Reprinted from A decade of product stewardship in America The main goal of product stewardship is to change the way products are designed, and then managed at the end of their life, so that all parties involved with a specific product share the responsibility for reducing its health and environmental impacts. What’s the status of product stewardship in the U.S, and what can be done to move forward? By Scott Cassel new trend is gaining steam that will have a significant serve as collection points for used or leftover products, and provide impact on the recycling industry. Product stewardship information to consumers, while governments oversee product A – a concept that makes manufacturers financially stewardship systems to ensure fairness (e.g., all manufacturers are responsible for managing products at the end of their useful subject to the same requirements) and effectiveness (e.g., perfor- life – is expanding in the U.S. No longer concerned primarily mance levels are achieved). Consumers also have a role in taking with the safe disposal of products with toxic ingredients, the action to manage products effectively once convenient solutions are product stewardship movement is increasingly targeting non- offered. Some of the products collected wind up with processors hazardous materials, such as packaging, phone books and and end-users, who also have a responsibility to manage products other consumer goods. safely for workers and the environment. Coherent, consistent legislation could create new opportuni- The Product Stewardship Institute, a Boston-based non-profit ties for recycling processors and end-users by increasing the amount organization, formalized these concepts in 2001 with its Principles of materials collected for recycling. Many issues still need to be of Product Stewardship. These principles have now been adopted ironed out to ensure that product stewardship systems nurture both by the Solid Waste Association of North America, Environmental large and small businesses; but, in the end, these new programs Council of the States, National League of Cities, Reusable Packag- could be a real boon to reputable recycling firms, who are sick of ing Association, and many other organizations. being undercut by illegal or irresponsible competitors. Unfortunately, past collection programs have not done a great job of capturing all the material that could be recovered. Accord- ing to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2008 What is product stewardship? Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the The goals of product stewardship are to change the way products United States report, nearly 14 percent of all electronics are recycled are designed, so that manufacturers, retailers, governments and responsibly, while the rate of recycling for mercury thermostats, consumers share responsibility for reducing a product’s health and paint and rechargeable batteries are all less than five percent. And, environmental impacts. Those with the greatest ability to reduce according to the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers, those impacts (e.g., manufacturers) shoulder the greatest responsi- only about two percent of all household fluorescent lamps are pres- bility. Manufacturers and, ultimately, consumers – whom manu- ently recycled. facturers pass on costs to – pay for collecting, recycling, or appro- There are many reasons for the poor performance of these priately disposing of products consumers no longer want. Retailers collection programs, with the most important factor being lack 32 RR | April 2010 of funding. Historically, the burden was left to local governments to run these Table 1 | State product stewardship laws programs, and there simply wasn’t much money available to collect recyclable or (as of March 17, 2010) hazardous products. The cost to local gov- ernments of managing discarded consumer Product No. of laws States with product stewardship law(s) products has proven to be staggeringly high Electronics 19* CT, HI, IL, IN, ME, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, (e.g., about $0.30 per pound for electronic NJ, OK, OR, RI, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI waste and up to $8 per gallon for leftover Auto switches 13 AR, IL, IN, IA, ME, MD, MA, NJ, NC, RI, paint). If local governments were to man- SC, UT, VT age just seven products, the annual bill Batteries 7 FL, IA, ME, MD, MN, NJ, VT would come to nearly $2 billion nationally. Thermostats This is a financial burden that local govern- (mercury) 7 CA, IA, ME, MT, NH, PA, VT ments simply cannot afford. Fluorescent lamps 2 ME, WA The push for product stewardship is Paint 1 OR beginning to change all that, by shifting Pesticide containers 1 CA the financial burden to manufacturers and Framework 1 ME consumers. This should make more money * New York City also passed a product stewardship electronics law. California was the available to hire recycling service providers. first state to pass an electronics law, but it is based on imposing an advanced recycling fee. It will also lower overall costs for manag- ing products, since all stakeholders work Source: Product Stewardship Institute, 2010 closely together under a product stew- ardship system, inducing greater system efficiencies. batteries and mercury thermostats (both create more recycling jobs by stimulating Another reason for poor program per- with seven each), fluorescent lamps (two) the recycling economy. formance is that collection programs tend- and paint and pesticide containers (with While residents have more oppor- ed to be voluntary. While such programs one each). Maine is currently the only tunities to act in an environmentally- did provide a much needed jump start for U.S. state to have a producer responsibility responsible manner, recycling service is the movement, they don’t stimulate long- framework in place for numerous products. not always convenient. Even more so, term, efficient collection. Effective product Altogether, 31 states have enacted at least people often lack the information needed stewardship programs create a level playing one producer responsibility law, with one about product impacts and solutions. The field by requiring all manufacturers to meet state, Maine, passing six such laws. The recycling industry can play an important measurable collection targets. number of states with at least one law has role by educating residents and businesses, doubled since 2006. and developing innovative ways to make it These state laws have created op- more convenient for them to participate in The status of product portunities for residents and businesses to collection programs. Neglecting to recover stewardship take responsible action to safely manage and reuse recyclable materials means energy Product stewardship has gained consider- targeted products at EOL. Leading states, and other natural resources are wasted in able momentum in the U.S., as state and such as Maine, provide the greatest oppor- the extraction and production of virgin local governments have shown they are tunities for their residents to manage waste materials, as well as the manufacture of willing to regulate. The EPA recently de- products safely. However, the threat of new products. According to the EPA, the emphasized voluntary programs and began legislation has created opportunities in all extraction, production, transport and dis- to couple those with regulatory initiatives. states for residents, as well as an increasing posal of goods accounts for approximately Manufacturers have increasingly shown number of businesses, to recycle recharge- 29 percent of all man-made greenhouse that they understand they play a central able batteries, thermostats, electronics, auto gas (GHG) emissions. Greater re-use and role in the product stewardship movement, switches and fluorescent lamps, owing to recycling of consumer products is a power- while retailers and waste management com- collection programs run by manufacturers ful GHG reduction strategy. panies are recognizing new business oppor- or retailers. tunities, offering innovative services. En- While these programs target hazardous The emergence of vironmental activists have gained strength products, local governments are also strug- with no signs of waning, and consumers gling to maintain current programs to col- framework legislation now expect more convenient opportunities lect traditional non-hazardous recyclables, Now that more than 50 laws have been to safely manage their products at end-of- such as bottles, cans, boxboard, cardboard, passed, which require product stewardship life (EOL). and other packaging materials. The EPA, for individual products, a comprehen- As of March 2010, nearly 50 laws – along with state and local governments, are sive, or framework, legislative approach covering seven products – have been enact- now exploring how product stewardship is needed to establish an overarching ed at the state level, requiring manufactur- can be applied to packaging materials, hop- product stewardship policy for multiple ers to take responsibility for their products ing to forge a sustainable multi-stakeholder products. To date, framework bills have at EOL. As shown in Table 1, the greatest financing agreement that will increase the been introduced in six states, with only one number of laws address electronics (19), supply of recycled materials, lower govern- state, Maine, enacting a framework law, followed by mercury auto switches (13), ment costs, lower overall system costs, and although it is not the comprehensive ver- RR | April 2010 33 sion originally introduced in