News & Events

GlobalPSC News – October 2017

 

New GlobalPSC Board Members

The GlobalPSC Executive Committee (Board) recently decided unanimously to include three new members as a reflection of priority areas for the Board and in recognition of these members’ contributions to the GlobalPSC across diverse geographic coverage. These changes will further the GlobalPSC vision of facilitating the development and implementation of effective product stewardship schemes globally.

The new members include:

• Rodrigo Leiva Neumann – General Manager of Valoryza (Chile)
• Joachim Quoden – Managing Director of EXPRA (Belgium)
• Chris van Rossem – Director Technical Advisory Services at Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance

We have enjoyed long working relationships with these three as GlobalPSC members and look forward to their continued involvement in the GlobalPSC’s development as Board members.

 

California Adopts Groundbreaking Carpet EPR

With Governor Jerry Brown’s signature 14 October on AB 1158, California has adopted groundbreaking extended producer responsibility (EPR) for carpet.

The legislation requires carpet manufacturers to submit a carpet stewardship plan that meets specified requirements and increase the rate of carpet recycling to 24% by 1 January 2020. The legislation also aims to end consumer subsidization of carpet incineration in municipal incinerators and cement kilns, incentivize production of more recyclable carpets, and ensure proper training for carpet installers.

Stewardship plans must include quantifiable 5-year goals and annual goals subject to review by CalRecycle. Updates to the stewardship plans must also address recommendations by an advisory committee to be appointed.

In California for 2016, over 257 million pounds (over 116,500 tonnes) of carpets were disposed of to landfills (about 2% of total disposed), while over 20 million pounds (over 9,000 tonnes) were disposed of in incinerators. Carpets are comprised of 99% plastic, derived from fossil fuels. Carpet production is estimated to grow 4.5% annually.

 

California Packaging Product Stewardship Reform

Roughly 25 percent of California’s disposed waste stream is comprised of packaging materials. While the benefits of packaging are noted, improper management can result in greenhouse gas emissions, waterway and marine debris, and human health impacts.

According to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle),

“(i)n order to help meet the state’s aggressive 75 percent recycling, composting, and source reduction goal by 2020, and particularly in light of significant recent developments such as the drop in California’s recycling rate and potential implications of China’s expanding regulations to ban certain scrap imports, it is critical now more than ever to address this portion of the waste stream. This will require a higher level of awareness and involvement by all parties involved in the sale and use of packaging: manufacturers, distributors, retailers, local governments, waste haulers, and consumers. After an extensive stakeholder outreach process dating back to 2012, the Director of (CalRecycle) instructed staff at the September 2016 monthly public meeting to develop a comprehensive, mandatory policy model for managing packaging to significantly reduce its presence in the waste stream.”

CalRecycle is seeking additional input on the proposed reforms for packaging.

In draft screening criteria for determining priority packaging types released in July 2017, CalRecycle noted that,

“(g)iven that there is not a one-size-fits-all policy solution for all packaging, the Department is choosing to evaluate which mandatory policy models (e.g., Extended Producer Responsibility, etc.) and instruments (e.g., minimum content, etc.) might be best suited to increasing collection and recovery of specific packaging types. In order to do this, staff are developing a set of screening criteria to determine which packaging types could be prioritized for analysis relative to different mandatory policy approaches.” 

To further advance public consultation on the issue, including an October 2017 workshop, CalRecycle has released a background document to

“solicit stakeholder input on a comprehensive policy framework as a policy model, what the framework should entail, critical steps for how it could work, and how specific policy tools could be implemented within that framework. In addition, staff are seeking feedback on how the framework could be enforced, how CalRecycle could measure progress and success, and how the framework could respond to changes in the marketplace.”‘

The background document contains final screening criteria for packaging based on the draft criteria and public consultation. Stakeholder submissions received prior to the 10 October workshop are also available here.

 

GlobalPSC Corporate Member – Fisher & Paykel Healthcare

 

 

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is a world leader in medical devices and systems for use in respiratory care, acute care, surgery and in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

 

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