourage greater participation. Ontario Introduces Legislation to Remove Eco-Fees The Ontario government is introducing legislation<http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/06/06/ontario_to_get_rid_of_eco_fees.html> to get rid of eco-fees on a variety of products, including tires and electronics. If passed, the legislation will put the cost of recycling onto the producers. For more information on the eco-fees, check out Guy Crittenden, editor of Solid Waste and Recycling Magazine's recent blog entry<http://blog.solidwastemag.com/understanding-extended-producer-responsibility/>. RESOURCES & REPORTS The Political Economy of Recycling The Cato Institute's June issue of Cato Unbound featured a series of essays on "The Political Economy of Recycling."<http://www.cato-unbound.org/issues/june-2013/political-economy-recycling> In response to Duke University Professor Michael Munger's essay, "Recycling: Can It Be Wrong, When It Feels So Right?," Melissa Walsh Innes argued in favor of extended producer responsibility (EPR) solutions in "Changing Government's Role in Recycling." Annual EPA Municipal Solid Waste Report Published EPA has released the 2011 Municipal Characterization Report<http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/msw99.htm>, which provides data on annual US waste generation, recycling, and disposal. In 2011, Americans generated about 250 million tons of trash and recycled and composted almost 87 million tons of this material. Our national recycling rate is 34.7 percent. On average, Americans generated 4.40 pounds of trash per person per day, and recycled and composted 1.53 pounds of it. The data is divided between manufactured (product) and non-product (organic and inorganic wastes) which makes it particularly valuable for policy development. PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS MMBC Releases Incentive Payments & Program Implementation Schedule On June 7, Multi-Material British Columbia (MMBC)<http://multimaterialbc.ca/> held a meeting and webcast to present information on the collection financial incentives to provide residential packaging and printed paper (PPP) collection services under the PPP Stewardship Plan. Following the meeting, a series of documents, including the Response Form and Services Agreement, were posted on the website<http://createsend.com/t/j-B037193B2706B3EE>. PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP JOBS PaintCare Hiring Program Managers The paint industry stewardship organization, PaintCare, is hiring program managers in Minnesota and northern New England<http://productstewardship.net/news/product-stewardship-jobs>. (via the Product Policy Institute<http://productpolicy.org/> listserve.) PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP IN THE NEWS<http://productstewardship.net/about/news> Medicine Take-Back in the News The recent King County Board of Health vote on a Medicine Take-Back law garnered significant media attention: * The Seattle Times featured an editorial by David Fleming and Joe McDermott, Guest: Prevent prescription-drug deaths with a medicine-return program<http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2021226146_davidflemingjoemcdermottopedxml.html>. The editorial, which ran on June 19, calls for a safe medicine return program to help prevent accidental poisonings or overdoses and explains why the King County Board of Health pushed for a county-wide law to create a take back program funded by drug manufacturers. * KING-5 TV ran a story on June 20, 2013, Health officials want drug makers to pay for safe disposal<http://www.king5.com/news/local/-Health-officials-want-drug-makers-to-pay-for-safe-disposal-212308501.html>. The story highlights the King County Board of Health's consideration and passage of a law mandating that drug manufacturers finance a take-back program for unused meds in King County. Call2Recycle Blogs on Issues with Recycling in America Call2Recycle CEO Carl Smith recently blogged about our current recycling system in Recycling in America: What's Missing? - Environmental Leader<http://www.call2recycle.org/recycling-in-america-whats-missing-environmental-leader/>. Smith points to issues with America's recycling structure and the impacts of limited collection sites and recycling options. Article Examines Efforts by Maine Leaders to Undo EPR Laws A recent article in the Portland Press Herald, Maine leaders try and fail to dilute recycling's success<http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine-leaders-try-and-fail-to-dilute-recyclings-success.html>, looks at the efforts by the governor of Maine's administration to oppose product stewardship regulations. Legislation for paint recycling is moving forward despite the administration's efforts. ASSOCIATES SPOTLIGHT [cid:image006.png@01CE7BF5.E6B1D0A0][cid:image005.png@01CE7BF5.6ACE9310] What intrigues you about Product Stewardship? Product stewardship strikes me as a way to leverage creativity and expertise from non-governmental sources to provide services to the public. It represents a synthesis of program efforts, policy development and laws, borne out of coordination among governmental entities and the private sector. Too often critics speak only in terms of polarized positives or negatives, good or bad government, or good or bad business practices; it's easy to throw stones in either direction. But product stewardship represents a collaborative effort to come up with more creative, more efficient solutions, and has the potential to be a win-win solution. What does PS mean to you? Product stewardship represents the potential to create a more efficient waste management system. The stewardship approach provides opportunities to functionally mesh the goals and objectives of the public and private sectors, and to create on the ground program implementation that emerges from partnerships. What's your personal PS goal? I would like to see paint product stewardship passed in WA State. I worked extensively on the Paint Product Stewardship Initiative (as the former Moderate-Risk Waste Lead at Department of Ecology), and would like to see the fruits of that effort. I keep an eye on the WA and OR legislature, as well as developments in California, and have supported the WA Paint Bill as a private citizen. Anything else you'd like to share? Product stewardship provides real upsides for citizens and local government in managing their solid waste systems. This is especially true for leftover paint. I recall speaking years ago with Leslie Wilson from MN. She helped me realize that many local governments were struggling to fund their HHW programs, due in large part to the burden of managing paint. It became clear to me that if we could get the paint problem solved through product stewardship, we could free up tremendous resources to pay for other important aspects of the MRW waste stream. That was a primary driver for me to want to push for product stewardship. The fiscal program impact is critical. WHO IS THE NWPSC? We are a coalition of government agencies in Washington and Oregon working on solid waste, recycling, resource conservation, environmental protection, public health and other issues. Together with non-government agencies (NGOs), individuals and businesses, we form a network supporting product stewardship and extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies and programs. For more information, contact info@productstewardship.net<mailto:info@productstewardship.net>. Bill Smith Senior Environmental Specialist City of Tacoma Environmental Services 326 E. D Street Tacoma, WA 98421-1801 p 253-593-7719 f 253-502-2295