Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS)

DISCUS is a national trade association representing producers and marketers of distilled spirits sold in the United States. Many DISCUS members are registered producers under state EPR laws. DISCUS members share similar concerns regarding EPR based on their experiences with implementation of these state schemes during the last year. As states continue to implement these schemes, we anticipate additional issues will be raised by our members.

Recommendations for Policymakers Developing Circular Policy & EPR for Packaging Policies:

1. Fees 

Concerns: Excessively high amounts invoiced; lack of sufficient transparency in fee setting; no or limited ability to appeal or challenge fees; absence of fee caps or any assurances that current rates will remain stable; and possibility that compliant producers are being penalized with higher rates due to inaccurate or no reporting by other producers. Additionally, glass packaging is at a fundamental disadvantage vis-à-vis plastic where EPR fees are largely or mostly weight based, rather than based on actual environmental impact; glass fees are disproportionately high considering that glass can be recycled numerous times.
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Recommendations: Determinations of fees should not be based on weight, but on environmental impact (e.g., actual recyclability and recycling rates) and the full lifecycle and the future longevity of the material; there should be clear, transparent methodology for fee calculations, harmonized across the states, with stakeholder input and an appeals process; PRO governance should include diverse material representation; and participating producers should not be penalized with higher fees due to inaccurate or no reporting by other producers.

2. Reporting requirements. 

Concerns: Overly complicated; excessive categories or types of packaging; very large amounts of data are requested; inconsistencies in requirements and definitions from state to state; and unnecessarily burdensome on producers for PROs to impose the same reporting deadline in multiple states.
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Recommendations: Categories of packaging types should be limited to major types of materials (glass, plastic, metal/aluminum, paper), reporting requirements and definitions should be standardized from state to state, and states should not adopt or retain the same reporting deadlines as other states unless reporting requirements between or among these states are uniform.

3. Exemptions. 

Concerns: Inconsistencies from state to state.
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Recommendations: Provide exemptions in all EPR states for: beverage containers subject to deposit schemes (and ensure that such deposit schemes are enacted in all EPR states); pallets; and packaging used solely in business-to-business transactions where a covered material is not intended to be distributed to the end consumer.