Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

S-3762.1
                               SENATE BILL 6005
     State of Washington       68th Legislature         2024 Regular Session
     By Senators Lovelett, Nguyen, Frame,         Hasegawa,   Liias,   Nobles,
     Pedersen, Saldaña, Salomon, and Stanford
     Prefiled 01/05/24. Read first time 01/08/24.      Referred to Committee
     on Environment, Energy & Technology.
      AN ACT Relating to improving Washington's solid waste management
  outcomes;   amending   RCW  70A.245.010,  70A.245.020,  70A.245.030,
  70A.245.040, 70A.245.090, 70A.245.100, 70A.245.120, 70A.245.060,
  70A.205.005, 70A.205.010, 70A.205.045, 81.77.030, 81.77.160, and
  81.77.185; reenacting and amending RCW 43.21B.110 and 43.21B.300;
  adding a new section to chapter 70A.245 RCW; adding a new section to
  chapter 81.77 RCW; adding new chapters to Title 70A RCW; repealing
  RCW 70A.245.110; prescribing penalties; providing effective dates;
  and providing an expiration date.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
                               Part One
 Providing for Producer Responsibility in the Management of Packaging
                          and Paper Products
     NEW SECTION.   Sec. 101.    FINDINGS—INTENT. (1) The legislature
 finds that, as of 2024, Washington's statewide waste recovery rate,
 which seeks to preserve public health, safety, and welfare, and
 conserve energy and natural resources, has been generally static
 since 2011 and that Washington is not meeting the statewide goal of
 50 percent recycling established in 1989.
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     (2) The legislature finds that packaging designs and materials
 have changed and the way Washington's residents use, consume, and
 manage materials when no longer wanted has also changed significantly
 in recent years. These shifts contributed to unintended consequences,
 such as the deterioration of ecosystems regionally and worldwide, as
 well as increased levels of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
 that contribute to global climate change, and reductions in human
 well-being, especially for the most vulnerable populations.
     (3) The legislature finds that convenient and environmentally
 sound extended producer responsibility programs that include the
 collection, transportation, reuse, and recycling, and the proper end-
 of-life management of unwanted products help protect Washington's
 environment and the health of state residents. In general, the
 state's waste management hierarchy establishes that products should
 be managed in a manner where a priority is placed on waste reduction,
 reuse, and recycling over energy recovery and landfill disposal.
     (4) The legislature finds that many residents, particularly those
 who live in rural areas and in multifamily residences, do not have
 access to convenient or affordable curbside recycling, and must rely
 on taking recyclables to drop box locations, and that extended
 producer responsibility programs could make curbside recycling
 available and affordable for most people in the state.
     (5) The legislature also finds that the department of ecology was
 directed, through an independent consultant, to study how plastic
 packaging is managed in the state and assess various policy options.
 The   study  recommended,   in   part:   (a)  An   extended  producer
 responsibility policy for all consumer packaging and paper products
 with a framework that makes producers responsible for achieving
 specific environmental outcomes for the packaging and paper products
 they supply into Washington state; and (b) postconsumer recycled
 content requirements.
     (6) In addition, the legislature finds extended producer
 responsibility policies designed to cover all consumer packaging and
 paper materials offer the potential for greater economies of scale
 and operational efficiencies than could be achieved under a policy
 applied only to a subset of materials.
     (7) It is the intent of the legislature to require extended
 producer responsibility programs for consumer packaging and paper
 products be implemented in a manner that involves producers in
 material management from design concept to end of life. These
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 programs incentivize innovation and research to develop new and more
 efficient recycling and reuse technologies and minimize negative
 environmental impacts of the packaging and paper products.
     (8) It is intended that these programs be responsibly planned and
 funded, so that covered products are handled and accounted for from
 the point of collection through the final destination in a way that
 minimizes negative impacts to the environment and minimizes risks to
 public health and worker health and safety. It is also intended that
 these programs build and expand on the existing waste and recycling
 system's infrastructure and reliance on the authority of local
 governments and the utilities and transportation commission in solid
 waste management.
     (9) It is the intent of the legislature that producers increase
 the use of postconsumer recycled content in their products, to
 achieve the goals in RCW 70A.520.010(2) and to create strong markets
 for recycled materials and achieve environmental benefits.
     (10) It is the intent of the legislature that, through design and
 innovation, producers will reduce the use and negative climate impact
 of consumer packaging and paper products and increase the use of
 postconsumer recycled content.
     (11) Finally, it is the intent of the legislature that Washington
 should maintain the successful public-private partnership between
 state, local government, and solid waste and recycling service
 providers. The legislature does not intend to diminish or displace
 the primary role of the utilities and transportation commission and
 local governments in regulating or contracting directly with service
 providers for the curbside collection of residential recyclables.
 Local governments maintain their existing authority to collect,
 contract for collection with solid waste and recycling service
 providers, or defer to solid waste collection services regulated by
 the utilities and transportation commission.
     NEW SECTION.    Sec. 102.   DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this
 section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly
 requires otherwise.
     (1) "Alternative recycling process" means a recycling process
 that occurs other than through purely mechanical means.
     (2) "Brand" means a name, symbol, word, logo, or mark that
 identifies an item and attributes the item and its components,
 including packaging, to the brand owner of the item.
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     (3) "Compostable" means a product that is capable of undergoing
 aerobic biological decomposition in a composting system, that results
 in the material being broken down primarily into carbon dioxide,
 water, inorganic compounds, and biomass, and is in compliance with
 the requirements for a product labeled as compostable under chapter
 70A.455 RCW.
     (4) "Composting system" means a system meeting the requirements
 of chapter 70A.205 RCW applicable to facilities that treat solid
 waste for composting.
     (5) "Consumer" means a person who purchases or receives a covered
 product and is the intended end user or recipient of the covered
 product.
     (6) "Contamination" means:
     (a) The presence of materials in a given collected material
 stream that are not on the list of materials designated for
 collection in that material stream; or
     (b) The presence of materials in a given recycled material
 delivered as a feedstock or commodity that are not specified or
 accepted as a component of the feedstock or commodity.
     (7) "Covered product" means packaging and paper products sold or
 supplied to consumers for personal, noncommercial use.
     (8) "De minimis producer" means a producer that:
     (a) Annually sells, offers for sale, distributes, or imports into
 Washington state less than one ton of covered products; or
     (b) Has a global gross revenue of less than $5,000,000 for the
 most recent fiscal year of the organization.
     (9) "Department" means the department of ecology.
     (10) "Designated for collection" means the covered products that
 are a material on the uniform statewide collection list for curbside
 recycling programs or otherwise identified as suitable for recycling
 collection in this state by the department as described in section
 107 of this act.
     (11) "Eliminate" or "elimination," with respect to source
 reduction, means the removal of a plastic component from a covered
 material.
     (12) "Final disposition" means the point at which a covered
 product:
     (a) Becomes a reused material;
     (b) Becomes a recycled material; or
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     (c) Is delivered to a disposal site, as defined in RCW
 70A.205.015.
     (13) "Government entity" means any:
     (a) County, city, town, or other local government, including any
 municipal   corporation,   quasi-municipal   corporation,  or  special
 purpose district, or any office, department, division, bureau, board,
 commission, or agency thereof, or other local public agency;
     (b)   State   office,    department,   division,   bureau,  board,
 commission, or other state agency;
     (c) Federally recognized Indian tribe whose traditional lands and
 territories include parts of Washington; or
     (d)   Federal   office,   department,   division,  bureau,  board,
 commission, or other federal agency.
     (14) "Item" means a product in or with packaging.
     (15) "Material category" means a group of covered products that
 have similar properties such as chemical composition, shape, or other
 characteristics.
      (16)   "Overburdened    communities"   means   the    overburdened
 communities identified and prioritized by the department under RCW
 70A.02.050(1)(a).
     (17)(a) "Packaging" means a material, substance, or object that
 is:
      (i) Used to protect, contain, transport, or serve an item;
      (ii) Sold or supplied to consumers expressly for the purpose of
 protecting, containing, transporting, or serving items;
     (iii) Attached to an item or its container for the purpose of
 marketing or communicating information about the item;
      (iv) Supplied at the point of sale to facilitate the delivery of
 the item; or
     (v) Supplied to or purchased by consumers expressly for the
 purpose of facilitating food or beverage consumption that is
 ordinarily discarded by consumers after a single use or short-term
 use.
     (b) "Packaging" does not include:
      (i) Materials intended to be used for the long-term storage or
 protection of a durable product, that is intended to transport,
 protect, or store the durable product on an ongoing basis, and that
 can be expected to be usable for that purpose for a period of at
 least five years;
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     (ii) For purposes of this chapter only, materials used to package
 pesticide products regulated by the federal insecticide, fungicide,
 and rodenticide act, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq. that are in direct
 contact with the regulated product. This exemption does not include
 products regulated by the United States food and drug administration;
     (iii) Products excluded temporarily under section 127 of this
 act;
      (iv) Liquefied petroleum gas containers that are designed to be
 refilled or returned;
     (v)(A) Packaging for drugs that are used for animal medicines
 including parasiticide products for animals; and (B) packaging for
 products intended for animals that are regulated as animal drugs,
 biologics, parasiticides, medical devices, or diagnostics used to
 treat, or administered to, animals under the federal food, drug, and
 cosmetic act, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq., the federal insecticide,
 fungicide, and rodenticide act, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq., or the
 federal virus-serum-toxin act, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq., as
 amended;
     (vi) Packaging for products that are regulated as a medical
 device or drug by the United States food and drug administration
 under the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 321 et
 seq.;
     (vii) Packaging related to containers of architectural paint that
 has been collected by a stewardship organization under the program
 established in chapter 70A.515 RCW;
     (viii) Qualifying beverage containers subject to a refund value,
 if   applicable,   and   for  which   a   distributor  responsibility
 organization or other entity responsible for implementing the program
 has submitted and received approval from the department for a
 coordination plan that describes how the qualifying beverage
 containers will be managed in a manner that does not conflict with
 plans implemented under this chapter.
     (18) "Paper" means packaging or paper products made of paper
 fiber, regardless of its cellulosic fiber source, which may include,
 but is not limited to: Wood, wheat, rice, cotton, bananas,
 eucalyptus, bamboo, hemp, and sugar cane or bagasse.
     (19) "Paper product" means paper sold or supplied, including
 flyers, brochures, booklets, catalogs, magazines, copy paper,
 printing paper, and all other paper materials except for: (a) Bound
 books; (b) conservation grade and archival grade paper; (c)
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 newspapers; (d) paper designed for use in building construction; and
 (e) paper products that, by any common and foreseeable use, could
 reasonably be anticipated to become unsafe or unsanitary to handle.
     (20) "Plan" means description of the approach and activities
 developed by a producer responsibility organization to fulfill the
 requirements and to carry out the responsibilities of producers under
 this chapter.
     (21) "Postconsumer recycled content" has the same meaning as
 defined in section 201 of this act.
     (22)(a) "Producer" means the following person responsible for
 compliance with requirements under this chapter for a covered product
 sold, offered for sale, or distributed in or into this state:
     (i) For items sold in or with packaging at a physical retail
 location in this state:
     (A) If the item is sold in or with packaging under the brand of
 the   item  manufacturer   or   is  sold  in   packaging  that  lacks
 identification of a brand, the producer is the person that
 manufactures the item;
     (B) If there is no person to which (a)(i)(A) of this subsection
 applies, the producer is the person that is licensed to manufacture
 and sell or offer for sale to consumers in this state an item with
 packaging under the brand or trademark of another manufacturer or
 person;
     (C) If there is no person to which (a)(i)(A) or (B) of this
 subsection applies, the producer is the brand owner;
     (D) If there is no person described in (a)(i)(A), (B), or (C) of
 this subsection within the United States, the producer is the person
 who is the importer of record for the item into the United States for
 use in a commercial enterprise that sells, offers for sale, or
 distributes the item in this state; or
     (E) If there is no person described in (a)(i)(A) through (D) of
 this subsection, the producer is the person that first distributes
 the item in or into this state.
     (ii) For items sold or distributed in packaging in or into this
 state via e-commerce, remote sale, or distribution:
     (A) For packaging used to directly protect or contain the item,
 the producer of the packaging is the same as the producer identified
 under (a)(i) of this subsection; and
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     (B) For packaging used to ship the item to a consumer, the
 producer of the packaging is the person that packages the item to be
 shipped to the consumer.
     (iii) For packaging that is a covered product and is not included
 in (a)(i) and (ii) of this subsection, the producer of the packaging
 is the person that first distributes the item in or into this state.
     (iv) For paper products that are magazines, catalogs, telephone
 directories, or similar publications, the producer is the publisher.
     (v) For paper products not described in (a)(iv) of this
 subsection:
     (A) If the paper product is sold under the manufacturer's own
 brand, the producer is the person that manufactures the paper
 product;
     (B) If there is no person to which (a)(v)(A) of this subsection
 applies, the producer is the person that is the owner or licensee of
 a brand or trademark under which the paper product is used in a
 commercial enterprise, sold, offered for sale, or distributed in or
 into this state, whether or not the trademark is registered in this
 state;
     (C) If there is no person to which (a)(v)(A) or (B) of this
 subsection applies, th