Product Stewardship Institute Inc

PSI IS A POLICY ADVOCATE AND CONSULTING NONPROFIT THAT POWERS THE EMERGING CIRCULAR ECONOMY TO ENSURE PRODUCTS ARE RESPONSIBLY MANAGED FROM DESIGN TO END OF LIFE.

PSI WORKS ON EPR FOR 20 DIFFERENT PRODUCT CATEGORIES, AND 2022 WAS A SUCCESSFUL YEAR ACROSS THE BOARD. HERE ARE JUST A FEW HIGHLIGHTS: PACKAGING EPR IN COLORADO, CALIFORNIA & BEYOND: IN 2022, PSI CELEBRATED TWO DECADES OF ADVOCACY FOR A COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGING RECYCLING SYSTEM ROOTED IN PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY WHEN COLORADO AND CALIFORNIA ENACTED PACKAGING EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY (EPR) LAWS. THIS FOLLOWED LAWS ENACTED BY MAINE AND OREGON THE PREVIOUS YEAR. ALL FOUR PACKAGING EPR LAWS WERE INFORMED BY THE PACKAGING EPR POLICY MODEL THAT PSI INITIALLY DEVELOPED IN 2016. PSI'S EDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND COALITION BUILDING ACTIVITIES SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE EXPLOSION OF PACKAGING EPR DIALOGUES, EDUCATION, AND PROGRAM CREATION HAPPENING IN 16 STATES (UP FROM 11 IN 2021 AND 8 IN 2020) AND FEDERALLY. MORE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE INTERESTED IN PACKAGING EPR AS A PART OF THE SOLUTION FOR REDUCING WASTE, BOOSTING REUSE AND RECYCLING, CREATING GREEN JOBS AND A CIRCULAR ECONOMY, AND REDUCING PUBLIC COSTS. INCREASINGLY, STAKEHOLDERS SEE PACKAGING EPR AS A NECESSARY POLICY COMPONENT OF THE EMERGING CIRCULAR ECONOMY. BRAND OWNERS RECOGNIZE THAT THEY CANNOT MEET THEIR SUSTAINABILITY GOALS FOR RECYCLED CONTENT AND RECYCLING, OR CONSUMERS EXPECTATIONS, WITHOUT PACKAGING EPR. ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS - LONG PROPONENTS OF ZERO WASTE, PLASTIC BANS, AND REUSE - NOW RECOGNIZE EPR AS A POWERFUL TOOL FOR SHIFTING CONSUMER CULTURE TOWARDS REDUCTION AND REUSE AS MUCH AS, OR MORE, THAN RECYCLING. AND EVEN WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES AND RECYCLERS HAVE ACKNOWLEDGE EPR IS THE FUTURE OF THEIR INDUSTRY AND HAVE ENGAGED IN EPR POLICY DISCUSSIONS. BELOW ARE SOME OF PSI'S FY22 ACHIEVEMENTS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THIS PARADIGM SHIFT. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT: PSI HAS ALWAYS WORKED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH OUR EPR DIALOGUES, INCLUDING THE PIRGS, CITIZEN'S CAMPAIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, NEW YORK LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS, ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, AND OTHERS. HOWEVER, AS EPR HAS GROWN INTO A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED POLICY, INCREASING NUMBERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS SIERRA CLUB CHAPTERS, ARE ENGAGING IN EPR INITIATIVES AND THEY LACK A STRONG FOUNDATION IN EPR CONCEPTS. TO REMEDY THIS, WE HOSTED AND FACILITATED A CONVERSATION WITH THE PUBLIC INTEREST NETWORK (TPIN) AND US PIRG ON EPR POLICY IN EARLY 2022. THE CALL ATTRACTED 19 REPRESENTATIVES FROM THESE ORGANIZATIONS IN 13 STATES AND THEIR NATIONAL COUNTERPARTS. TOGETHER, WE IDENTIFIED THE FOLLOWING KEY ISSUES, WHICH CONTINUE TO BE CENTRAL IN ALL OF PSI'S PACKAGING EPR DIALOGUES AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT WE PROVIDE: WASTE REDUCTION AND REUSE TARGETS, INTEGRATION OF BOTTLE DEPOSIT SYSTEMS INTO EPR PROGRAMS, RECYCLING PERFORMANCE TARGETS, TOXICS REDUCTION, CHEMICAL RECYCLING, GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES, AND TRANSPARENCY FROM GOVERNMENT AND PRODUCERS. WE CONTINUE TO ENGAGE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ON PACKAGING EPR, INCLUDING BEYOND PLASTICS, SIERRA CLUB, AND OTHER ADVOCATES IN MULTIPLE STATES. PSI ALSO ENGAGED FOUR NEW TRADE ASSOCIATIONS IN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT PACKAGING EPR: THE BIODEGRADABLE PRODUCTS INSTITUTE (BPI), THE FOODSERVICE PACKAGING INSTITUTE (FPI), THE CONSUMER BRANDS ASSOCIATION, AND THE REUSABLE PACKAGING ASSOCIATION. BPI AND FPI JOINED PSI AS PARTNERS THIS YEAR AND BPI PARTICIPATED IN OUR WEBINAR ON COMPOSTABLE PRODUCTS IN EPR SYSTEMS. PSI ALSO ENGAGED WITH THE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP (TRP) THROUGH THEIR STATE LEADERS' FORUM ON EPR, AND PSI HAS INVITED TRP TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR STATE-BASED PACKAGING EPR DIALOGUES. INDIVIDUAL BRANDS STILL PREFER THAT THEIR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS REPRESENT THEM IN PACKAGING EPR CONVERSATIONS, BUT PSI HAS HELD ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATIONS WITH PEPSICO, COCA COLA, NOVOLEX, ATLANTIC PACKAGING, RANPAK, SEVENTH GENERATION (UNILEVER), AND NUMEROUS OTHER BRANDS. WE CONTINUE TO EXTEND INVITATIONS TO OTHER BRANDS TO JOIN OUR ONGOING CONVERSATIONS. TECHNICAL SUPPORT: BUILDING ON OUR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WORK OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, PSI CONDUCTED PACKAGING EPR DIALOGUES IN CONNECTICUT, MINNESOTA, AND ILLINOIS, AND HELD OVER 100 ONE-ON-ONE AND SMALL GROUP CONVERSATIONS ABOUT PACKAGING EPR WITH ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES, PRODUCERS, TRADE ASSOCIATIONS, AND POLICY MAKERS TO INFORM PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT IN A DOZEN STATES, INCLUDING COLORADO, CALIFORNIA, NEW YORK, CONNECTICUT, RHODE ISLAND, MARYLAND, NEW JERSEY, ILLINOIS, AND MINNESOTA. OF PARTICULAR NOTE IS THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT THAT PSI PROVIDED TO KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN COLORADO AND CALIFORNIA, WHERE PACKAGING EPR PROGRAMS WERE ESTABLISHED IN 2022. THE COLORADO PROGRAM, ADVANCED BY A COALITION OF STAKEHOLDERS INCLUDING ECO-CYCLE, A NONPROFIT RECYCLER AND PSI PARTNER, ADHERES CLOSELY TO PSI'S MODEL AND THROUGHOUT THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, AND COALITION BUILDING PROCESS, PSI STAFF PROVIDED RESEARCH AND ANSWERS TO TECHNICAL QUESTIONS. IN CALIFORNIA, WE PROVIDED TECHNICAL SUPPORT BEHIND THE SCENES TO PSI PARTNERS THAT WERE ADVOCATING FOR EPR PROGRAM ELEMENTS IN PSI'S MODEL, INCLUDING ELEMENTS FROM PSI'S 2020 AGREEMENT ON 8 PACKAGING EPR ELEMENTS WITH THE FLEXIBLE PACKAGING ASSOCIATION WHICH HAVE GAINED SUPPORT IN OTHER STATES. EQUALLY NOTABLE IS THE INTENSIVE TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WORK WE DID IN NEW YORK STATE TO HELP STAKEHOLDERS FIND AGREEMENT ON PROGRAM GOVERNANCE, ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS, AND CHEMICAL RECYCLING. EPR FOR PAINT & CARPET IN NEW YORK: IN MAY 2022, PAINTCARE LAUNCHED ITS NEWEST PAINT RECYCLING PROGRAM IN NEW YORK STATE, HELPING HOUSEHOLDS, SCHOOLS, AND BUSINESSES TO RECYCLE LEFTOVER PAINT, STAIN, AND VARNISH CONVENIENTLY AND SUSTAINABLY. NEW YORK'S PAINTCARE PROGRAM FOLLOWS SIMILAR PAINT STEWARDSHIP LAWS AND PROGRAMS IN NINE OTHER STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA THAT ARE ALL BASED ON A POLICY MODEL PSI DEVELOPED AND MEDIATED THROUGH A NATIONAL MULTI-STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE IN THE EARLY 2000'S. TO DATE, PAINTCARE HAS PROCESSED MORE THAN 50 MILLION GALLONS OF PAINT NATIONALLY AND SAVED STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THAT SAME MONTH, NEW YORK BECAME THE SECOND U.S. STATE, ALONG WITH CALIFORNIA, TO ENACT A CARPET EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY (EPR) LAW THAT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE CARPET RECYCLING AND REDUCE TOXICS IN THE MANUFACTURING OF NEW CARPET. BUILT ON A MODERNIZED CARPET EPR MODEL THAT PSI DEVELOPED, NEW YORK'S IS THE FIRST LAW TO INCLUDE ARTIFICIAL TURF AND ALSO BANS THE MANUFACTURING OF CARPET WITH TOXIC PFAS "FOREVER CHEMICALS" LINKED TO DEVELOPMENT AND REPRODUCTIVE DISORDERS, AND CANCER. THE LAW WILL ALSO HELP CREATE PERMANENT FULL-TIME RECYCLING JOBS: IN CALIFORNIA, CARPET EPR HAS CREATED 500 DIRECT AND INDIRECT JOBS AND, IN 2021, ACHIEVED AN ANNUAL CARPET RECYCLING RATE OF 27%. PROJECTIONS SHOW THAT NEW YORK COULD ACHIEVE THOSE SAME GOALS IN FEWER THAN FIVE YEARS, DECREASING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BY 165,000 TONS PER YEAR, WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO TAKING 32,000 CARS OFF THE ROAD. BOTH THE PAINT AND CARPET BILLS IN NEW YORK WERE SUPPORTED BY A BROAD COALITION OF MUNICIPAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING PSI AND ITS PARTNER, THE NEW YORK PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL. MATTRESS EPR IN OREGON: IN MARCH, OREGON BECAME THE FOURTH U.S. STATE TO ENACT A LAW ESTABLISHING A STATEWIDE MATTRESS RECYCLING PROGRAM, WHICH REQUIRED MATTRESS MANUFACTURERS TO SET UP AND OPERATE A RECYCLING PROGRAM, OVERSEEN BY THE STATE, THAT MAKES IT EASY FOR CONSUMERS TO RECYCLE THEIR UNWANTED MATTRESSES. IN CALIFORNIA, CONNECTICUT, AND RHODE ISLAND, THE MATTRESS EPR PROGRAM, RUN BY THE MATTRESS RECYCLING COUNCIL, HAVE COLLECTED MORE THAN 10 MILLION MATTRESSES, DIVERTED 380 MILLION POUNDS OF STEEL, FOAM, FIBER, AND WOOD FROM LANDFILLS, AND RECYCLED THESE MATERIALS INTO NEW PRODUCTS. PSI FACILITATED THE ORIGINAL MODEL AGREEMENT WITH GOVERNMENTS AND THE MATTRESS INDUSTRY THAT LED TO THE FIRST THREE MATTRESS EPR LAWS - AND IN 2022 WE HELPED FACILITATE AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN OREGON DEQ, METRO, AND THE INTERNATIONAL SLEEP PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION THAT HELPED PASS THIS NEW AND MODERNIZED LAW, WHICH INCORPORATES LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE FIRST THREE PROGRAMS AND BEST PRACTICES FROM OTHER EPR PROGRAMS. PHARMACEUTICALS EPR IN ILLINOIS: IN APRIL, ILLINOIS BECAME THE EIGHTH U.S. STATE TO ENACT AN EPR LAW REQUIRING DRUG MANUFACTURERS TO PAY FOR AND RUN A STATEWIDE TAKE-BACK PROGRAM. A BROAD COALITION INCLUDING PSI AND OUR PARTNER, THE ILLINOIS PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL, WORKED TOWARD A COMPROMISE SOLUTION OVER THREE YEARS, RESULTING IN BROAD BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR THE LAW. ILLINOIS IS THE EIGHTH STATE TO REQUIRE MANUFACTURERS TO FUND AND MANAGE A DRUG TAKE-BACK PROGRAM, PRECEDED BY MAINE, OREGON, MASSACHUSETTS, VERMONT, WASHINGTON STATE, NEW YORK, AND CALIFORNIA. THE COALITION'S WORK WAS BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION LAID BY PSI, WHICH OVER THE PAST 15 YEARS HAS PAVED THE WAY FOR THE PASSAGE OF DRUG TAKE-BACK LAWS IN THE U.S.