Zero Waste and Recycling: 50-State Perspective · • Washington set a goal to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030 (2019 HB 1114) • Nevada created the Food for People, Not Landfills

Zero Waste and Recycling:50-State Perspective

Zero Waste and Recycling Interim Study CommitteeColorado General AssemblyJuly 10, 2019

National Conference of State Legislatures

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Zero Waste Goals in the U.S.States: None(CA 75% diversion from landfills by 2020)

Territories: Guam

Federal District: Washington, D.C.

Municipalities: (many)

New York City San Francisco Los AngelesSan Diego Austin DallasPhoenix Seattle PhiladelphiaMinneapolis Portland, OR Boston

Fort Collins Boulder

Additional Resources: CalRecycle, Zero Waste Communities | National League of Cities, Recycling Reimagined

State Policies Toward Zero Waste

Single-Use Plastics Reduction

Bags Straws Polystyrene

Product Stewardship

Food Waste Reduction

Investment & Market Development

Waste Reduction in State Government

Data Collection

1. Single-Use Plastics Reduction200+ plastic bills considered this year in state legislatures

Bags• Bans in 7 states: California, Connecticut (fee then ban), Hawaii (de

facto), Maine, New York, Oregon, Vermont• Fee: Washington, D.C.

Straws• 4 states: California, Oregon, Vermont

Polystyrene• 3 states: Maine, Maryland, Vermont

Preemption• 13 states: Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan,

Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texasand Wisconsin

Additional Resources:Surfrider Foundation

American Chemistry CouncilPlastics Industry AssociationContainer Recycling Institute

2. Product Stewardship

Source: Product Stewardship Institute

State Laws, Extended Producer Responsibility

2019 State Legislation

MaineHB 1041 (Enacted): Seeks legislationfor product packaging stewardshipprogram; incentives for better designHB 515 (Enacted): Study possiblemattress stewardship program

WashingtonHB 1652 (Enacted): Creates paintstewardship program

3. Food Waste ReductionStatewide Goals and Programs• Washington set a goal to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030 (2019 HB 1114)• Nevada created the Food for People, Not Landfills program within HHS (2019 SB 178)

Tax Incentives for Food Donations• 10 states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia and

West Virginia—and D.C. offer a tax incentive for food donations.

Organic Waste Bans• Six states—California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont—have passed laws

to keep food out of landfills.

Other policies: date labeling, liability protection, food waste in schools, food scraps for animal feed

Additional Resources: ReFED | Harvard Food Law & Policy Clinic

4. Investment & Market Development

California2019 AB 1583 (Pending): Convenes a Statewide Commissionon Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling.

Michigan2018 HB 4991 (Enacted): Increased funding for staterecycling efforts from $2 million to $15 million annually.

New JerseyAB 5682/SB 3939 (Pending): Establishes a Recycling MarketDevelopment Council.

Washington2019 HB 1543 (Enacted): Creates the Recycling Development Center to conduct R&D to furthermarkets and processing of recycled products; Directs a state recycling contamination reduction andoutreach plan; Provides assistance to recycling businesses and localities.

5. Waste Reduction in State Government

State Agency Recycling• 23 states require or encourage government agencies to participate in a recycling program

Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi,Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, SouthCarolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

State Food Service Facilities• California 2018 SB 1335 (Enacted): Prohibits a food service business operating in a state-owned facility

from dispensing prepared food in packaging that is not reusable, recyclable or compostable.

State Capitol Buildings• The Hawaii Senate adopted a resolution on April 12 (SR 23) urging the State Capitol Management

Committee to designate the Hawaii State Capitol Building and its grounds as a single-use plastic freezone.

• Legislation is also pending in Hawaii to prevent the expenditure of state funds by state agencies for thepurchase of beverages in plastic bottles (SB 1543).

6. Data Collection

Illinois2019 HB 3068 (To Governor): Creates the Statewide Materials Management AdvisoryCommittee to investigate and report on a host of issues

New Jersey2019 AB 5681/SB 3944 (Pending): Establishes a task force to study recycling streamsin the state and challenges faced by local governments in running recycling programs.

Virginia2019 SB 218 (Enacted): Study of solid waste recycling rates and recommendations forimproving the reliability of recycled materials supply to provide for beneficial use.

Washington2019 SB 5397 (Enacted): Study of plastic packaging waste sold into the state.

California2015 AB 901 (Enacted): Requires recycling and waste management companies to report waste disposal, organics andrecycling data to the state’s waste management agency on a quarterly basis. Went into effect July 1, 2019.

Chinese Policy Impacts

Waste Dive Reports Noticeable to HeavyEffect in 45 states

NCSL Resources

Jennifer Schultz | [email protected] | (303) 856-1353

NCSL Environment and Natural Resources State Bill Tracking Database NCSL Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee, 2019 Spring Webinar

Series, The Plight of Plastic (June 6, 2019) NCSL LegisBrief, Fighting Food Waste (Dec. 2017) NCSL Webpage, State Plastic and Paper Bag Legislation

Thank you!