Worldwide, we produce almost 400 million tons of plastic waste annually—and nearly half of all plastic produced is intended to be used just once and thrown away. Washingtonians experience this problem first-hand with plastic and other materials littering our neighborhoods, shorelines, and parks, filling landfills to capacity, and harming wildlife. And it doesn’t stop with plastics, we are inundated with excess packaging, especially single-use items.
Unfortunately, Washington’s recycling systems have not been able to keep up with the influx of plastic and paper packaging flooding into our homes and environment. In Washington, only 17% of plastic is recycled. Only 58% of WA municipalities have residential curbside recycling services.
But, that’s all about to change.
On Saturday, flanked by lawmakers and advocates, Governor Ferguson signed the Recycling Reform Act (Senate Bill 5284) into law, making Washington the seventh state to pass a producer responsibility law for packaging and paper products.
The new law will improve Washington’s recycling rates by creating a producer responsibility program that holds companies financially responsible for the waste their products create. It will also expand recycling across the state by providing free curbside recycling to an estimated 500,000 more homes in Washington, reduce recycling confusion by creating one list of what can and can’t be recycled across the state, and ensure that the materials that are put in the blue recycling bins will actually be recycled into a new consumer product.
The Recycling Reform Act is similar to laws passed in Maine, Oregon, Colorado, California, Minnesota and Maryland.
Environment Washington, WashPIRG and WashPIRG Students have worked with coalition partners and legislators for years to build support for this new, modernized recycling system. This law wouldn’t have been possible without Washingtonians across the state making their voices heard and advocating solutions to reduce waste, reuse materials, and recycle more effectively.
