Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HOUSE BILL NO. 5902
     July 31, 2024, Introduced by Reps. Aiyash and Paiz and referred to the Committee on Natural
        Resources, Environment, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation.
          A bill to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled
    "Natural resources and environmental protection act,"
    (MCL 324.101 to 324.90106) by adding part 177.
                     THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
                                          PART 177
                   PACKAGING REDUCTION AND RECYCLING PROGRAM
       Sec. 17701. As used in this part:
       (a) "Beverage container" means an airtight metal, glass,
 paper, or plastic container, or a container composed of a
 combination of these materials, that, at the time of sale, contains
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 any beverage in a quantity of not more than 1 gallon.
       (b) "Bioplastic" or "bioplastics" means plastic produced from
 biological sources such as vegetable fats and oils,
 polysaccharides, sugar, proteins, or other materials that are
 designed to be biodegradable.
       (c) "Brand" means any mark, word, name, symbol, design,
 device, or graphical element or a combination thereof, including a
 registered or unregistered trademark, that identifies and
 distinguishes a product from other products.
       (d) "Chemical recycling" means a process for the conversion of
 postconsumer plastics into fuels, oils, waxes, monomers, chemicals,
 and other products through chemical or molecular conversion
 processes including, but not limited to, pyrolysis (catalytic and
 noncatalytic), gasification, depolymerization, hydrogenation,
 solvolysis, molecular recycling, thermal desorption, waste-to-fuel
 processes, or waste-to-energy processes.
       (e) "Department" means the department of environment, Great
 Lakes, and energy.
       (f) "Discarded", in reference to packaging material, means
 used for its intended purpose and no longer needed by consumers,
 businesses, institutions, and other users, and manageable through
 reuse, recycling, or disposal. Discard has a corresponding meaning.
       (g) "Disposal" means any of the following:
       (i) Incineration.
       (ii) Landfilling.
       (iii) Use for landfill cover.
       (iv) Energy recovery or energy generation by any means,
 including, but not limited to, combustion, pyrolysis, gasification,
 solvolysis, thermal desorption, a waste-to-fuel process, or any
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 other chemical or molecular conversion process.
       (h) "Environmental justice community" means a geographic area
 that the department, using a tool such as the United States
 Environmental Protection Agency's EJSCREEN, has identified as a
 community facing a disproportionate environmental burden using
 indicators such as sensitive populations, socioeconomic factors,
 exposures, and environmental effects.
       (i) "Local government" means any municipal corporation,
 governmental subdivision of this state, local governmental unit,
 special district, school, local or regional board, commission, or
 authority authorized by law to plan or provide for waste management
 services for a specific geographical area.
       (j) "Needs assessment" means the statewide packaging
 reduction, reuse, and recycling needs assessment provided for in
 section 17707.
       (k) "Packaging" or "packaging material", subject to
 subdivision (l), means a discrete material or category of material,
 regardless of recyclability, including, but not limited to, paper,
 plastic, glass, metal, or multimaterial, that is used for the
 containment, protection, handling, delivery, transport,
 distribution, or presentation of another product that is sold,
 offered for sale, imported, or distributed in this state,
 including, but not limited to, the following:
       (i) Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE).
       (ii) High-density polyethylene (HDPE).
       (iii) Polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
       (iv) Low-density polyethylene (LDPE).
       (v) Polypropylene (PP).
       (vi) Polystyrene (PS), including expanded polystyrene.
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       (vii) Other plastic resin types not specifically identified in
 this subsection.
       (viii) Bioplastics.
       (ix) Paper.
       (x) Cardboard.
       (xi) Wood.
       (xii) Glass.
       (xiii) Bimetal, steel, and other ferrous metals.
       (xiv) Aluminum and other nonferrous metals.
       (xv) Mixed materials including laminates and packaging
 containing more than 1 of the materials listed in subdivisions (a)
 to (n).
       (xvi) Any other material used for consumer packaging.
       (l) Packaging does not include any of the following:
       (i) Medical devices and packaging that are included with
 products regulated as a combination product as described in 21 CFR
 3.2(e), or as a drug, medical device, or dietary supplement, by the
 United States Food and Drug Administration under the federal food,
 drug, and cosmetic act, 21 USC 301 to 473.
       (ii) Animal biologics, including vaccines, bacterins, antisera,
 diagnostic kits, and other products of biological origin, and other
 covered materials regulated by the United States Department of
 Agriculture under the virus-serum-toxin act, 21 USC 151 to 159.
       (iii) Packaging regulated by the federal insecticide, fungicide,
 and rodenticide act, 7 USC 136 to 136y, or other applicable federal
 law, rule, or regulation.
       (iv) A beverage container.
       (m) "Packaging reduction and recycling program" or "program"
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 means the program implemented by the packaging reduction
 organization, and overseen by the department, to reduce packaging,
 to assess and collect information and payments from producers based
 on the amount of packaging used by each producer to contain,
 protect, deliver, present, or distribute their products, and to pay
 for the development of packaging reduction programs, including, but
 not limited to, reusable and refillable packaging systems and
 infrastructure, reimbursements to local government to cover the
 cost of packaging recycling, and investments in education and
 outreach.
       (n) "Packaging reduction fund" means the fund created in
 section 17709.
       (o) "Packaging reduction organization" means the entity
 responsible for operating the packaging reduction program under
 section 17704.
       (p) "Postconsumer recycled material" means new material
 produced using material resulting from the recovery, separation,
 collection, and reprocessing of material that would otherwise be
 disposed of or processed as waste and that was originally sold for
 consumption. Postconsumer recycled material does not include
 postindustrial material or preconsumer material, or material
 generated by means of chemical recycling.
       (q) "Producer", subject to subdivision (r), means the
 following:
       (i) An individual or entity that manufactures or uses in
 commercial enterprise a product sold, offered for sale, contained,
 protected, delivered, presented, or distributed in this state in or
 using packaging under the brand of the manufacturer.
       (ii) If subparagraph (i) does not apply, an individual or entity
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 that is not the manufacturer of the product, but is the owner or
 licensee of a trademark, regardless of whether the trademark is
 registered, under which a product is sold, offered for sale,
 contained, protected, delivered, presented, or distributed in this
 state in or using packaging.
       (iii) If neither subparagraph (i) nor (ii) applies, an individual
 or entity that imports into the United States or this state a
 product that is contained, protected, delivered, or presented in
 packaging, for use in commercial enterprise in this state.
       (r) Producer includes a franchisor of a franchise located in
 this state if the franchisee otherwise meets the requirements of
 subdivision (n), but producer does not include the franchisee
 operating that franchise.
       (s) "Product line" means a group of related products all
 marketed under a single brand name that is sold by the same
 producer to distinguish products from each other for better
 usability for customers.
       Sec. 17702. As used in this part:
       (a) "Recyclable", subject to subdivision (b), describes a
 product or packaging material that, as determined though the annual
 review process under section 17705(3), meets all of the following
 requirements:
       (i) Can be sorted by entities that process postconsumer
 materials discarded in this state.
       (ii) Has a consistent regional market for purchase by end users
 in the production of new products.
       (iii) Can be recycled with minimal losses of material during
 processing and manufacturing.
       (b) Recyclable does not describe material processed through
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 chemical recycling.
       (c) "Recycled" describes discarded packaging materials or
 products used in the production of a new product or packaging in
 place of virgin materials. Material is not considered recycled if
 it is used as landfill cover. Recycled material does not include
 contaminants, residues, and other process losses.
       (d) "Recycling", subject to subdivision (e), means the series
 of activities by which material is both of the following:
       (i) Collected, transported, sorted, and processed.
       (ii) Used in industrial feedstocks in place of virgin materials
 to manufacture new products with minimal loss of material quality
 and quantity, as determined through the annual review under section
 17705(3).
       (e) Recycling does not include either of the following:
       (i) Energy recovery, energy generation, or generation of toxic
 substances by any means, including, but not limited to, chemical
 recycling, incineration, or combustion.
       (ii) Landfill disposal of discarded material or discarded
 product component materials, including the use of materials as
 landfill cover.
       (f) "Recycling rate", with respect to a type of packaging
 material, means the percentage obtained by taking the total weight
 of that type of packaging material recycled in this state in a
 given year, dividing by the total weight of that type of packaging
 material discarded in this state in that year, and multiplying the
 quotient by 100. Recycling rate, with respect to all packaging
 material, means the percentage obtained by taking the total weight
 of all packaging material recycled in this state in a given year,
 dividing by the total weight of all packaging material discarded in
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 this state in that year, and multiplying the quotient by 100.
 Material losses of contaminants and residues accruing during
 collection, processing, and manufacturing of new products are not
 considered recycled and shall not be included in the dividend.
       (g) "Reuse" means the return of packaging back into the
 economic stream for use in the same kind of application intended
 for the original packaging, without effectuating a change in the
 original composition of the packaging, the identity of the product,
 or the components thereof.
       (h) "Reuse and refill system" means a program or set of
 mechanisms designed to facilitate multiple uses of packaging. A
 reuse and refill system may include, but is not limited to,
 deposits, incentives, curbside collection, collection kiosks,
 refill stations, dishwashing facilities, and redistribution
 networks.
       (i) "Reusable or refillable packaging and containers" means
 packaging material and containers that are specifically designed
 and manufactured to maintain their shape and structure and be
 materially durable for repeated sanitizing, washing, and reuse.
       (j) "Toxic substance" means a chemical or chemical class
 identified by a state agency, federal agency, international
 intergovernmental agency, accredited research university, or other
 scientific entity considered authoritative by the department on the
 basis of credible scientific evidence as being any of the
 following:
       (i) A chemical or chemical class that is a carcinogen, mutagen,
 reproductive toxicant, immunotoxin, neurotoxicant, or endocrine
 disruptor.
       (ii) A chemical or chemical class that is persistent or
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 bioaccumulative.
       (iii) A chemical or chemical class that may harm the normal
 development of a human or wildlife.
       (iv) A chemical or chemical class that may harm organs or cause
 other systemic toxicity.
       (v) A chemical or chemical class that may have adverse air
 quality impacts, adverse ecological impacts, adverse soil quality
 impacts, or adverse water quality impacts.
       (vi) A chemical or chemical class that the department has
 determined has equivalent toxicity to the above criteria.
       (k) "UPC" means "universal product code", a standard for
 encoding a set of lines and spaces that can be scanned and
 interpreted into numbers for product identification purposes. UPC
 includes any industry-accepted barcode used for product
 identification purposes in a manner similar to a UPC, including,
 but not limited to, a European article number.
       Sec. 17703. (1) Beginning 1 year after the execution of a
 contract with the packaging reduction organization selected through
 the competitive bidding process under section 17704 or the
 designation of a state agency as the packaging reduction
 organization under section 17704, a producer shall not sell, offer
 for sale, or distribute in this state a product contained,
 protected, delivered, presented, or distributed in or using
 packaging unless the producer is both of the following:
       (a) Registered with the packaging reduction organization under
 section 17705.
       (b) In full compliance with all requirements of this part.
       (2) A producer shall annually report to the packaging
 reduction organization both of the following:
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       (a) The total amount, by weight, of each type of packaging
 material sold, offered for sale, or distributed in this state by
 the producer in the prior calendar year.
       (b) All information necessary for the producer and the
 packaging reduction organization to meet their obligations under
 section 17705.
       (3) A producer shall submit to the packaging reduction
 organization, in a manner and format to be determined by the
 department, all fees assessed on the producer by the packaging
 reduction organization under section 17708.
       (4) A producer shall annually submit, to both the department
 and the packaging reduction organization, a written declaration
 signed by the chief executive officer, verifying the producer's
 compliance with sections 17710, 17711, and 17712.
       (5) A producer is exempt from this part in a calendar year if
 any of the following apply:
       (a) The producer realized less than $1,000,000.00 in total
 gross revenue during the prior calendar year.
       (b) The producer sold, offered for sale, or distributed in
 this state products contained, protected, delivered, presented, or
 distributed in or using less than 1 ton of packaging material in
 total during the prior calendar year.
       (6) A producer claiming an exemption under subsection (5)
 shall provide the department with sufficient information to
 demonstrate that the claimant is eligible for an exemption.
       Sec. 17704. (1) Consistent with the requirements of this
 section, within 1 year after promulgating rules under this part,
 the department shall select and enter into a contract with a
 nonprofit organization exempt under 26 USC 501(c)(3) to operate the
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 packaging reduction and recycling program for 10 years as the
 packaging reduction organization.
       (2) Consistent with applicable competitive bidding
 requirements and following the initial promulgation of rules under
 this part, the department shall issue a request for a proposal for
 the operation of the packaging reduction and recycling program. The
 proposals must cover the 10-year operation of the program by the
 successful bidder