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June 12, 2008
Senate approves package of legislation to increase recycling
The Senate recently approved the leadership’s four-bill package of legislation containing major recycling initiatives that will increase environmental quality in the state and extend the life of the Central Landfill in Johnston.
The bills increase the types of plastics that can be recycled and set a course for consideration of a 5-cent deposit on bottles, like neighboring states impose. The bills also set a 35 percent minimum recycling standard for municipalities, require cities and towns to plan for the diversion of 50 percent of their generated solid waste from the landfill and require larger employers (those with 50 or more employees) to contract for recycling services as part of any agreement with a private waste hauler. In addition, they establish programs to recycle electronic waste and yard waste.
According to a report entitled “Greening Rhode Island,” which was compiled in January by the Senate Policy Office at the direction of President of the Senate Joseph A. Montalbano and Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed, the state’s recycling efforts capture only 15 to 20 percent of the total municipal waste – while 61 percent of that waste is considered recyclable. The report found that the Central Landfill is fast approaching capacity, and increasing recycling rates could help to extend the landfill’s useful life.
The Senate leadership began focusing late last year on recycling as a means of not only extending the life of the landfill, but also realizing environmental and economic benefits. This session, in addition to developing the “Greening Rhode Island” policy paper, the leadership hosted a “Recycling Summit” in January, toured the Central Landfill and Materials Recycling Facility in February and submitted the package of legislation that won Senate approval.
The initiatives were sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators including Majority Leader Paiva Weed (D-Newport, Jamestown), Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee Chairwoman V. Susan Sosnowski (D-Charlestown, New Shoreham), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Michael J. McCaffrey (D-Warwick) and Senators Walter S. Felag, Jr. (D-Bristol, Tiverton, Warren), Hanna M. Gallo (D-Cranston), David E. Bates (R-Barrington, Bristol), June N. Gibbs (R-Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, Tiverton) and Christopher B. Maselli (D-Johnston).
The bills include legislation (S 2771A) that moves the state toward the creation of a “Beverage Container Deposit Act” to provide a sustainable method for collecting beverage containers for recycling.
Dubbed the “bottle bill” in 1971 when Oregon passed the original legislation, the measure would move toward requiring a 5-cent refundable deposit on beer, soft drink and other beverage containers in order to ensure a high rate of recycling or reuse. It also increases the types of plastics that can be recycled in the state.
Specifically, the bill requires the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC) to create a plan, by Jan. 1, 2009, that quantifies and details the impacts of a 5-cent beverage container deposit in Rhode Island, including: defining what bottles to include in such a program, comparing Rhode Island’s taxes and deposits with those in Massachusetts and Connecticut, analyzing possible impacts on municipal recycling programs and recommending alternatives to a bottle deposit that would accomplish the same recycling goals.
There are currently 11 states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine and New York that have enacted “bottle bill” legislation. According to the Container Recycling Institute, after implementation of the “bottle bill,” seven states reported a reduction of beverage container litter ranging from 70 to 83 percent and a reduction in total litter ranging from 30 to 47 percent.
“Whether through deposits or other means, it is imperative that we find ways to dramatically increase recycling rates in our state, not only to reduce the amount of beverage container litter, but also to conserve our natural resources and decrease the waste being sent to the Central Landfill,” said Paiva Weed.
The bill increases the types of plastics that can be recycled by requiring that plastics labeled recyclable with the codes No. 1 through No. 7 be included in the definition of recyclable materials set forth by the Department of Environmental Management. Currently, only plastics labeled with codes No. 1 and No. 2 are recyclable in Rhode Island. RIRRC would retrofit its Materials Recycling Facility to handle the wider range of plastics.
Another bill approved would require each municipality that contracts with the RIRRC for the disposal of its solid waste to recycle 35 percent and divert 50 percent of the waste collected at the Central Landfill. The bill (2008-S 2797) would also require commercial establishments with 50 or more employees to contract for recycling services.
“Establishing a mandatory solid waste diversion program has many benefits,” said Senator Sosnowski. “It would empower all commercial establishments to work with cities and towns to identify alternatives to private hauling of commercial recyclables. This would allow a business to have a city or town, by agreement, collect its recyclables curbside.”
Under the legislation, municipalities would be required to submit a plan as part of the fiscal year 2010 contract with the RIRRC detailing how the city or town would achieve 35 percent solid waste diversion by 2011.
Senator Sosnowski said that her proposal would give municipalities the flexibility to choose the programs they are comfortable with to collect recyclables and decrease solid waste going to the landfill. Such programs, she said, could include Pay As You Throw programs that charge by the bag, for example, or so-called “No Bin and No Barrel” programs, which require that, in order for regular trash to be picked up, a recycling bin must also be placed curbside, even if only one recyclable item is in it.
A third bill included in the Senate’s recycling package is the “Electronic Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling Act.” The legislation (2008-S 2631A) would expand the provisions governing the disposal of electronic products in the state.
Discarded electronic products are a growing part of the solid waste stream and impose high costs on cities and towns and on the state of Rhode Island. They are difficult to recycle because they contain toxic chemicals and hazardous materials such as lead, mercury, chromium, mixed plastics and flame-retardants. They are also not designed for disassembly and recycling.
The bill would:
- Establish a manufacturer financed system for the collection, recycling and reuse program for covered products in the state.
- Ensure the safe and environmentally sound handling of electronic waste.
- Promote the development of a state infrastructure for the reuse and recycling of used electronics.
- Eliminate waste generated in the state from electronic products from landfill and incinerator disposal.
- Encourage the design of electronic products that are less toxic, more durable and more recyclable.
The final bill (2008 - S2853) approved would require the RIRRC to recycle yard waste materials at the highest and best use. It would also ban the disposal of yard waste at the central landfill as of Jan. 1, 2009.
“We can take some relatively simple steps to extend the life of the landfill, benefit property taxpayers by helping cities and towns keep their trash disposal costs manageable and help the environment, all at the same time. Increased recycling accomplishes all of these goals,” said Paiva Weed. “Each year, over 1 million tons of waste is disposed of at the Central Landfill. Sixty one percent of waste is recyclable, but we only actually recycle 15 percent. The commercial recycling rate is even lower. We need to improve our state recycling rates or be faced with financing expensive alternatives.”
The bills now go to the House of Representatives for consideration.
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