In July 2021, Maine passed the first U.S. producer responsibility law, requiring companies to cover the total costs of their wasteful products, including disposal.
SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Every year, the average American throws out nearly 1,800 pounds of trash. Together, Americans throw out enough plastic each year to fill up the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium — the largest NFL football stadium — 565 times over. To make matters worse, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a spiraling epidemic of waste, particularly when it comes to plastic.
On Thursday, PIRG Education Fund, Environment America Research & Policy Center, Frontier Group and Community Action Works released a new report, Trash in America: Moving from destructive consumption towards a zero-waste system. The report examines America’s waste problem over the past three years, including the pandemic, and recommends 10 steps the United States should take to build a “zero waste” economy.
“The pandemic turned the world upside-down and trampled waste reduction efforts. For a time, single-use plastic shopping bags returned to supermarkets, and disposable takeout food containers and packaging from online shopping flooded the waste stream,” said Alex Truelove, PIRG Education Fund’s Zero Waste program director and report co-author. “Despite these setbacks, and despite the efforts by industry groups to keep people from reusing, the U.S. has already restored much of our lost momentum on waste reduction.”
In less than a year, four states have passed single-use plastic bans on wasteful products, including single-use plastic bags, foam containers and plastic straws, bringing the total number of states with such requirements to 13. In July 2021, Maine passed the first U.S. producer responsibility law, requiring companies to cover the total costs of their wasteful products, including disposal.
“Producer responsibility is the next frontier in waste reduction,” said Adrian Pforzheimer, policy analyst for Frontier Group and report co-author. “By requiring manufacturers to take responsibility for all the materials they use and produce, cradle to grave, states like Maine can lead the way toward a more responsible and efficient economy.”
Courtesy: www.wasteadvantage.com
