Product Stewardship Dictionary

Term Stands for Definition Another Bright A program operated by WasteCap Nebraska to provide safe collection and recycling of burned out compact fluorescent light Idea bulbs. http://www.wastecapne.org/anotherbrightidea/ Advanced A separate charge placed on a new product and paid by a consumer at the point of retail. This fee covers the cost of the product’s ARF Recycling Fee eventual end-of-life management so that when a consumer is ready to recycle the product, a “free” system is available for its collection, transportation, and management.1 Battery Council Battery Council International is the trade association for the lead-acid battery industry. BCI promotes recycling of spent lead-acid BCI International batteries and the use of recycled materials in the production of new batteries. http://www.batterycouncil.org/ The Bucket The Bucket Project, operated by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, is a program that provides collection and recycling of any pure mercury-containing items that will fit in a 5-gallon collection bucket. Products collected include Project thermometers thermostats, and other mercury-containing equipment. (http://www.hhss.ne.gov/mercury/disposal.htm) Call2Recycle® is the only free rechargeable battery and cell phone collection program in North America. Since 1994, Call2Recycle Call2Recycle has collected rechargeable batteries and now collects cell phones. Call2Recycle is operated by the non-profit Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC). (http://www.call2recycle.org/) Compact Fluorescent Lamps are an environmental paradox: they are environmentally sound because they use a fraction of energy to Fluorescent Light produce light and last up to 10,000 hours, compared with the incandescent lamps that they replace which fail at 1,500 hours. But, bulbs they do contain a small amount of mercury, a harmful neurotoxin that should not be disposed of in landfills or incinerators. The CFL number of fluorescent bulbs is growing rapidly, with more than a half billion fluorescent lamps now sold annually. This also means that large numbers of spent lamps are entering the waste stream. Since they can release mercury into the environment, these lamps must be recognized as a special waste and managed responsibly.2 Cost Integration of product recycling costs into product retail price to be shared between producers and consumers. Internalization Corporate Social CSR is a very broad terms which encompasses everything from corporate philanthropy to corporate ethics. One resource for CSR Responsibility more information is: http://www.csrwire.com/ Nebraska DHHS (Also Department of http://www.hhs.state.ne.us/ NHHS) Health and Human Services (as type of ARF) These are fees paid at the time of purchase which go into a government-managed fund. The funds are then used to help cover Deposits the costs of recycling these goods. These systems are used widely for beverage containers and tires, among other goods. Electronic EIA http://www.ecaus.org/eia/site/index.html Industries Alliance

1 Cassel, Scott. 2008. “Product Stewardship: Shared Responsibility for Managing HHW”. In Handbook on Household Hazardous Waste. Cabaniss, Amy. Editor. 2 The Product Stewardship Institute, projects: CFLs. http://productstewardship.us/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=271

End-of-Life ELVS ELVS was created by the automotive industry to promote the industry’s environmental efforts in recyclability, education, and Vehicle Solutions outreach, and the proper management of materials in automobiles such as mercury-containing switches. http://elvsolutions.org/ Electronic waste recycling. eCycling programs accept used computer and television equipment in addition to cell phones and eCycling other portable electronic devices. http://www.ecyclingcentral.com/ End-of-Life The point in a product’s lifespan when the end user no longer has use for the product. (as type of ARF) These are fees that are charged to consumers when they dispose of or recycle their goods. These fees are most common for bulky End-of-Life Fees items such as mattress. These fees are usually flat fees (ex. $15 per mattress) Environmental An environmental hazard observed as a result of a certain process. Impacts may be in the form of harmful emissions, pollution, Impacts toxics use and exposure, or wildlife habitat disturbance. Electronic Product EPEAT, which stands for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, is an easy-to-use, on-line tool helping institutional EPEAT Environmental purchasers select and compare computer desktops, laptops and monitors based on their environmental attributes. Assessment Tool http://www.epa.gov/epp/pubs/products/epeat.htm Extended Also known as Product Stewardship, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) uses financial incentives to encourage manufacturers Producer to design environmentally-friendly products by holding producers liable for the costs of managing their products at end of life. Responsibility These programs attempt to relieve local governments of the costs of managing certain priority products by requiring EPR manufacturers to internalize the cost of recycling into the product price. EPR is based upon the principle that producers (usually brand owners) have the greatest control over product design and marketing and therefore have the greatest ability and responsibility to reduce toxicity and waste. OECD has several in-depth reports on EPR available here. Consumer electronics that are no longer in use and qualify as “waste.” E-waste includes computer and television equipment, in E-Waste addition to cell phones and other portable electronic devices. Within EPR systems, free riders means producers who have not contributed financially to a collection and recycling system, but Free Riders are benefiting from as it. This is a problem which has not been a significant issue in existing programs. Green Taking efforts to reduce or eliminate environmental impacts. Green The design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances3. Chemistry http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/ An incentive is anything (whether a penalty or reward) that encourages individuals or businesses to change their behavior. Within Incentives a product stewardship context, incentives often refer to economic incentives which encourage businesses to adopt more environmentally beneficial behaviors and assume greater responsibility for their products. Industry Light Stewardship model in which industry is given legal mandate to operate a take-back system with complete control over funding, Model recycling, and promotion4. Keep America A nationwide nonprofit, combines education with hands-on stewardship to make America's communities cleaner, greener, and Beautiful more livable. KAB http://www.kab.org

3 http://www.epa.gov/gcc/ 4 Cassel, Scott. 2008. “Product Stewardship: Shared Responsibility for Managing HHW”. In Handbook on Household Hazardous Waste. Cabaniss, Amy. Editor. Keep Nebraska Nebraska state chapter of Keep America Beautiful. The Guiding Principles include: 1) Acceptance of individual responsibility is Beautiful essential for the enhancement of community environments. 2) Education is the foundation for responsible individual action KNB toward the environment. 3) The most effective community partnerships include representation from the public, private, and civic sectors. These principles relate directly with those of product stewardship, specifically the principle of shared responsibility. http://www.knb.org/ Standardization of stewardship program practices and the methods used to measure their success. Many laws passed at the state Harmonization a local level have different requirements and harmonization seeks to reduce those differences. Household Leftover household products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable, or reactive ingredients are considered to be "household HHW Hazardous Waste hazardous waste" or "HHW." Products, such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides that contain potentially hazardous ingredients require special care when you dispose of them. http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/hhw.htm Local Government This is a program of the Product Stewardship Institute to coordinate local governments who may not always work together to LGC Coordination help build product stewardship more quickly. Memorandum of A memorandum of understanding (MOU or MoU) is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between Understanding parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in MOU cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in situations where the parties cannot create a legally enforceable agreement. Municipal Solid Municipal solid waste (MSW), predominantly household waste (domestic waste) with sometimes the addition of commercial Waste wastes collected by a municipality within a given area. They are in either solid or semisolid form and generally exclude industrial MSW hazardous wastes. The term residual waste relates to waste left from household sources containing materials that have not been separated out or sent for reprocessing North American Hazardous Founded in 1993, NAHMMA is an established group of hazardous materials management professionals. NAHMMA's purpose is NAHMMA Materials to advance education, foster communication, encourage policy development, recognize exemplary programs and provide Management professional development opportunities.(http://nahmma.org/) Association Negotiated A voluntary agreement between a firm and the EPA in which the firm commits to fulfill a part of the agreement5. Agreement National Electronics The National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative was created to bring stakeholders together to develop solutions to the NEPSI Product issue of electronic products management. This initiative was not able to achieve national consensus. Stewardship http://eerc.ra.utk.edu/clean/nepsi/ Initiatives Nebraska Department of NDEQ http://www.deq.state.ne.us/ Environmental Quality NVMSRP National Vehicle The National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program (NVMSRP) is designed to recover an estimated 40 million mercury-

5 http://yosemite.epa.gov/ee/epalib/incent2.nsf/c7950cb0634d42808525634e00438a4a/4a64ea2ae4ded05085256ab200704224!opendocument Mercury Switch containing light switches from scrap vehicles that are melted to make new steel. This will significantly reduce mercury air Recovery Program emissions from the fourth leading source in the United States – the furnaces used in steel making. The Program is the result of a two-year collaboration involving EPA, states, environmental organizations, and several industry sectors. http://www.epa.gov/mercury/switch.htm Organization for OECD brings together the governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy from around the world Economic to: Support sustainable economic growth; Boost employment; Raise living standards; Maintain financial stability; Assist other Cooperation and countries' economic development; Contribute to growth in world trade. The Organisation provides a setting where governments OECD Development compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and coordinate domestic and international policies. http://www.oecd.org/home/0,2987,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html Pay as You Throw Waste management system that charges residents per bag of trash generated for municipal pick-up. These programs have been P.A.Y.T. highly successful at reducing the amount of waste thrown away by residents. Performance Metrics that may be used to gauge success of a stewardship program. These may be in the form of recovery targets and sufficient Goals access to recycling for all residents. For example, 60% of all waste recovered, or 5 lbs of electronic waste collected per resident. Paint Product Since December 2003, the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) has facilitated a national dialogue aimed at reducing the generation Stewardship of leftover paint, while increasing reuse and recycling opportunities. With the avid support of over 200 dialogue participants, Initiative these discussions resulted in an historic agreement mediated by PSI in October 2007 among paint manufacturers, government PPSI agencies, paint recyclers, painting contractors, and other participants. The agreement calls for the establishment of an industry- funded Paint Stewardship Organization that will collect and manage leftover paint using a pass-through cost to consumers. http://www.productstewardship.us/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=117 Primary Single-use batteries or non-rechargeable. Also referred to as alkaline batteries. (Most of the batteries sold that are AAA, AA etc Batteries are “primary” batteries) Producer Producers may delegate their legal responsibilities to a third party, a so-called producer responsibility organization (PRO), which is paid by the producer for used-product management. This PRO manages the logistics of collection, recycling and compliance. PRO Responsibility Organization Typically producers pay into the PRO with an annual licensing fee, or on the basis of market-share. The PRO then manages all expenses associated with the product stewardship program and assumes liability. The full list of products and product types that may be regulated for collection under a producer responsibility law. (For example Product Scope “all rechargeable batteries” vs “all batteries” Product The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) is a national non-profit membership-based organization located in Boston, Stewardship Massachusetts. PSI works with state and local government agencies to partner with manufacturers, retailers, environmental PSI Institute groups, federal agencies, and other key stakeholders to reduce the health and environmental impacts of consumer products. PSI takes a unique product stewardship approach to solving waste management problems by encouraging product design changes and mediating stakeholder dialogues. http://www.productstewardship.us/ Rechargeable Battery Recycling RBRC (See Call2Recycle above) Corporation (aka Call2Recycle) Resource The purpose of the Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) program is to accelerate the conservation, development and RC&D Conservation and utilization of natural resources, improve the general level of economic activity, and to enhance the environment and standard of Development living in designated RC&D areas. It improves the capability of State, tribal and local units of government and local nonprofit organizations in rural areas to plan, develop and carry out programs for resource conservation and development. The program also establishes or improves coordination systems in rural areas. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/rcd/ Return Share A stewardship model that requires manufacturers to recover a portion of the products available for collection that is equal to the manufacturer’s market share for that type of product. (For example is Company A sells 40% of all TVs, they are responsible to Model collect 40% of all waste TVs) Restriction on The Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment 2002/95/EC; Hazardous commonly referred to as the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive or RoHS) was adopted in February 2003 by the Substances European Union. The RoHS directive took effect on 1 July 2006, and is required to be enforced and become law in each member RoHS Directive Directive state. This directive restricts the use of six hazardous materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. It is closely linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) 2002/96/EC which sets collection, recycling and recovery targets for electrical goods and is part of a legislative initiative to solve the problem of huge amounts of toxic e-waste. Secondary Rechargeable, multiple-use batteries. These batteries are commonly found in cell phones, laptops, power tools, and portable Batteries music players. Shared Responsibility A stewardship model that requires industry and government to share financial responsibility for collection and recycling. Model Stakeholder Incorporating all interested parties in a decision-making process. (For example, producers, retailers, consumers, government and Engagement environmentalists) There is no uniform definition for sustainability, but one definition is: Sustainability may be described as our responsibility to Sustainability proceed in a way that will sustain life that will allow our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to live comfortably in a friendly, clean, and healthy world. Take-back A program operated by a retailer or manufacturer to recycle and properly dispose of certain products at end-of-life. For example systems the manufacturer of a laptop would take back their laptop from consumers. Thermostat TRC is an industry-funded, voluntary organization that collects and recycles used mercury thermostats. Recycling TRC http://thermostat-recycle.org/ Corporation Toxics Substance The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 provides EPA with authority to require reporting, record-keeping and testing TSCA Control Act requirements, and restrictions relating to chemical substances and/or mixtures. Certain substances are generally excluded from TSCA, including, among others, food, drugs, cosmetics and pesticides. http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/tsca.html Processes occurring at the front end of the production and supply chain. For example with paper, the logging, paper mills, and Upstream transportation needed to bring the good to the retail store, would all be considered “up steam.” Under the Sink UTS is the Omaha area household chemicals collection facility. UTS http://www.underthesink.org/ United States The EPA is the national regulatory agency, whose mission is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment - Environmental U.S. EPA air, water and land - upon which life depends. http://www.epa.gov/ Protection Agency Universal Waste Universal Waste (UW) is a general descriptive term used to describe wastes that are generated by a large, diverse population. UWR Rule Businesses as well as unregulated households generate UW. This term is intended to be broad so that a wider range of wastes may be managed under the reduced requirements of the UWR. The UWR is intended to promote recycling as well as the proper disposal of wastes, if recycling is not a viable option by easing certain regulatory requirements. (http://www.epa.gov/waste/hazard/wastetypes/universal/index.htm) Voluntary Any non-mandatory stewardship program undertaken by a manufacturer Initiative European Waste WEEE Electrical and This is a European Directive that make manufacturers of all electronic and electrical products (everything from MP3 players to Electronic large appliances) to collect and recycle their goods. These programs have been very successful at increasing the electronic goods (Directive) Equipment that are collected and recycled. Directive