BILL REQ. #:  H-4948.1 

     AN ACT Relating to alternatives to petrochemical-based plastic and styrofoam; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the global production of plastic has significant environmental impacts each year, including the consumption of millions of barrels of oil, and the deaths of thousands of marine animals through ingestion and entanglement. Each year, millions of plastic bottles and bags are put in landfills or littered. Most plastic does not biodegrade. Most plastic photogrades, breaking into small bits of plastic. These small bits of plastic contaminate soil and waterways and enter into the food web when animals accidentally ingest these materials. The degradation of styrofoam in nature may take several hundred years. Styrofoam is rarely recycled because it is usually not cost-effective. While compostable plastics are made from food crops such as corn, this has the potential to reduce the global availability of food and increase prices. The legislature recognizes the state's need for compostable plastics made from nonfood crops and biomass as an alternative to petroleum-based plastic bags, petroleum-based plastic bottles, and petroleum-based styrofoam.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   Washington State University is directed to research and develop nonfood-based compostable plastic that can be used in place of petroleum-based plastic bags, petroleum-based plastic bottles, and petroleum-based styrofoam single-use food service packaging.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   Washington State University shall consult with representatives from the petroleum-based plastic and petroleum-based styrofoam industries and other stakeholders as deemed appropriate by the university.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   Washington State University shall present its research in a report to the governor and to the legislature by December 1, 2008. The report must include an evaluation of all alternative nonfood-based compostable plastic researched and developed. In evaluating alternatives, the university must consider:
     (1) The environmental impacts caused by the cultivation and harvest of the plant or plants that form the biobase of the alternative;
     (2) The environmental impacts of manufacturing, use, composting, recycling and disposal of the alternative;
     (3) The effectiveness and performance of each alternative as a replacement for petroleum-based plastic bags, petroleum-based plastic bottles, and petroleum-based styrofoam; and
     (4) The economic impacts of implementing each alternative option.