Dive Transient:
- Maryland’s prolonged producer accountability advisory council remains to be within the midst of drafting suggestions for the state legislature, which are supposed to inform a future EPR for packaging invoice.
- The group is awaiting the completion of a state recycling wants evaluation, performed by environmental agency HDR, to assist direct its suggestions. At an advisory council assembly Dec. 5, the group determined to attend for the knowledge contained within the wants evaluation earlier than finalizing any suggestions, noting that the state should first have a transparent image of its recycling and waste administration techniques earlier than attempting to jot down detailed EPR pointers.
- A state legislation handed in Maryland in 2023 known as for the advisory group to ship EPR coverage suggestions to the state’s legislature by Dec. 1, 2024, however the legislation additionally required Maryland Division of the Surroundings to finish the wants evaluation previous to that December deadline. The method was delayed, partially as a result of time it took to fund the wants evaluation and select HDR as the seller for the venture.
Dive Perception:
Maryland has not formally handed an EPR for packaging legislation, however the EPR advisory council’s work is a vital a part of the method of ultimately introducing such laws.
The state is working by advanced packaging EPR particulars 5 states which have already handed their very own EPR for packaging legal guidelines. Maine and Oregon final week each adopted remaining guidelines for his or her respective EPR for packaging legal guidelines. California, Colorado and Minnesota even have EPR for packaging legal guidelines in progress.
MDE employed HDR in August to finish the wants evaluation, although the legislation had beforehand required the evaluation’s outcomes to be printed by the top of July. It’s unclear when the evaluation may very well be launched, although council members on the assembly estimated it might come someday in January.
Particulars of the forthcoming wants evaluation are anticipated to present an outline of state waste and recycling infrastructure and capability, in addition to key prices and revenues. Additionally it is anticipated to offer information on disposal and recycling strategies by materials sort and quantity, in addition to estimates of what number of supplies are presently not being recycled.
The evaluation can be meant to supply particulars on quite a few different points, together with state organics recycling capability, reuse alternatives, recycling education schemes, employment alternatives and concepts for making recycling techniques extra equitable for underserved residents.
As soon as that evaluation is launched, “I believe we have now an incredible alternative within the subsequent yr to vogue a invoice,” stated Chaz Miller, an advisory council member representing the Maryland Recycling Community.
The advisory council started assembly in Could. It’s made up of 21 members, together with recyclers, processors and composters from each the private and non-private sectors, and representatives from native authorities companies, PROs and the patron items sector.
At their Dec. 5 assembly, council members debated briefly about whether or not to base future suggestions on fashions from the opposite states with EPR for packaging legal guidelines, although members additionally identified the forthcoming wants evaluation would provide perspective that will assist inform that alternative.
“There are states which might be going by this earlier than us, and we will completely be taught from their classes, what works and what would not work, as we begin to undergo this journey,” stated Bradley Baker, an MDE program supervisor, in the course of the assembly.
Members additionally debated whether or not to advocate that state lawmakers wait till the 2026 legislative session to introduce an EPR for packaging invoice, although a number of members acknowledged there was a chance that lawmakers might determine to push ahead laws earlier than seeing the council’s remaining suggestions. Others stated that asking lawmakers to delay to 2026 might unnecessarily gradual the method of passing an EPR invoice.
Additionally up for future decision-making is whether or not the Round Motion Alliance, the producer accountability group for Maryland, would ultimately reimburse MDE for the price of the wants evaluation, and on what sort of timeline.
The council will proceed to work collaboratively because it awaits future particulars of the wants evaluation, stated Michael Okoroafor, a council member and chief sustainability officer of McCormick & Firm. The group will meet once more on Dec. 17.
“We could not resolve each facet of what we have to put in place for Maryland, however it is necessary that, as we drive ahead, we give attention to the framework technique that can information the whole lot,” he stated.
This story first appeared within the Waste Dive: Recycling e-newsletter. Join the weekly emails right here.