New Movements on the Bottle Bill Front
Last year, Hawaii became the 11th state in the nation—and the first in the last 16 years—to pass a bottle bill. Now, the governors of Massachusetts, Michigan and New York (cutting across party lines) are proposing legislation to expand bottle bills in these states. If passed, these bills would increase container collections to include non-carbonated beverages such as bottled water and sports drinks, which are not currently covered by the existing bottle bills. Such items were originally exempted from the bottle bills that were passed back in the 1970’s, because at that time these newer products represented only a small portion of the market. However, according to industry figures, bottled water and sports drinks now represent approximately 22% of total product sales. In Michigan alone, the newly expanded bottle bill could potentially result in the collection of an additional 651 million containers per year. Bottle bill incentives provide increased recycling services without any cost to the taxpayer. In fact, such systems are a proven way to shift packaging waste responsibility from the government and taxpayers to the manufacturers/distributors of products and their consumers.

Taiwan Says No More Free Plastic Bags
In an effort to reduce plastic waste in their country by 30%, Taiwan has passed a law banning the free distribution of plastic bags and disposable tableware in some 75,000 restaurants, department stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, and fast food franchises. Plastic accounts for approximately 20% of all the garbage produced in Taiwan. In fact, per capita use of plastic bags is 2.5 bags per day—and unfortunately the primary form of disposal is incineration. Taiwan’s law is just one of the governmental bans or restrictions being implemented or considered on plastics throughout the world. Ireland, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh and England are also looking seriously at the problem.

Canadian Consortium Launches Computer Take-Back Programs
The Information Technology Association of Canada, a consortium of 1,300 computer companies across Canada, has announced they are implementing a $25 recycling fee on all new computer purchases. These funds, estimated to be around $25 million annually, will then be used to establish a national non-profit recycling company. Several large international manufacturers, including IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Dell have signed on to this program in Canada, so why aren’t they supporting a similar proposal here in the United States? Other laws to establish an advanced disposal fee on computer equipment have been introduced in the United States Congress and in Washington State, and are being considered by the City of Los Angeles.

Maine Requires Manufacturer Responsibility for Mercury Removal
Last April, Maine passed the nation’s first law requiring auto manufacturers to pay for the removal and proper disposal of mercury switches from vehicles headed to the scrap yard. Mercury switches are used in lights in vehicle trunks and under hoods. In addition, auto makers who sell their automobiles in Maine are expected to phase out the use of mercury switches by the end of 2003. This law is a perfect example of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), where the manufacturer of a product is held responsible for that product’s proper disposal or recovery at the end of its useful life. Legislative options modeled after Maine’s mercury bill are being studied carefully by other states, including Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts and Vermont.

Staples Bows to Pressure; Changes Procurement Procedures
Who says dogged activism doesn’t work? Bowing to pressure from numerous environmental groups (including the Dogwood Alliance and Forest Ethics), international retailer Staples has set a goal of averaging 30% post-consumer recycled content in its line of paper products (up from less than 10% currently), and will phase out the use of paper products made from endangered forest wood. Unfortunately, Staples has not set a date by which they will meet this goal, so the pressure needs to be maintained. As the largest operator of office superstores in the world, Staples’ decision should have an impact on the other large office products stores, including Office Depot and Office Max.

Since Staples’ announcement, Kinko’s has announced plans to increase the average post-consumer recycled content in its papers to 30%. Additionally, they will always stock 100% post-consumer recycled content paper, and will print their corporate letterhead, envelopes and business cards on 100% post-consumer recycled content paper. Most recently, Office Depot has announced that they will offer 35% post-consumer recycled paper as the standard in all black-and-white copy machines in their stores. Office Depot is also now offering, through September, a free ream of 35% post-consumer recycled paper to every customer who returns a used printer cartridge for recycling. This proves once again that when the top dog barks (in this case, Staples), the rest of the pack will follow.