| We are continuing our letter writing blitz to let our legislators know about bills we think are important from a climate perspective. Have you considered the impact of our waste on our climate? National Geographic reports that 93 Billion tons (bt) of resources were extracted from the earth in 2015. Of that, about 67 bt or ⅔ were wasted. Only 9.3 bt (less than 10%) are reused resources. The EPA estimates that our materials management emissions exceed 40% of our GhG emissions; others say that is conservative! When you consider all of the inputs to our “stuff”, this is not surprising. This is why we need to reduce our waste and build a circular economy. To do that, we must incentivize the design of products and packaging that are less harmful to our environment. In other words: products that are more durable, easier to repair, reuse, recycle, or compost.The three bills listed below would establish Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements for manufacturers for end of life recycling of paint, mattresses, printed paper and packaging. EPR is a policy approach that makes brand owners and importers legally responsible for the management of their post-consumer products. This approach, when thoughtfully put into law and enforced, incentivizes more sustainable and less harmful design of products and packaging. These bills were heard by the Joint Committee on Environment Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA). We are asking our legislators to carefully consider these bills and ask ENRA Committee members to favorably recommend the following legislation:H938: An Act Relative to Paint Recycling (summary)H988 / S569: An Act to Establish A Mattress Recycling Program in MA (summary)H878 / S610 / S517: An Act To Save Recycling Costs in the Commonwealth (summary) |