Solid Wastes Industry Announces New Policy on Product Stewardship

Says Successful Product Stewardship Is Shared Responsibility among Manufacturers, Retailers, Government, Consumers and the Private and Public Sector Recycling and Solid Waste Industry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2012
Contact: Chaz Miller, 202-364-3742 or cmiller@envasns.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) today announced a new policy on product stewardship, expressing the recycling and solid waste industry’s position that product stewardship may increase the safe management of some products, in particular those with toxic constituents such as mercury. Product stewardship laws require manufacturers to be responsible for end-of-life management of their products.  These laws aim to increase recycling while also establishing a new way to fund recycling programs. Thirty-two states currently have product stewardship laws, most of which cover mercury-containing and electronics products.  Some newer laws cover harder to recycle materials such as paint and carpet.

In its new policy, NSWMA expresses its position that a successful product stewardship system will be a shared responsibility among manufacturers, retailers, government, consumers and the private and public sector recycling and solid waste industry. The new NSWMA policy recommends the following:

• That any proposed product stewardship legislation be designed carefully to ensure that recycling and waste management systems continue to be cost-effective, innovative, efficient and result in enhanced environmental protection at no additional cost to taxpayers or consumers;
• That legislators conduct a comprehensive life cycle analysis before designating products for mandated product stewardship; and
• That new programs should take place in a fully competitive marketplace with no anti-trust immunity for product stewardship organizations.

“Private sector haulers and recyclers collect and process residential and commercial recyclables throughout the United States,” said NSWMA President and CEO Bruce J. Parker. “Working with our public and private sector customers we have played a crucial role in increasing recycling in America. We offer practical experience in how to make recycling work effectively. We look forward to continuing to increase recycling in America.”

For further information on product stewardship and NSWMA’s new policy, contact Chaz Miller, NSWMA Director of State Programs, at 202-364-3742 or cmiller@envasns.org. Miller is the author of "From Birth to Rebirth: Will Product Stewardship Save Resources," an analysis of product stewardship that was named Best Paper at the American Bar Association Energy, Environment and Resources Section 2011 Fall Workshop.

Download a copy of the new policy here.

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NSWMA – a sub-association of the Environmental Industry Associations – represents for-profit companies in North America that provide solid, hazardous and medical waste collection, recycling and disposal services, and companies that provide professional and consulting services to the waste services industry. NSWMA members conduct business in all 50 states.

For more information about how innovation in the solid waste industry is helping to solve today’s environmental challenges, visit environmentalistseveryday.org/environmentalists.