Signalfire Group

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

1. Where possible, be consistent with other states that recently passed EPR for paper and packaging.
A patchwork of state EPR policies creates significant challenges for businesses and regulators alike. Fortunately, state EPR policies such as those in Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington are trending toward consistency in core legislative language. The trend can be seen in key elements that facilitate EPR implementation, such as who is responsible, what products are included, and what a needs assessment should address. These approaches are based on lessons learned from the first four states and the increasing alignment and support from key stakeholders in the EPR system, including regulators, producers, and local service providers. States seeking to pass new EPR policies should follow the trend toward consistency, especially on critical elements such as the definition of “producer”, the basic requirements for and scope of a needs assessment, and the definition of covered products. Consistency across state EPR programs will ease implementation, reduce producers’ compliance costs, increase administrative efficiencies across multiple states, and create more stability in materials being recycled. This, in turn, allows sorters and processors to invest in technology to produce higher-quality recycled material that is better suited to replace virgin material and deliver on the full promise of recycling.

2. Focus EPR on what EPR does best.
EPR for packaging and paper products, at its core, is a tool to shift the costs of recycling from rate-payers and local governments to producers, like brands and manufacturers. When done for maximum impact, costs to producers reflect the full cost of end-of-life management and thereby trigger them to consider lower cost, more recyclable, packaging options. Other economic, environmental, and social benefits may flow from this structure, but state lawmakers should focus EPR policies on setting up clear frameworks for the producers to establish stewardship organization(s) that can effectively collect fees from producers, deliver funds to communities for new or improved services, and report on their activities and outcomes. Lawmakers should be cautious about proscribing other outcomes of EPR regulations or combining EPR with other waste, recycling, or environmental policy goals. EPR works best when producers are allowed to organize themselves and use markets and competition to deliver efficient and effective recycling systems. With the proper EPR framework in place, producers will collectively seek to ensure that their stewardship organization is operating efficiently and will further seek opportunities to drive down the EPR associated costs of their packaging, which will deliver better environmental and social benefits, like eliminating unnecessary packaging or using more recyclable materials.

3. Allow sufficient time and provide the appropriate order of operations for implementation.
A key lesson learned from the first states to adopt and implement EPR for packaging and paper products is the immense complexity involved in establishing EPR for packaging and paper products. Even with the lessons learned from some of these early states, EPR for packaging is still nascent in the U.S. New states should plan for at least 4 years to fully implement a new program. Many lack good state-wide data on what is currently being recycled or their recycling infrastructure. State agencies tasked with regulating EPR also often don’t have existing staff, skills, or experience regulating EPR programs on the scale of packaging EPR. States therefore need time to evaluate their existing programs though statewide needs assessment and to conduct extensive rulemaking processes that create a solid foundation for EPR implementation and address challenges of the existing waste and recycling system. It also takes time for obligated producers to organize, gather data and report, establish a new producer responsibility organization(s) (PRO), hire staff, get state sign-off on a program plan, and establish contracts with service providers. Once a PRO is established and ready to invest in the system, it may still take another year before new trucks and other equipment to be delivered and operational.