H-1303

AN ACT Relating to waste reduction; and adding a new chapter to Title 70 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that many of the most potent waste reduction strategies can only be implemented by manufacturers through product and package redesign. To inspire environmentally sound product and packaging decisions manufacturers must be informed of the cost of properly handling postconsumer materials. Achievement of the target recycling rate is necessary for the state to reach its waste recycling goals.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The purpose of this chapter is to:

(1) Create an environmental registry identifying manufacturers of packaging that is disposed by means of landfill or incineration in the state;

(2) License manufacturers selling or distributing packaging that is disposed in the state;

(3) Impose a license fee on manufacturers of packages disposed by means of landfill, incineration, or separate collection;

(4) Make funds available to local governments for postconsumer collection of packaging materials requiring subsidy;

(5) Establish target recycling rates for packaging materials;

(6) Enable local governments to ban a packaging material that does not meet or exceed the target recycling rate for the material, and to prohibit package banning by local governments if state-wide target recycling rates are met.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Agent" means a wholesaler, distributor, or others in the manufacturer's distribution chain.

(2) "Closure" means the part of a package used to seal the package that must, in order to function properly, be made out of a material other than the material the body of the package is made from.

(3) "Department" means the department of ecology.

(4) "Manufacturer" means a person, firm, or company responsible for selecting the primary packaging material of a product delivered to retail establishments.

(5) "Net cost of collection and disposal" means the cost to state and local governments of collecting, processing, marketing, and disposing of materials in the solid waste stream, and includes system operating costs, but is decreased by the amount of revenue gained from the sale of materials.

(6) "Net package weight" means the package tare weight less the per package weight of postconsumer recovered material.

(7) "Package" means a container providing a means of marketing, protecting, or handling a product and includes a unit package, an intermediate package, and a shipping container as defined in "Standard Terminology of Packaging and Distribution Environments" (American Society for Testing and Materials, designation: D996-90). "Package" also includes unsealed receptacles used as carrying cases, crates, cups, pails, rigid foil and other trays, wrappers and wrapping films, bags, and tubs.

(8) "Packaging material" means residue remaining after the package has served its intended purpose.

(9) "Postconsumer recovered material" means only those products generated by a business or consumer that have served their intended end uses, and that are diverted from the solid waste stream. "Postconsumer recovered material" includes broker recovered material, but does not include mill broke that is an in-plant production waste that returns to the production line and does not leave the possession of the producer.

(10) "Primary package" means the package that has direct contact with the product.

(11) "Recycling survey" means the survey conducted by the department pursuant to RCW 70.95.280.

(12) "Retail establishment" means a product distribution center where products are sold for consumption or use.

(13) "Single use packaging" means a package used less than five times in the same or a similar distribution system.

(14) "Tare weight" means only the weight of the package and does not include the product.

(15) "Target recycling rate" means the recycling rate set in the state solid waste management plan.

(16) "Weighted cost of disposal by landfill and incineration" means the dollar value resulting from the following series of computations:

(a) The total number of tons disposed in the state by means of incineration, multiplied by the per ton cost of incineration; added to

(b) The total number of tons disposed in the state by means of landfilling, multiplied by the per ton cost of landfilling; and

(17) "Wholesaler" means a person, individual, or company who distributes goods to a retail establishment in this state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The department shall create an environmental registry identifying the manufacturers of packaging that is disposed by means of landfill or incineration in the state. For each manufacturer, the following is identified:

(1) Manufacturer's name;

(2) Manufacturer's address;

(3) Manufacturer's chief executive officer if a corporate entity, or owner if not a corporate entity;

(4) Manufacturer's telephone number; and

(5) The single use packages distributed in this state by the manufacturer.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) No later than one year after the effective date of this act, the department shall develop and send to each manufacturer on the registry a certificate of distribution. The certificate of distribution shall identify each package distributed in this state by the manufacturer or an agent of the manufacturer. For each single use package, the certificate shall identify the following:

(a) The types of materials, excluding closures, used in the package as identified in the recycling survey.

(i) If more than one material is used, the package is easily separated into component parts for recycling, and the material comprising each component is identified in the recycling survey, then the material used in each component part is identified; or

(ii) If the package is made of more than one material that is not easily separated into component parts for recycling, or if one of the materials is not identified in the recycling survey, the material is identified as a composite material;

(b) The tare weight of each material listed in (a) of this subsection;

(c) The per package weight of postconsumer recovered material used in each package. If the amount of postconsumer recovered material varies from batch to batch, the average annual weight per package weight may be used; however, each manufacturer must use a single, consistent accounting method; and

(d) The number of units distributed in the state.

(i) If the exact number of units is unknown, a range is specified; or

(ii) If a range is unknown, the manufacturer shall specify that the range is unknown and the department shall identify the number of units.

(2) The certificate of distribution is signed by an authorized official of the manufacturing company. The department shall retain the certificate of distribution for as long as the package or packaging component is in use. A copy of the certificate of distribution is kept on file by the manufacturer.

(3) If the package manufacturer uses a new or reformulated package that changes the information provided in the certificate of distribution, the manufacturer shall provide an amended or new certificate of distribution for the reformulated or new package, or packaging component.

(4) The manufacturer shall complete and return the certificate of distribution to the department within sixty days.

(5) The department may suspend the sale of a package if a manufacturer has failed to respond, within the time period, to a request by the department for a certificate of distribution under this section.

(6) If the manufacturer is required to complete other certification for the department, the department shall develop one comprehensive form.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The annual solid waste management plan developed by the department under RCW 70.95.260 shall identify the recycling rates for each of the materials identified in the annual recycling survey that are necessary for the state to achieve the recycling rate identified under RCW 70.95.010.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) Effective July 1, 1992, manufacturers shall not distribute in this state, without a license, a single use package.

(2) A package made of a material that is recycled at the target recycling rate set under section 6 of this act and that requires no operating subsidy under section 9 of this act is exempt from subsection (1) of this section. If packages are made from two or more materials that can be easily separated for recycling and that target recycling rates are established for, an exemption to subsection (1) of this section is granted for the components of the package made from materials that are recycled at the target recycling rate.

(3) The department shall determine the license fee for distribution of each package. The license fee shall reflect the net cost of collection and disposal of each packaging material. Proceeds of license fees paid on each material are expended exclusively to mitigate environmental damage caused by that material. In establishing the fee schedule for each material, the following costs are incorporated into the license fee for each packaging material:

(a) The net marginal cost of source separated material collection, handling, and processing of each package;

(b) The weighted cost of disposal by landfill and incineration of each package; and

During the first three years of the license fee program a fee is not assessed on the weight of postconsumer recovered materials used in each package.

(4) The fee schedule is updated at least once every three years and may be updated more frequently if the department deems it appropriate.

(5) The department shall inform manufacturers on the environmental registry of the per ton cost of disposing of each material assessed.

(6) Wholesalers who distribute products in this state shall, upon request of the department, submit a list of products distributed, and shall identify the number of units sold in this state during the preceding year. The department shall use this information only for the purpose of auditing the number of units of a product distributed in the state. Results of analysis on each product may be shared with the product manufacturer and the department of revenue. Results are made public only if the manufacturer appeals the license fee under subsection (8) of this section. The department shall develop guidelines for reporting to protect proprietary information.

(7)(a) The department shall inform the department of revenue of the manufacturer names and packages identified on the environmental registry of package manufacturers, and shall identify, for each package, the information required to establish the environmental license fees due, including the following:

(i) Manufacturer;

(ii) Package;

(iii) Materials; and

(iv) Materials recycled at target recycling rates; or

(b) If no material, other than the closure, is recycled at target recycling rates then the following information is also provided:

(i) Package tare weight;

(ii) Amount of postconsumer recovered material, if any, not subject to fee;

(iii) Net package weight;

(iv) Number of packaging units per ton;

(v) Net cost of collection and disposal per ton of material; and

(vi) Net cost of collection and disposal per packaging unit.

(8) The department of revenue shall provide each manufacturer on the registry with a summary of the information identified under subsection (7) of this section, and shall identify the total license fee on all packages due and payable by the manufacturer. The manufacturer shall have sixty days to appeal the amount of the license fee. Each appeal must specify the issue of fact on which the appeal is based.

(9) The department of revenue shall annually collect, from the manufacturers, the fees identified under this section. After payment of fees, a license is issued to manufacturers for a period of one year. If a licensed package is reformulated or changed, or if the department updates the fee schedule, the manufacturer shall submit an amended certificate of distribution.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. There is established an account within the state treasury known as the predisposal account. There is a separate subaccount for each major material type. All assessments collected under this chapter are deposited in the predisposal account and used for administration and implementation of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1) Pursuant to the recommendations identified in the state solid waste management plan, the department shall develop a list of possible collection programs for each postconsumer material requiring subsidy. For each program, the following attributes are identified:

(a) Material targeted for collection;

(b) Program service area; and

(i) Capital costs;

(ii) Operating costs; and

(iii) The per ton cost of diverting the targeted material.

Multimaterial collection programs may be considered. Grants are made to collection programs that divert the greatest amount of the targeted material for the least cost.

(2) If maintaining the target recycling rate requires a continuing operational subsidy, grants may be made to accomplish this purpose. Grants are made to collection programs that divert the greatest amount of material for the least cost.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. Nothing in this chapter shall preclude a manufacturer or an association of manufacturers from voluntary efforts to establish systems to recover postconsumer materials.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A state agency that expends funds on market development activities for postconsumer recovered materials shall track the costs of the activities by material type and shall report them to the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections 1 through 11 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 70 RCW.