What Is Next For EPR Legislation In The U.S.?

As we have written about previously, recycling legislation is moving forward in the US. On June 30, bill  SB 54 was passed into law in California, just after passing the HB 1355 bill in Colorado. As of today, there are four EPR laws in place since Oregon and Maine moved forward with their bills in mid-2021.

What is interesting to note is the new California law will create a producer responsibility organization (PRO), an entity formed by responsible parties and required under statute to operate a stewardship program; assess and collect payments from responsible parties; and support recycling and recovery activities as well as investment. Each of the four states have similar requirements related to EPR as they focus on brand owners (producers) or companies that license or trademark a brand in which the product is sold or brought into the state by a third party. The specific requirements of the PRO vary from state to state and operating within a PRO will either be encouraged or mandated.

So, what is next? 2022 is more than halfway through the year and the possibility of other EPR bills passing into law this year appears low. However, more than a dozen additional states had active legislation in 2022 and there is a high probability that more will be approved in 2023. This means that time is running out to prepare to address these requirements. Fortunately, changing legislation can represent an opportunity for the lubricant container industry to collaborate and move forward under a unified approach to bring the change needed for the recycling of hard-to-degrade plastics such as lubricant containers. 

The NLCRC is bringing key stakeholders in the lubricant supply chain together to support the transition of the lubricant container sector to the circular economy with a focus on reducing the impact of lubricant containers on the environment due to incorrect end-of-life disposal and aiding companies adapt to changing legislation context which will have impacts across the entire petroleum and related packaging industries.

From industries to households, everyone has an essential role in reducing the lubricant container waste problem in the US. The NLCRC members include Castrol, Valvoline, Pennzoil - Quaker State Company, Graham Packaging, Plastipak Packaging, Berry Global, Chevron, the Petroleum Packaging Council, and Nexus Circular.  

Learn how the NLCRC is addressing the waste problem by becoming a member. Connect with us through LinkedIn and Twitter. If you have any questions or inquiries, send us an email at hello@nationallcrc.com.