OPINION: WA bill to cut plastic pollution, waste should pass

This editorial was published in The Seattle Times.

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Plastic pollution has overwhelmed the world. So ubiquitous is this versatile material that it’s proving impossible to contain in landfills. Its uses are often short-lived; not much of it has ever been recycled. The vast majority of the roughly 11 billion metric tons produced since 1950 is piling up as waste — increasingly appearing in our waterways, our air, our bodies and even in our brains.

Lawmakers can curb this onslaught in Washington. Since 2023, Rep. Liz Berry, D-Seattle, has championed reforming the state’s recycling system to both cut down on waste and drive rates of recycling higher. It’s a multifaceted solution to a complex problem lawmakers should approve and Gov. Bob Ferguson sign into law.

Its passage would make Washington the sixth state to adopt “Extended Producer Responsibility” (EPR) on packaging, following successes of similar programs in British Columbia and in Europe. The results speak for themselves: Whereas Washington has been keeping less than 50% of material out of landfills, British Columbia’s EPR-driven system hovers close to 80%.

The state senate’s version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Liz Lovelett, D-Anacortes, has already cleared that chamber, 27-22, with most Democrats in support. It now is in the House.

Berry says the bill is akin to responding to a flood, in this case the barrage of products and packaging that come in non-recyclable forms — namely plastic. You have to cut it off at the source.

“What do we do when our house is flooding? We turn off the tap,” Berry said at a January news conference unveiling the legislation alongside Lovelett.

The bill does that in two ways. First, EPR creates a financial incentive for companies to use materials in the packaging, like paper, that can be recycled many times over, rather than others, including many forms of plastic, which cannot. Second, it levies fees on packaging that will fund the state’s recycling system to make it more comprehensive and accessible to all Washingtonians. Currently 11 counties lack any curbside recycling at all.

The bill also creates a standard list of Washington state recyclables that will deliver clarity to residents about what can actually be recycled. That will help rebuild faith in a patchwork system many residents here don’t trust.

Some lawmakers have raised legitimate concerns over the bill’s costs. It will require the creation of an organization funded by the companies that bring products and packaging to Washington — because they become responsible for what happens to the stuff at the end of its life. The bill’s goal is that those producers pay for Washington’s recycling system so existing recycling customers no longer have to — and that expense can be deducted on their utility bills.

Even if the EPR fees cover the cost of recycling for Washingtonians as intended, companies will pass along these new costs of compliance. Columbia University research suggests grocery bills will increase by about $4 a month for Washingtonians; other analysis shows even higher amounts.

Make no mistake: This is an intensive overhaul that will take time and create a risk of some higher prices at the grocery store. But tackling the planet’s plastic pollution problem can wait no longer. If Washington creates a system that decreases the flow of plastic into landfills, others can, too — and we’ll have made a policy choice that will improve the state, and the world, for generations to come.

TNS