S-0297.1
SENATE BILL 5058
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Chapman, Wellman, Harris, and Boehnke
Prefiled 12/16/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to implementing strategies to achieve higher
2 recycling rates within Washington's existing solid waste management
3 system; amending RCW 70A.245.020, 70A.245.030, 70A.245.010, and
4 81.77.195; reenacting and amending RCW 43.21B.110; adding new
5 sections to chapter 70A.245 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 70A
6 RCW; creating a new section; and prescribing penalties.
7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
8 PART 1
9 INTENT
10 NEW SECTION. Sec. 101. INTENT. (1) The legislature finds that:
11 (a) Washington state has been a leader in recycling policy,
12 reaching the goal of 50 percent recycling set by the legislature in
13 RCW 70A.205.005. The legislature further finds that, since meeting
14 the state's goal to achieve a 50 percent recycling rate, global
15 market conditions have caused the recycling rate to fall below 50
16 percent, demonstrating the dependence of recycling rates on reliable,
17 consistent recycling markets for recyclable materials;
18 (b) New goals and target recycling rates must be established and
19 a comprehensive needs assessment is necessary to implement
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 1 improvements to Washington's existing recycling system to reach those
2 goals;
3 (c) Programs, activities, or projects that reduce greenhouse gas
4 emissions from the solid waste sector, including a comprehensive
5 needs assessment, are intended to be funded from the climate
6 commitment account;
7 (d) 88 percent of Washington residents living in single-family
8 homes and 77 percent living in multifamily residences have access to
9 curbside recycling services through a robust regulatory structure
10 that ensures equal access to services at affordable rates; and
11 (e) The investments in infrastructure by Washington companies has
12 led to the development of materials sorting and processing superior
13 to most other states.
14 (2)(a) The legislature finds that contamination in the recycling
15 stream is a major impediment to higher recovery rates.
16 (b) It is the intent of the legislature to implement proven
17 strategies to address these challenges, including:
18 (i) The establishment of a single statewide list of materials for
19 recyclables collected through Washington's curbside recycling system
20 to reduce confusion and increase participation;
21 (ii) A robust needs assessment unique to Washington state to
22 determine costs and investments necessary to achieve a 65 percent
23 overall recycling rate for packaging;
24 (iii) Study the use of recycling symbols on packaging that cannot
25 be readily recycled through Washington's recycling system; and
26 (iv) The expansion of the successful recycled content
27 requirements to ensure more materials are manufactured with
28 postconsumer material.
29 (3) It is the intent of the legislature that:
30 (a) Producers increase the use of postconsumer recycled content
31 in their products, to achieve the goals in RCW 70A.520.010(2) and to
32 create strong markets for recycled materials and achieve
33 environmental benefits; and
34 (b) Through design and innovation, producers will reduce the use
35 and climate impact of consumer packaging and paper products and
36 increase the use of postconsumer recycled content.
37 (4) Finally, it is the intent of the legislature that Washington
38 should maintain the successful public-private partnership between
39 state, local government, and solid waste and recycling service
40 providers. The legislature does not intend to diminish or displace
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 1 the primary role of the utilities and transportation commission and
2 local governments in regulating or contracting directly with service
3 providers for the curbside collection of residential recyclables.
4 Local governments maintain their existing authority to collect,
5 contract for collection with solid waste and recycling service
6 providers, or defer to solid waste collection services regulated by
7 the utilities and transportation commission.
8 (5) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to implement
9 proven strategies to address these challenges, including:
10 (a) A robust needs assessment unique to Washington state to
11 determine costs and investments necessary to achieve a 65 percent
12 overall recycling rate for packaging; and
13 (b) The expansion of the successful recycled content requirements
14 to ensure more materials are manufactured with postconsumer material.
15 PART 2
16 RATES STUDY, MATERIALS LIST, AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT
17 NEW SECTION. Sec. 201. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this
18 section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly
19 requires otherwise.
20 (1) "Consumable product" means a commodity that is intended to be
21 used and not disposed of.
22 (2) "Contaminant" means a material set out for curbside recycling
23 collection that is not on the list of materials accepted for
24 recycling collection by a recycling collection program.
25 (3) "Contamination" means the presence of one or more
26 contaminants in a recycling collection or commodity stream in an
27 amount or concentration that negatively impacts the value of the
28 material or negatively impacts a processor's ability to sort that
29 material.
30 (4) "Covered product" means packaging and paper products sold or
31 supplied to consumers for personal, noncommercial use and disposed of
32 through residential curbside or drop-off site collection systems.
33 (5) "Department" means the department of ecology.
34 (6) "Glass" means a covered product made of soda lime glass.
35 (7) "Material category" means a group of covered products that
36 have similar properties such as chemical composition, shape, or other
37 characteristics.
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 1 (8) "Overburdened community" means an overburdened community
2 identified and prioritized by the department under RCW
3 70A.02.050(1)(a).
4 (9)(a) "Packaging" means a material, substance, or object that
5 is:
6 (i) Used to protect, contain, transport, or serve an item;
7 (ii) Sold or supplied to consumers expressly for the purpose of
8 protecting, containing, transporting, or serving items;
9 (iii) Attached to an item or its container for the purpose of
10 marketing or communicating information about the item;
11 (iv) Supplied at the point of sale to facilitate the delivery of
12 the item; or
13 (v) Supplied to or purchased by consumers expressly for the
14 purpose of facilitating food or beverage consumption that is
15 ordinarily discarded by consumers after a single use or short-term
16 use, whether or not it could be reused.
17 (b) "Packaging" does not include:
18 (i) Materials intended to be used for the long-term storage or
19 protection of a durable product, that is intended to transport,
20 protect, or store the durable product on an ongoing basis, and that
21 can be expected to be usable for that purpose for a period of at
22 least five years;
23 (ii) For purposes of this chapter only, materials used to package
24 pesticide products regulated by the federal insecticide, fungicide,
25 and rodenticide act, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq., that are in direct
26 contact with the regulated product. This exemption does not include
27 products regulated by the United States food and drug administration;
28 (iii) Liquefied petroleum gas containers that are designed to be
29 refilled and reused;
30 (iv)(A) Packaging for drugs that are used for animal medicines
31 including parasiticide products for animals; and
32 (B) Packaging for products intended for animals that are
33 regulated as animal drugs, biologics, parasiticides, medical devices,
34 or diagnostics used to treat, or administered to, animals under the
35 federal food, drug, and cosmetic act, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq., the
36 federal insecticide, fungicide, and rodenticide act, 7 U.S.C. Sec.
37 136 et seq., or the federal virus-serum-toxin act, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 151
38 et seq., as amended;
39 (v) Packaging for products that are regulated as a medical
40 device, dietary supplement, or drug by the United States food and
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 1 drug administration under the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act,
2 21 U.S.C. Sec. 321 et seq. or products that are regulated as a
3 biologic or vaccine by the federal food and drug administration under
4 the public health service act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 201 et seq.;
5 (vi) Packaging related to containers of architectural paint that
6 has been collected by a stewardship organization under the program
7 established in chapter 70A.515 RCW;
8 (vii) Packaging used to contain hazardous or flammable products
9 classified by the 2012 federal occupational safety and health
10 administration hazard communication standard, 29 C.F.R. Sec.
11 1910.1200 (2012).
12 (10) "Paper product" means paper sold or supplied including
13 flyers, brochures, booklets, catalogs, magazines, and all other paper
14 materials except for: (a) Bound books; (b) conservation grade and
15 archival grade paper; (c) newspapers; (d) paper designed for use in
16 building construction; and (e) paper products that, by any common and
17 foreseeable use, could reasonably be anticipated to become unsafe or
18 unsanitary to handle.
19 (11)(a) "Producer" means the following person responsible for
20 compliance with covered product registration and reporting
21 requirements under this chapter for a covered product sold, offered
22 for sale, or distributed in or into this state:
23 (i) If the covered product is sold with the manufacturer's own
24 brand or lacks identification of a brand, the producer is the person
25 who manufactures the covered product;
26 (ii) If the covered product is manufactured by a person other
27 than the brand owner, the producer is the person who is the licensee
28 of a brand or trademark under which a covered product is sold,
29 offered for sale, or distributed in or into this state, whether or
30 not the trademark is registered in this state, unless the
31 manufacturer or brand owner of the covered product has agreed to
32 accept responsibility under this chapter; or
33 (iii) If there is no person described in (a)(i) and (ii) of this
34 subsection over whom the state can constitutionally exercise
35 jurisdiction, the producer is the person who imports or distributes
36 the covered product in or into the state.
37 (b) A person is the "producer" of a covered product sold, offered
38 for sale, or distributed in or into this state, as defined in (a)(i)
39 through (iii) of this subsection, except where another person has
40 mutually signed an agreement with a producer as defined in (a)(i)
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 1 through (iii) of this subsection that contractually assigns
2 responsibility to the person as the producer, and the person has
3 joined a registered producer responsibility organization as the
4 responsible producer for that covered product under this chapter.
5 (c) "Producer" does not include:
6 (i) Government agencies, municipalities, or other political
7 subdivisions of the state;
8 (ii) Registered 501(c)(3) charitable organizations and 501(c)(4)
9 social welfare organizations; or
10 (iii) De minimis producers that annually sell, offer for sale,
11 distribute, or import in or into the country for sale in Washington:
12 (A) Less than one ton of covered products each year; or
13 (B) That have a global gross revenue of less than $5,000,000 for
14 the most recent fiscal year of the organization. The department shall
15 calculate an adjusted rate to maintain the small business exemption
16 by the rate of inflation. The adjusted rate must be calculated to the
17 nearest cent using the consumer price index for urban wage earners.
18 Each adjusted rate calculated under this subsection takes effect on
19 the following January 1st.
20 (12) "Vulnerable population" has the same meaning as defined in
21 RCW 70A.02.010.
22 NEW SECTION. Sec. 202. ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT FUTURE INCREASES
23 IN RECOVERY RATES AND RATES STUDY. (1) To inform the future
24 development of strategies to increase recovery rates consistent with
25 the goals established in subsection (2) of this section, the
26 department must:
27 (a) Identify a statewide list of materials suitable for curbside
28 collection services and a statewide list of materials suitable for
29 drop-off collection, consistent with section 203 of this act, to be
30 completed by October 1, 2026;
31 (b) Complete a statewide needs assessment to meet the goal
32 established in subsection (2) of this section and be carried out by a
33 third-party consultant selected by the department, consistent with
34 section 204 of this act, and completed by October 1, 2027; and
35 (c) Begin overseeing the registration and data reporting of
36 producers of packaging, consistent with section 205 of this act.
37 (2)(a) A goal is established for the state to achieve a recycling
38 rate of 65 percent for covered products. The department must, in
39 consultation with the advisory committee established in section 207
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 1 of this act, identify a methodology for calculating progress towards
2 this goal as part of its duties under section 204 of this act, and
3 must begin tracking and periodically making public the state's
4 progress towards this goal beginning in the year following the
5 initial reporting of data by producers under section 205 of this act.
6 (b) The goals established in this subsection must be used to
7 inform the statewide needs assessment in section 204 of this act.
8 (3) For purposes of implementing this chapter, the department
9 may, where appropriate, use and rely on the recommended recycling
10 rate targets contained in the department's December 2023 Washington
11 Recycling, Reuse, and Source Reduction Target Study and Community
12 Input Process.
13 NEW SECTION. Sec. 203. CURBSIDE AND DROP-OFF RECYCLABLE
14 MATERIALS COLLECTION LISTS FOR NEEDS ASSESSMENT. (1)(a) By October 1,
15 2026, the department must develop and publish a:
16 (i) List of recyclable materials suitable for curbside collection
17 from residents in single-family and multifamily residences; and
18 (ii) Separate list of materials suitable for residential drop-off
19 collection.
20 (b) The department must review and update the lists in (a) of
21 this subsection by October 1, 2031, and no less often than every five
22 years thereafter. During the review and update of the lists, the
23 department must newly review each material included on the previous
24 versions of the lists using the factors described in subsection (4)
25 of this section and may only continue to include materials on a list
26 after considering the factors described in subsection (4) of this
27 section.
28 (2) The initial list of materials suitable for curbside
29 collection developed and published under this section must include
30 the following materials:
31 (a) Newspaper;
32 (b) Paperboard and chipboard;
33 (c) Loose paper;
34 (d) Corrugated cardboard;
35 (e) Magazines;
36 (f) Envelopes;
37 (g) Aluminum cans;
38 (h) Tin or steel cans;
39 (i) High density polyethylene plastic containers; and
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 1 (j) Polyethylene terephthalate containers.
2 (3) The initial list of materials suitable for drop-off
3 residential collection must include the following materials:
4 (a) Glass; and
5 (b) Flexible plastic.
6 (4) In addition to the materials identified under subsections (2)
7 and (3) of this section, the department may identify additional
8 materials for inclusion on a list or remove materials from inclusion
9 on a list based on consultation with the advisory committee
10 established in section 207 of this act, and after considering the
11 following factors:
12 (a) The stability, maturity, accessibility, and viability of
13 responsible end markets;
14 (b) Economic factors;
15 (c) Environmental factors from a life-cycle perspective;
16 (d) The material's compatibility with existing recycling
17 infrastructure;
18 (e) The amount of the material available;
19 (f) The ability for waste generators to easily identify and
20 properly prepare the material;
21 (g) The practicalities of sorting and storing the material;
22 (h) Contamination;
23 (i) Environmental health and safety considerations; and
24 (j) The anticipated yield loss for the material during the
25 recycling process.
26 NEW SECTION. Sec. 204. STATEWIDE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. (1) The
27 statewide needs assessment must be consistent with the fol