Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JAMES J. KENNEDY
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires producers of packaging products sold in New Jersey to adopt and implement packaging product stewardship plans.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring producers of packaging products sold in New Jersey to adopt and implement packaging product stewardship plans, and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Packaging Product Stewardship Act.
2. As used in this act:
Commissioner means the Commissioner of Environmental Protection.
Department means the Department of Environmental Protection.
Environmentally sound management practices means policies or procedures for the collection, storage, transportation, reuse, and recycling or disposal of discarded packaging products, which policies or procedures are established by the department and implemented by a producer or a group of producers to: ensure compliance with all applicable federal, State, and local laws, rules, regulations, and ordinances; protect human health and the environment; and address such matters as adequate recordkeeping and accurate tracking and documentation of the collection, transportation, reuse, and recycling or disposal of discarded packaging products within the State.
Packaging product means any product or material that is designed and used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, or presentation of another product, including, but not limited to, a food or beverage item, and that is sold, offered for sale, imported, or distributed in the State. Packaging product includes: primary packaging that constitutes a sales unit at the point of purchase; secondary packaging that is used to group other products for multiunit sale or is intended to brand or display another product; tertiary packaging that is used either for the transportation and distribution of another product directly to the consumer or for the protection of the product during transport; service packaging, including carry-out bags, bulk goods bags, take-out bags, home delivery food service packaging, and prescription bottles, which are designed and intended to be filled at the point of sale; beverage containers; ancillary elements that are attached to another product and that serve a packaging function; and any other product, whether constituted of paper, plastic, glass, metal, a mixture thereof, or any other material, which serves a packaging function.
Packaging product stewardship plan or stewardship plan means the plan that is developed by an individual producer or a group of producers, pursuant to section 3 of this act, and which provides for the environmentally sound life-cycle management, by participating producers, of packaging products that are sold, offered for sale, imported, or distributed by such producers in this State.
Participating producer means a producer who, acting either individually or as part of a group of producers, is participating in the development or implementation of a packaging product stewardship plan pursuant to this act.
Producer means the manufacturer of a packaging product who sells, offers for sale, or distributes the product in the State under the person s own name or brand; the owner or licensee of a trademark under which a packaging product is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in this State, whether or not the trademark is registered in this State; any person who sells, offers for sale, or distributes a packaging product in the State; and any person who imports a packaging product for use by a commercial enterprise that sells, offers for sale, or distributes packaging products in this State. Producer does not include a municipality or other local government unit.
Recycling means any process by which materials or products that would otherwise become solid waste are collected, separated, or processed and returned to the economic mainstream in the form of raw materials or products. Recycling does not include energy recovery or energy generation resulting from combustion or incineration processes.
Reuse means the return of a packaging product back into the economic stream for use in the same kind of application intended for the original packaging product, without effectuating a change in the original composition or identity of the product or the components thereof.
Sell or sale means any transfer of title for consideration, including, but not limited to, remote sales transactions conducted through sales outlets, catalogs, or the Internet, or through any other similar means.
3. a. Not more than 180 days after the date of enactment of this act, each producer in the State shall, either individually or as part of a collective group of producers, develop a packaging product stewardship plan, in consultation with the department, and submit the plan to the commissioner for approval. The purposes of the stewardship plan shall be to:
(1) ensure that participating producers remain responsible for managing and facilitating the collection, transportation, reuse, and recycling or disposal of all discarded packaging products in the State, in accordance with environmentally sound management practices;
(2) encourage participating producers to increase the post-consumer content in packaging products and reduce the amount of waste generated from discarded packaging products;
(3) prioritize and promote the reuse and recycling of discarded packaging products; and
(4) otherwise minimize public sector involvement in the life-cycle management of packaging waste.
b. To the extent practicable, a packaging product stewardship plan adopted pursuant to this section shall utilize existing solid waste collection and recycling infrastructure in the State.
c. A stewardship plan adopted pursuant to this section shall:
(1) identify, and provide contact information for, each producer participating in the plan;
(2) include a comprehensive list of the packaging products that are covered by the plan, including, as applicable, the brand names of any such packaging products;
(3) identify the means, methods, processes, procedures, systems, and strategies that will be used by participating producers to: (a) reduce, through product design modifications and program innovation, the amount of material that is used for each packaging product and the amount of waste resulting from use of each packaging product; (b) facilitate and promote the prompt and efficient collection of discarded packaging products throughout the State in a manner that is as, or more, convenient for consume