Under the state's solid waste management laws, local governments are the primary government entity responsible for implementing state solid waste management requirements. The Department of Ecology (Ecology) has certain roles in overseeing the administration of solid waste management laws. Ecology is responsible for working cooperatively with local governments as they develop their local solid waste management plans. Ecology also evaluates, analyzes, and monitors the state's solid waste stream, and develops a statewide solid waste plan that, in part, addresses organic material wastes.
Since 2019, legislation has been enacted that has established several statutory goals for organic material management, including:
Statewide standards for plastic product degradability were established by House Bill 1569 in 2019. These standards include general standards that products labeled as compostable must satisfy, and specific standards for the labeling, tinting, and terms used by plastic film bags and food service products that are not compostable.
The Department of Ecology (Ecology) must contract with an independent, third-party facilitator to convene a Stakeholder Advisory Committee (Committee) concerning the development of standards for compostable product management, including food service products, by organic materials management facilities. The Committee is to be made up of representatives from a variety of specified public and private sector entities, such as local governments, organic materials management facilities, and businesses, including the hospitality industry. The Director of Ecology is also required to invite the participation of any Indian tribe that expresses their interest in participating on the Committee.
Among the factors that the Committee must consider in its recommendations are:
The third-party facilitator is authorized to hire subcontractors as needed to conduct research on issues relevant to the work of the Committee, and is responsible for staffing and supporting Committee meetings. The first Committee meeting must be convened by September 15, 2023, and the Committee must meet monthly in a virtual format until at least January 2024. The facilitator must draft and submit the Committee's recommendations to the Legislature by September 15, 2024.
(In support) There is confusion among consumers in Washington regarding what types of compostable products are accepted by organic materials management facilities, due to different facilities accepting different types of products throughout the state. The bill would build upon others passed in recent years, and help reduce the amount of food waste that ends up in landfills, which produces methane emissions. Consumer confusion about what products are compostable results in more contamination issues, which then leads to issues for organic materials management facilities. The City of Seattle experiences this problem, as there are a lot of visitors and the city contracts with two compost companies that accept different types of products. Contamination is a significant operational issue facing organic materials management facilities, as they need clean final compostable material and must dispose of contaminated, non-compostable material at a landfill at their own expense. Facilities can refuse to accept all compostable products, which hampers the ability for Washington to reach its organic waste reduction goals. There is a disconnect between lab standards for what is compostable and the reality of today's technology in composting facilities. Food products and utensils are a particularly problematic area for compost contamination and consumer confusion, as is compostable-branded packaging. There should be an evidence-based assessment regarding problematic contaminants added to the bill, a requirement for the Stakeholder Advisory Committee (Committee) to review existing evidence-based research, and a public comment period added for the draft recommendations. The Committee should also consider in its recommendations labeling that clarifies the difference between products that are compostable at home instead of solely at facilities.
(Opposed) None.
(Other) A representative from the Washington Hospitality Association or hospitality industry should be added onto the Committee. The timeline of the Committee process should be extended to allow for the Department of Ecology (Ecology) and facilitator more time to get the report with recommendations right for the Legislature. Ecology has another report due in December 2023 which could be helpful to the final report of recommendations. The fiscal cost of the facilitator and bill are not included in the Governor's current budget proposal.