Several bills related to plastics and recycling were introduced this session. Here’s how they fared.

Plastics study

SB 5397 was introduced to create a plastic product stewardship program for Washington. After passing the Senate, the bill proposed to study plastic impacts in the state and evaluate the role of a stewardship program. The House made further amendments but retained the study-bill provisions. The bill was funded in the final budget and becomes law once signed by the Governor.

The final bill requires the Department of Ecology (Ecology) to hire a consultant to conduct a statewide assessment and evaluation of the plastic packaging sold in the state. Ecology must submit this report to the Legislature by October 31, 2020. The report must evaluate the following:

• Amount and types of plastic packaging coming into the state;
• Full cost of managing plastic packaging waste, including costs to ratepayers, businesses and others;
• Final disposition of all plastic packaging sold into the state;
• Costs and savings to all stakeholders in product stewardship programs implemented in other cities and solid waste companies;
• Needed infrastructure to manage plastic packaging;
• Contamination and sorting issues for the plastic packaging recycling stream;
• Existing stewardship organizations and databases useful to develop a program in Washington; and
• Near-term legislative options to meet plastic packaging reduction goals, which can be implemented by January 1, 2022.

The report must include the following components:

• Compilation of all programs in the state that currently manage plastic packaging, including end-of-life management and litter and contamination cleanup;
• Existing studies of the final disposition of plastic packaging and materials recovery facilities residual composition;
• Review of industry efforts and any other domestic or international efforts and innovations to reduce, reuse, recycle, chemically recycle plastic packaging. Review must include technologies such as pyrolysis and gasification processes; and
• Recommendations to meet the goals of reducing plastic packaging through industry lead or product stewardship to:
  • Achieve 100 percent recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging in all goods sold in Washington by January 1, 2025;
  • Achieve at least 20 percent postconsumer recycled content in packaging by January 1, 2025; and
  • Reduce plastic packaging when possible.

Recycling market research center

HB 1543 is Ecology’s request bill to create an in-house recycling market research center. The bill passed the Legislature and was funded in the final budget. Once signed by the Governor it becomes law.

The bill also directs Ecology to create and implement a state recycling contamination reduction and outreach plan and to provide technical assistance to local governments to reduce recycling contamination. Finally, HB 1543 requires city and county solid waste plans to contain a recycling contamination reduction and outreach plan, either of their own design or by adopting the state’s version. Counties with a population of 25,000 or less are exempt. The contamination reduction plan must be included by July 1, 2021, either by amendment or as part of an update.

Banning plastic straws and bags

SB 5077 was introduced as a bill to ban plastic straws. After passing the Senate, it became a “straws on request only” bill, but grandfathered in any city bans already in place. As it moved through House, the bill retained the request-only provision, but prohibited a city from banning plastic straws. Ultimately, the bill failed to move out of the House and died for this session.

SB 5323 was the plastic bag ban bill. It was not amended after it passed the Senate and, like the straw bill, failed to proceed out of the House before cutoff. However, unlike the straw bill, the bag bill was brought back to life during budget negotiations. Although the final budget included funding for the bill, SB 5323 was never brought to the floor for a vote in the House. Because it did not pass the Legislature, the appropriations lapsed. This bill will likely return next session. To see details on what this bill intends to do, please see our previous article.