GlobalPSC News – October 2022
Insights on SB54, California’s Circular Economy EPR Law for Plastic Packaging
GlobalPSC members the National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC) recently conducted a webinar on the passage of SB54, California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. NSAC has made the webinar available below.
The Act establishes an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for single-use plastic packaging and plastic single-use food service ware by requiring all covered material sold in or imported into California to be recyclable or compostable by 2032. Other key provisions include a 25% reduction in the use of plastic packaging and a 65% recycling rate of the remaining single-use plastic packaging by 2032. Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB54 into law on June, 2022.
NSAC’s Heidi Sanborn, SB 54 lead author Senator Ben Allen, Senior Policy Advisor Tina Andolina and other key stakeholders provide their insights on the complexities involved in getting this pivotal legislation introduced and passed.
Australian Commitment to Circular Economy by 2030
Australia’s federal, state and territory environment ministers have committed to “work with the private sector to design out waste and pollution, keep materials in use and foster markets to achieve a circular economy by 2030” during their recent Environment Ministers Meeting (EMM).
The EMM made the commitment as part of several commitments to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and “put Australia’s environment back on a path of recovery” to help address alarming findings in Australia’s 2021 State of the Environment Report.
From a product stewardship and circular economy perspective, through the EMM’s Agreed Communique, “Ministers noted the Australian Government’s intention to develop a regulatory product stewardship scheme for solar panels and household electronics, and also agreed:
-
-
- To develop nationally harmonised definitions to support the phase out of problematic single use plastic.
- To reform the regulation of packaging by 2025, to ensure that all packaging available in Australia is designed to be recovered, reused, recycled and reprocessed safely in line with circular economy principles.
- That the Australian Government add end of life tyres to the Minister’s Product Stewardship Priority List, signalling the intention to regulate should industry not lift its game.
- The Commonwealth will work with jurisdictions to phase out the use of harmful chemicals in food packaging.”
-
Join the EPR Grand Challenge
To celebrate the WEEE Forum turning 20 and shape debate about the future of EPR, join the EPR Grand Challenge 7 December in Brussels.
Topics include:
-
-
- What lessons have we learnt in the past two decades?
- How can we improve the design of EPR legislation?
- How can legislation set us on a sustainable course and make the economy more circular, more resilient, more self-reliant?
- How can we collectively address the worldwide societal challenge of e-waste?
-
Details and registration are available here for the #EPRGrandChallenge.
