Page 84 - Plastics News June 2024

IN THE NEWS

various levels of PCR on an aggressive able, and as you have already figured thing is for sure: pretending the prob-
calendar. For example, California will out, I am skeptical this will happen. lem isn’t there will not solve it. Sectors
require beverage containers to include We can certainly talk about how these spanning CPG, beverage, personal
25% PCR by January 2025 and 50% laws fail to reflect the reality of how care, household products and retail-
PCR by 2030. New Jersey has require- recycling markets work, but right now ers need to engage in dialogue and test
ments for plastics, paper and glass. that discussion is only useful in terms where there may be common interest
It requires glass packaging to meet a of informing how we should engage as and a possible way forward that all can
35% PCR content standard this year. new proposals are considered. These engage with and support.
To say that is impossible is a colossal laws are already in effect now, so the Companies often set audacious goals
understatement. challenge here is what can industry do and then fail to meet them. In those

Washington’s law notes that the regu- to help ensure compliance? In my es- cases, a company can always shift the
lations for the bill begin in 2023 and timation, something will need to shift narrative, explain away the failure and
each product category is phased in dramatically over the coming years, earn favor by setting yet another goal.
with increasing post-consumer re- or we are going to hit a “compliance It’s different for regulations. Failure
cycled content (PCRC) requirements wall.” to achieve these requirements comes
over the next fifteen years. Further, it What are the options? Multiple indus- with financial penalties. In the case of
adds that by 2036, all packaging for try segments could align and double California, the law sets penalties at a
covered product categories must in- down on supporting EPR to increase rate of $0.20 per pound based on the
clude at least 50% PCRC, excluding recycling rates and then go back to shortfall of recycled content used com-
trash bags, which have a 20% require- regulators and say, “look, we’re doing pared to the minimum content require-
ment after 2027. ment.
all we can, so can we slow this down?”
“Each year, producers must report Would this take the form of working In the past, policy has forced compa-
on minimum post-consumer recycled in some of the largest states, say New nies to think more about their packag-
content (PCRC) requirements from York and Texas, or would it look more ing and its impacts, it has also driven
the previous year,” the law notes. “The like a federal solution? Do we organize innovation and a collective response
minimum requirements began for bev- an effort to push back the compliance around implementation. This momen-
erage and trash bag producers in 2023. timelines without the sincere effort to tum needs to be harnessed now and
Household cleaning and personal care push up recycling rates first? I suspect focused in a constructive way on a col-
products will start in 2025, and dairy this would be costly, poorly received laborative effort to offer and support
milk and wine sold in small 187 ml bot- and highly likely to fail. Do we run out solutions to the PCR compliance wall
tles will begin in 2029.” the timelines, fail to comply and see challenge.
what happens?
The market is expected to evolve rap- Source – Plastics Recycling Update
idly to make all of this new PCR avail- The answer here is elusive, but one

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June 2024