H-3089.2
SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2049
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By House Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives
Berry, Doglio, Fitzgibbon, Ramel, Duerr, Mena, Ryu, Bateman, Slatter,
Gregerson, Simmons, Peterson, Macri, Street, Alvarado, Fosse, Pollet,
and Kloba)
READ FIRST TIME 02/05/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to improving Washington's solid waste management
2 outcomes; amending RCW 70A.245.010, 70A.245.020, 70A.245.030,
3 70A.245.040, 70A.245.090, 70A.245.100, 70A.245.120, 70A.245.060,
4 70A.205.005, 70A.205.010, 70A.205.045, 81.77.030, 81.77.160, and
5 81.77.185; reenacting and amending RCW 43.21B.110 and 43.21B.300;
6 adding a new section to chapter 70A.245 RCW; adding a new section to
7 chapter 81.77 RCW; creating a new section; adding new chapters to
8 Title 70A RCW; repealing RCW 70A.245.110; prescribing penalties;
9 providing an effective date; and providing an expiration date.
10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
11 Part One
12 Providing for Producer Responsibility in the Management of Packaging
13 and Paper Products
14 NEW SECTION. Sec. 101. FINDINGS—INTENT. (1) The legislature
15 finds that, as of 2024, Washington's statewide waste recovery rate,
16 which seeks to preserve public health, safety, and welfare, and
17 conserve energy and natural resources, has been generally static
18 since 2011 and that Washington is not meeting the statewide goal of
19 50 percent recycling established in 1989.
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 1 (2) The legislature finds that packaging designs and materials
2 have changed and the way Washington's residents use, consume, and
3 manage materials when no longer wanted has also changed significantly
4 in recent years. These shifts contributed to unintended consequences,
5 such as the deterioration of ecosystems regionally and worldwide, as
6 well as increased levels of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
7 that contribute to global climate change, and reductions in human
8 well-being, especially for the most vulnerable populations.
9 (3) The legislature finds that convenient and environmentally
10 sound extended producer responsibility programs that include the
11 collection, transportation, reuse, and recycling, and the proper end-
12 of-life management of unwanted products help protect Washington's
13 environment and the health of state residents. In general, the
14 state's waste management hierarchy establishes that products should
15 be managed in a manner where a priority is placed on waste reduction,
16 reuse, and recycling over energy recovery and landfill disposal.
17 (4) The legislature finds that many residents, particularly those
18 who live in rural areas and in multifamily residences, do not have
19 access to convenient or affordable curbside recycling, and must rely
20 on taking recyclables to drop box locations, and that extended
21 producer responsibility programs could make curbside recycling
22 available and affordable for most people in the state.
23 (5) The legislature also finds that the department of ecology was
24 directed, through an independent consultant, to study how plastic
25 packaging is managed in the state and assess various policy options.
26 The study recommended, in part: (a) An extended producer
27 responsibility policy for all consumer packaging and paper products
28 with a framework that makes producers responsible for achieving
29 specific environmental outcomes for the packaging and paper products
30 they supply into Washington state; and (b) postconsumer recycled
31 content requirements.
32 (6) The legislature also finds that the department of ecology was
33 directed in 2023, through an independent consultant, to study and
34 develop recycling, reuse, and source reduction performance targets
35 for consumer packaging and paper materials. The targets study
36 concluded that the highest achievable recycling performance rates
37 could be achieved by a comprehensive policy scenario in which an
38 extended producer responsibility program and postconsumer recycled
39 content rate targets, as established in parts I and II of this act,
40 are combined with a deposit return system for beverage containers.
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 1 (7) In addition, the legislature finds extended producer
2 responsibility policies designed to cover all consumer packaging and
3 paper materials offer the potential for greater economies of scale
4 and operational efficiencies than could be achieved under a policy
5 applied only to a subset of materials.
6 (8) It is the intent of the legislature to require extended
7 producer responsibility programs for consumer packaging and paper
8 products be implemented in a manner that involves producers in
9 material management from design concept to end of life. These
10 programs incentivize innovation and research to develop new and more
11 efficient recycling and reuse technologies and minimize negative
12 environmental impacts of the packaging and paper products.
13 (9) It is intended that these programs be responsibly planned and
14 funded, so that covered products are handled and accounted for from
15 the point of collection through the final destination in a way that
16 minimizes negative impacts to the environment and minimizes risks to
17 public health and worker health and safety. It is also intended that
18 these programs build and expand on the existing waste and recycling
19 system's infrastructure and reliance on the authority of local
20 governments and the utilities and transportation commission in solid
21 waste management.
22 (10) It is the intent of the legislature that producers increase
23 the use of postconsumer recycled content in their products, to
24 achieve the goals in RCW 70A.520.010(2) and to create strong markets
25 for recycled materials and achieve environmental benefits.
26 (11) It is the intent of the legislature that, through design and
27 innovation, producers will reduce the use and negative climate impact
28 of consumer packaging and paper products and increase the use of
29 postconsumer recycled content.
30 (12) Finally, it is the intent of the legislature that Washington
31 should maintain the successful public-private partnership between
32 state, local government, and solid waste and recycling service
33 providers. The legislature does not intend to diminish or displace
34 the primary role of the utilities and transportation commission and
35 local governments in regulating or contracting directly with service
36 providers for the curbside collection of residential recyclables.
37 Local governments maintain their existing authority to collect,
38 contract for collection with solid waste and recycling service
39 providers, or defer to solid waste collection services regulated by
40 the utilities and transportation commission.
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 1 NEW SECTION. Sec. 102. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this
2 section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly
3 requires otherwise.
4 (1) "Alternative recycling process" means a recycling process
5 that occurs other than through purely mechanical means.
6 (2) "Brand" means a name, symbol, word, logo, or mark that
7 identifies an item and attributes the item and its components,
8 including packaging, to the brand owner of the item.
9 (3) "Compostable" means a product that is capable of undergoing
10 aerobic biological decomposition in a composting system, that results
11 in the material being broken down primarily into carbon dioxide,
12 water, inorganic compounds, and biomass, and is in compliance with
13 the requirements for a product labeled as compostable under chapter
14 70A.455 RCW.
15 (4) "Composting system" means a system meeting the requirements
16 of chapter 70A.205 RCW applicable to facilities that treat solid
17 waste for composting.
18 (5) "Consumer" means a person who purchases or receives a covered
19 product and is the intended end user or recipient of the covered
20 product.
21 (6) "Contamination" means:
22 (a) The presence of materials in a given collected material
23 stream that are not on the list of materials designated for
24 collection in that material stream; or
25 (b) The presence of materials in a given recycled material
26 delivered as a feedstock or commodity that are not specified or
27 accepted as a component of the feedstock or commodity.
28 (7)(a) "Covered product" means packaging and paper products sold
29 or supplied to consumers for personal, noncommercial use.
30 (b) "Covered product" does not include covered products for which
31 the producer demonstrates to the department that the covered product
32 meets all of the following criteria:
33 (i) The covered product is not collected through a residential
34 recycling collection service;
35 (ii) The covered product is recycled at a responsible end market;
36 (iii) The covered product is intended to be used and collected
37 within a commercial setting; and
38 (iv)(A) The producer annually demonstrates to the department that
39 the covered product has had a state recycling rate of 65 percent for
40 three consecutive years, until December 31, 2028. Beginning January
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 1 1, 2029, the producer must demonstrate to the department every two
2 years that the covered product has had a state recycling rate of at
3 least 70 percent annually; or
4 (B) The producer annually demonstrates to the department that the
5 covered product is directly managed by the producer and has had a
6 reuse or recycling rate of 65 percent for three consecutive years,
7 until December 31, 2028. Beginning January 1, 2029, the producer must
8 demonstrate to the department every two years that the covered
9 product controlled by the producer has had a reuse or recycling rate
10 of at least 70 percent annually.
11 (c) If only a portion of the covered product sold in or into the
12 state by a producer meets the criteria of (b)(i) of this subsection,
13 only the portion of the covered product that meets that criteria is
14 exempt from this chapter and any portion that does not meet the
15 criteria is a covered product for purposes of this chapter.
16 (8) "De minimis producer" means a producer that:
17 (a) Annually sells, offers for sale, distributes, or imports into
18 Washington state less than one ton of covered products; or
19 (b) Has a global gross revenue of less than $5,000,000, not
20 including on-premises alcohol sales, for the most recent fiscal year
21 of the organization.
22 (9) "Department" means the department of ecology.
23 (10) "Designated for collection" means the covered products that
24 are a material on the uniform statewide collection list for curbside
25 recycling programs or otherwise identified as suitable for recycling
26 collection in this state by the department as described in section
27 107 of this act.
28 (11) "Eliminate" or "elimination," with respect to source
29 reduction, means the removal of a component from a covered material.
30 (12) "Final disposition" means the point at which a covered
31 product:
32 (a) Becomes a reused material;
33 (b) Becomes a recycled material; or
34 (c) Is delivered to a disposal site, as defined in RCW
35 70A.205.015.
36 (13) "Government entity" means any:
37 (a) County, city, town, or other local government, including any
38 municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or special
39 purpose district, or any office, department, division, bureau, board,
40 commission, or agency thereof, or other local public agency;
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 1 (b) State office, department, division, bureau, board,
2 commission, or other state agency;
3 (c) Federally recognized Indian tribe whose traditional lands and
4 territories include parts of Washington; or
5 (d) Federal office, department, division, bureau, board,
6 commission, or other federal agency.
7 (14) "Item" means a product in or with packaging.
8 (15) "Material category" means a group of covered products that
9 have similar properties such as chemical composition, shape, or other
10 characteristics.
11 (16) "Overburdened communities" means the overburdened
12 communities identified and prioritized by the department under RCW
13 70A.02.050(1)(a).
14 (17)(a) "Packaging" means a material, substance, or object that
15 is:
16 (i) Used to protect, contain, transport, or serve an item;
17 (ii) Sold or supplied to consumers expressly for the purpose of
18 protecting, containing, transporting, or serving items;
19 (iii) Attached to an item or its container for the purpose of
20 marketing or communicating information about the item;
21 (iv) Supplied at the point of sale to facilitate the delivery of
22 the item; or
23 (v) Supplied to or purchased by consumers expressly for the
24 purpose of facilitating food or beverage consumption that is
25 ordinarily discarded by consumers after a single use or short-term
26 use.
27 (b) "Packaging" does not include:
28 (i) Materials intended to be used for the long-term storage or
29 protection of a durable product, that is intended to transport,
30 protect, or store the durable product on an ongoing basis, and that
31 can be expected to be usable for that purpose for a period of at
32 least five years;
33 (ii) For purposes of this chapter only, materials used to package
34 pesticide products regulated by the federal insecticide, fungicide,
35 and rodenticide act, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq. that are in direct
36 contact with the regulated product. This exemption does not include
37 products regulated by the United States food and drug administration;
38 (iii) Products excluded temporarily under section 127 of this
39 act;
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 1 (iv) Liquefied petroleum gas containers that are designed to be
2 refilled or returned;
3 (v)(A) Packaging for drugs that are used for animal medicines
4 including parasiticide products for animals; and (B) packaging for
5 products intended for animals that are regulated as animal drugs,
6 biologics, parasiticides, medical devices, or diagnostics used to
7 treat, or administered to, animals under the federal food, drug, and
8 cosmetic act, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq., the federal insecticide,
9 fungicide, and rodenticide act, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq., or the
10 federal virus-serum-toxin act, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq., as
11 amended;
12 (vi) Packaging for products that are regulated as a medical
13 device, dietary supplement, or drug by the United States food and
14 drug administration under the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act,
15 21 U.S.C. Sec. 321 et seq. or products that are regulated as a
16 biologic or vaccine by the federal food and drug administration under
17 the public health service act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 201 et seq.;
18 (vii) Packaging related to containers of architectural paint that
19 has been collected by a stewardship organization under the program
20 established in chapter 70A.515 RCW;
21 (viii) Qualifying beverage containers subject to a refund value,
22 if applicable, and for which a distributor responsibility
23 organization or other entity responsible for implementing the program
24 has submitted and received approval from the department for a
25 coordination plan that describes how the qualifying beverage
26 containers will be managed in a manner that does not conflict with
27 plans implemented under this chapter.
28 (18) "Paper" means packaging or paper products made of paper
29 fiber, regardless of its cellulosic fiber source, which may include,
30 but is not limited to: Wood, wheat, rice, cotton, bananas,
31 eucalyptus, bamboo, hemp, and sugar cane or bagasse.
32 (19) "Paper product" means paper sold or supplied, including
33 flyers, brochures, booklets, catalogs, magazines, copy paper,
34 printing paper, and all other paper materials except for: (a) Bound
35 books; (b) conservation grade and archival grade paper; (c)
36 newspapers; (d) paper designed for use in building construction; and
37 (e) paper products that, by any common and foreseeable use, could
38 reasonably be anticipated to become unsafe or unsanitary to handle.
39 (20) "Plan" means description of the approach and activities
40 developed by a producer responsibility organization to fulfill the
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 1 requirements and to carry out the responsibilities of producers under
2 this chapter.
3 (21) "Postconsumer recycled content" has the same meaning as
4 defined in section 201 of this act.
5 (22)(a) "Producer" means the following person responsible for
6 compliance with requirements under this chapter for a covered product
7 sold, offered for sale, or distributed in or into this state:
8 (i) For items sold in or with packaging at a physical retail
9 location in this state:
10 (A) If the item is sold in or with packaging under the brand of
11 the item manufacturer or is sold in packa