• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Sign Up
  • Contribute
NewDEAL
  • About
    • About
    • Our Team
    • Our Board
    • Advisory Council
  • Leaders
    • Leaders
    • Nominate
    • Podcast
    • Upcoming NewDEAL Leader Elections
  • Ideas
    • Ideas
    • Implementing The Recovery
    • The Equity Initiative
    • The Ideas Challenge
    • Publications
  • Events
    • Events
    • Annual Conference
    • Ideas Summit
    • Implementing The Recovery
    • Democracy Project
  • News
    • News
    • 2 Minute Download
    • Leader Spotlight
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Our Board
    • Advisory Council
  • Leaders
    • Leaders
    • Nominate
    • Podcast
    • Upcoming NewDEAL Leader Elections
  • Ideas
    • Ideas
    • Implementing The Recovery
    • The Equity Initiative
    • Podcast
    • The Ideas Challenge
    • Publications
  • Events
    • Events
    • Annual Conference
    • Ideas Summit
    • Implementing The Recovery
    • Democracy Project
  • News
    • News
    • 2 Minute Download
    • Leader Spotlight
  • Contact
  • Nominate
  • Contribute
  • Sign Up

Brooke Lierman

Delegate
Baltimore, MD

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging

October 26, 2021/in Climate Change /by join.us

Problem

 Based on surveys submitted by each County in Maryland, the state is experiencing a waste crisis and local governments are spending an unstainable portion of their budgets to manage this waste.

When China and other countries restricted plastic imports, the market for materials like paper and plastics shrunk overnight. This has resulted in higher costs for local governments: Between 2017 and 2019, the value of recyclables has declined by an average of 41%. A market where local governments and taxpayers bear all of the cost of managing recycling and waste from materials like plastic and paper packaging is unsustainable.

Producers do not consider the cost of their packaging choice on local governments, and seemingly simple shifts in material choice can result in huge costs to local governments and their recycling programs. Local governments are spending too much money trying to clean up a mess they did not make. 

Solution

EPR creates economic incentives for producers to consider the impact of their packaging choices on the environment and local governments. Producers are required to form a “product stewardship organization,” pay fees* based on the various characteristics of their packaging, and use funds collected for four purposes. 1) To reimburse local governments for costs associated with the collection, transportation, sorting, and recycling of post-consumer packaging waste. 2) To create grant programs for local governments that want to modernize their recycling systems or develop reuse infrastructure. 3) To fund a needs assessment to evaluate the current capacity related to, need for, and associated costs of recycling, composting, and reuse infrastructure. 4) Staff and operation costs associated with running the Product Stewardship Organization.

*Fees must be structured in a way that rewards/ incentivizes packaging that is readily recyclable or reusable and disincentivizes packaging that is difficult, costly, or impossible to recycle.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Vk
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://newdealleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo-tnd-300x74.png 0 0 join.us https://newdealleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo-tnd-300x74.png join.us2021-10-26 01:57:102021-10-26 01:57:10Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging

Related Ideas

  • ARP: Preparing Workers for the Jobs of Tomorrow

    Mayor Wu will invest over half a million dollars to provide training for green and mobility jobs for individuals experiencing homelessness, residents recently released from incarceration, women, and people of color.

    READ MORE

  • Prioritizing Climate Equity

    As chair of Wisconsin’s Task Force on Climate Change, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes brought together a diverse coalition of community leaders to gather ideas from constituents on how to best reach the state’s ambitious climate goals.

    READ MORE

Recent News

NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan Co-writes Op-Ed in Route Fifty: How State and Local Leaders Can Use Data to Ensure Broadband Access for All

July 13, 2022
By Debbie Cox Bultan and Nichole Dunn JULY 12, 2022 05:08 PM ET   COMMENTARY | To maximize the $65 billion in federal funds available […]
https://newdealleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG_5799.jpg 500 750 Jordan Smith https://newdealleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo-tnd-300x74.png Jordan Smith2022-07-13 13:57:082022-07-13 18:47:28NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan Co-writes Op-Ed in Route Fifty: How State and Local Leaders Can Use Data to Ensure Broadband Access for All

NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan’s Op-ed in RouteFifty: Roe is Gone. States and Localities Must Protect Reproductive Rights

June 28, 2022
By Debbie Cox Bultan, CEO, NewDEAL JUNE 27, 2022 05:14 PM ET   COMMENTARY | The 50-year era of Roe v. Wade has ended. We need […]
https://newdealleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Debbie_pic.jpg 906 764 Jordan Smith https://newdealleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo-tnd-300x74.png Jordan Smith2022-06-28 14:04:372022-06-28 14:04:37NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan’s Op-ed in RouteFifty: Roe is Gone. States and Localities Must Protect Reproductive Rights

Rebecca Perkins Kwoka Opinion in the Concord Monitor: Climate change is our generation’s make-or-break moment

June 27, 2022
By Rebecca Perkins Kwoka Rebecca Perkins Kwoka is a state senator representing NH’s 21st District. She is a member of NewDEAL’s national network of state […]
https://newdealleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/perkins-kwoka.jpg 1116 1116 Jordan Smith https://newdealleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo-tnd-300x74.png Jordan Smith2022-06-27 16:25:312022-06-27 16:25:31Rebecca Perkins Kwoka Opinion in the Concord Monitor: Climate change is our generation’s make-or-break moment

About

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Our Board

Leaders

  • Leaders
  • Nominate
  • Podcast
  • Upcoming NewDEAL Leader Elections

Ideas

  • Leaders’ Ideas

Events

  • Events
  • Annual Conference
  • Ideas Summit

News

  • Leader Spotlight
  • Podcast

About

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Our Board

Leaders

  • Leaders
  • Nominate
  • Podcast
  • Upcoming NewDEAL Leader Elections

Ideas

  • Leaders’ Ideas

Events

  • Events
  • Annual Conference
  • Ideas Summit

News

  • Leader Spotlight
  • Podcast
Clean Heat Plan for Natural Gas Sector Emission Reductions Michigan Green Government Fund and Standards Act
Scroll to top