Analyzing Product Stewardship Policies for Packaging and Printed Paper in Washington State (PDF file, 1.9MB)

Northwest Product Stewardship Council, 2011.

Washington State Beverage Container Recycling Initiative: 2008 Report

In 2006, the Northwest Product Stewardship Council and EPA Region 10 initiated a process to explore ways to develop an incentive system to increase the collection and recycling of used beverage containers without the use of cash deposits. The effort lasted 18 months and involved 48 individuals representing 35 industry stakeholders.

The initial meeting resulted in three educational conference calls reviewing current US and Canadian beverage container recovery programs. In the follow-up meeting, the group agreed to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for incentive programs. Two proposals were selected for joint funding to be provided by local, state and federal governments, the Beverage Packaging Environmental Council (BPEC) of the National Recycling Coalition (an industry organization), and in-kind donations from pilot program partners.

The proposals were not funded, and in March 2008 the committee unanimously agreed to end the effort to come to a mutually agreeable solution to the problem of used beverage container recovery. The NWPSC steering committee agreed to terminate work on the project and begin exploring other options to increase the recycling of used beverage containers and other packaging materials.

Learn more about the process from the 2008 report:

• Final Report: History of Beverage Container Stakeholder Process in the State of Washington (PDF file, 75KB)
• Appendix A: Economic & Environmental Benefits of a Deposit System for Beverage Containers in the State of Washington (PDF file, 806KB)
• Appendix B: Agenda for the First WA Beverage Container Initiative Meeting(PDF file, 83KB)
• Appendix C: Meeting Minutes from the First WA Beverage Container Initiative Meeting (PDF file, 68KB)
• Appendix D: NWPSC Container Recovery Program Summary and Process (PDF file, 25KB)
• Appendix E: Overview of Existing Container Recycling Programs (PDF file, 25KB)
• Appendix F: Presentation at the 2005 NRC National Convention about BPEC (PDF file, 252KB)
• Appendix G: BPEC FAQs (PDF file, 20KB)
• Appendix H: Final RFP for Incentive Programs (PDF file, 62KB)
• Appendix I: Summary of RFP Proposals (PDF file, 70KB)
• Appendix J: White River Amphitheatre Proposal (PDF file, 121KB)
• Appendix K: Northtown Mall Proposal (PDF file, 70KB)