W6.5 Product stewardship
Actively support new state and national product stewardship legislation that requires producers to be involved in end-of- product-life management, either through product design changes (e.g. compostable snack bags), investing in take back programs, or placing a fee on the sale of products to support diversion.
Washington has product stewardship legislation for lights containing mercury, photovoltaic modules, and electronic equipment. (Practically, the laws only mean that there are locations where customers can return light bulbs and electronics for recycling free, if they choose to go to the trouble.)
The original version of SB 5397, which became law last year, would have require producers of plastic packaging to participate in a product stewardship organization in order to sell or distribute their products in Washington State. It was amended in committee to require a report on the issue by the end of October 2020, with recommendations on ways toΒ achieve 100 percent recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging, with at least 20 percent postconsumer recycled content, for all goods sold in Washington by January 1, 2025.