Transcript Why Product Stewardship? THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE

Why Product
Stewardship?
THE LOCAL
GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE
Zack Hansen, Ramsey County
Leslie Wilson, Carver County
December 15, 2010
Overview
• Introduction - Why Product Stewardship?
• How Waste Has Changed
• The Impacts of Products and Packaging
• The Product Stewardship Approach
• SWMCB Roles and Activities
• The Future of Product Stewardship
Introduction:
Why Product Stewardship?
•
Local government “charge” for
environmental and public health
protection – the arm of the State.
•
Environmental impacts – GHG emissions,
water, landfills, toxicity.
•
Local government costs, such as
recycling and HHW management .
HOW WASTE HAS CHANGED
How Waste Has Changed
* Grey area includes household ash
How Waste Has Changed
Disposable By Design
THE IMPACTS OF PRODUCTS
AND PACKAGING
US Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Consumption View – Global
Non-local Passenger
Transport
9%
Local Passenger
Transport
13%
Infrastructure
1%
Provision
of Food
12%
Building HVAC
and Lighting
21%
Use *
Provision of Goods
37%
Products & Packaging
44%
* Use of Appliances
and Devices
7%
© 2009 Product Policy Institute
Source: PPI 2009 – Joshua Stolaroff
Our Waterways - Plastics
Plastic bottles thrown into the Mississippi in
Minnesota…
Our Waterways - Plastics
… flow downriver to the Gulf of Mexico and
into the ocean, circulate through ocean
currents…
Our Waterways - Plastics
…and eventually end up here.
Our Waterways Pharmaceuticals
• Small concentrations of
pharmaceuticals have been found in:
– Drinking water supplies of at least 41
million Americans.
– Water at landfills, also known as
leachate, which can eventually end up in
rivers.
CO$T
• All Minnesota solid waste costs are at least
$1 billion a year, which is impacted by:
– Clean up costs for 112 closed landfills.
– Costs to manage Household Hazardous Waste
(HHW).
• Counties in the SWMCB six-county metro area paid a
total of $8.6 million in 2008 to manage HHW.
– Mounting state budget deficits.
So Why Doesn’t the
Current System Work?
• Current government waste management
programs unwittingly contribute to:
– Manufacturer design of wasteful and
toxic products.
– Consumer acceptance of disposable
products.
• Convenient disposal perpetuates the
problem.
THE PRODUCT
STEWARDSHIP APPROACH
Product Stewardship Defined
SWMCB
“Product stewardship means that all parties
involved in designing, manufacturing,
selling, and using a product share in the
financial and physical responsibility for
collecting and recycling products at the end
of their useful lives.”
Today’s Linear
Waste Management System
Manufacturers
Retailers
Recycle &
Garbage
Bins
Consumers
Local
Government
Funded
Recycling
© 2009 by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB)
Landfill and
Waste-to-Energy
Processes
Tomorrow’s
“Cradle to Cradle” System
Retailers
Consumers
Manufacturers
Materials are recycled
into new products
Take Back Programs
mail-back, collection sites,
haulers, local governments
© 2009 by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB)
Current Minnesota Product
Stewardship Efforts
• Focus on specific products to reduce
government costs and remove them from
the waste stream.
– Includes e-waste, paint, CFLs, carpet,
beverage containers, telephone directories,
mercury auto switches, and thermostats.
• Products mostly with hazardous character.
• Significant investment of time.
• Some success, some failure.
SWMCB Initiatives
E-Waste
• Successful passage of legislation in 2007 after
several years.
• SWMCB and MPCA evaluating legislation in
2010.
Paint
• Minnesota was the site of an industry-led
statewide paint management model.
• Minnesota Paint Stewardship bill passed
legislature in 2008 & 2009, later vetoed.
Beverage Containers
• Currently recycling
35%.
• Collection needs to
more than double to
reach 80% goal by
2012 (unlikely).
• Many of the strategies
require legislative
action.
SWMCB ROLES AND
ACTIVITIES
SWMCB Roles
POLICY DEVELOPMENT
EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION
ADVOCACY
RESEARCH
COORDINATION AND REGULATION
SWMCB Resolution
• On January 27, 2010
the SWMCB adopted
a resolution for
product stewardship.
SWMCB Product Stewardship
Resources
• Tool kit available at www.swmcb.org/toolkits
• Includes
– Presentation: Why Product Stewardship – The
Local Government Perspective
– 3 Fact Sheets
• What is Product Stewardship?
• Cost Considerations in Product Stewardship
Programs?
• Why a Product Stewardship Framework?
– Resolution of Support for local government
THE FUTURE OF PRODUCT
STEWARDSHIP
Product Stewardship
in the Future
• It could be:
– The foundation for waste management
policy;
– A means to increase efficiency (that is, less
waste) in business and government;
– A way for government to reduce its waste
management costs; and
– A movement towards less toxic products
(i.e. “green” chemistry or design for the
environment).
Next Steps
• SWMCB focus on advocacy - 2011
legislative package:
– Establish an Extended Producer
Responsibility Framework Approach
• Would create effective producer led reduction,
reuse and recycling programs, to deal with a
product’s lifecycle impacts
• Less need for government intervention and less
money spent by government to manage products
• SWMCB also supports specific product
stewardship efforts.