Latest News

More Recycling Won't Solve Plastic Pollution

July 6, 2018 Scientific American: "It’s true that plastic pollution is a huge problem, of planetary proportions. And it's true we could all do more to reduce our plastic footprint. The lie is that blame for the plastic problem is wasteful consumers and that changing our individual habits will fix it...

EPR legislation in the United States

The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) analyzes and tracks extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws and policies, and provides a regular update to its members on active legislation. In 2018, there have been 36 state and local EPR bills that seek to reduce the burden of managing a variety of products at the end of their useful life.

Two million mattresses recycled by California stewardship program

California's statewide mattress stewardship program, Bye Bye Mattress, which is run by the industry's Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), recycled almost 1.3 million mattresses in 2017, diverting 40 million pounds from landfill, according to their 2017 California annual report. 

New York enacts Drug Take Back Act into law

In July 2018, New York became the second state to enact a medicine stewardship law requiring pharmaceutical manufacturers to finance and manage the safe collection and disposal of unused medications; Washington passed similar stewardship legislation in March. New York's program implementation will begin in mid-2019, according to the Product Stewardship Institute. 

Recycle BC program plan consultation, phase 2

Recycle BC, the stewardship organization responsible for operating British Columbia's manufacturer funded packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) program, is in phase 2 (July-August 2018) of consultation of its revised five year program plan.

LightRecycle Washington update July 2018

From January through March 2018, Washingtonians recycled 322,893 mercury-containing lights, weighing over 160,000 pounds, via LightRecycle Washington. LightRecycle, a manufacturer operated product stewardship program run by nonprofit PCA Product Stewardship Inc.

Washington Drug Take Back rulemaking

In March 2018, the Washington legislature passed the nation's first statewide drug take back law, requiring manufacturers to fund and operate a program to safely and securely collect and dispose of unwanted medications. The Department of Health, which oversees the program, is beginning the rulemaking process with 

Paint stewardship saves local government millions of dollars a year

"Wasted paint was about 50% of the volume and cost of household hazardous waste (HHW) programs in California," until paint stewardship legislation passed requiring the paint industry to fund and operate a collection system for unwanted paints.

Survey of Washington product stewardship priorities

The NWPSC surveyed Washington local and state government staff for guidance on product stewardship priorities. The top 5 products / materials that "create concerns at the end-of-life for you and the community you serve" are:

PaintCare Oregon fee increase

PaintCare proposed to Oregon DEQ, which oversees the paint stewardship program, an increase in fees collected on cans of paint sold in Oregon. Pending a public comment period, DEQ proposes to approve (PDF) the increase with conditions, among them that:

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