Page 15 - Griffin Gazette - March 2025
P. 15

Due to growing concerns about their environmental               organization called a Producer Responsibility Organization
and human health impacts, many plastic products are             (PRO) to represent regulated industries to the state, set
becoming regulated materials, similar to products that          targets, collect fees, and ensure compliance. Circular
contain mercury or lead. These kinds of regulations have        Action Alliance has become the PRO for most US states
been in place in Europe and Canada for several years and        implementing EPR laws.
are now coming into effect in several US states. These laws
and rules place new obligations on the producers or brand       Yet another kind of law restricts how plastic products are
owners of plastic products. And it is the responsibility of     marketed and what unqualified claims producers can make
every company to know their legal obligations and ensure        about their products with the intent to prevent misleading
their compliance.                                               or false environmental claims about products like plastics,
                                                                sometimes called Greenwashing. An example of this is
DIFFERENT LAWS, DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS                          California’s Truth in Recycling Law (or SB-343 signed in 2021
There are a few different types of regulations that affect      and coming into effect in 2026). Among other provisions,
producers in different ways. One kind of regulation             these laws prevent unqualified claims that products are
requires minimum amounts of Post-Consumer Recycled              recyclable unless the producer can demonstrate that
(PCR) plastics in certain plastic products. An example of       their products actually are being recycled at high rates of
this is New Jersey’s Recycled Content Law (or P.L. 2021,        recovery with at least 60% of the state’s population having
c. 391), which went into effect in 2024 and requires all rigid  access to recyclers that will take it. These laws also prohibit
plastic containers sold in the state to have at least 10%       the use of the “chasing arrows” symbol around the plastic
PCR content. Producers must register with the state and         resin ID codes on plastic products unless they meet the
provide documentation showing that the products they            criteria for being recyclable.
sold comply with this requirement, which increases every
few years so that eventually all regulated products will have   NEXT STEPS
50% PCR content.                                                These laws are new, and they are complicated. Therefore,
                                                                it can be difficult and confusing to be sure if you’re in
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is another type          compliance. So what should a company do next? The
of law that requires producers to pay fees based on the         first step is to find legal counsel or compliance consulting
weight and specific type of plastics they sell within the       services to help determine what legal obligations you
state. Under these laws the costs for the collection and        might have, if any, under these new laws. Then, check with
recycling of single use plastics or other types of packaging    your supplier or distribution partners so that the products
is shifted from the taxpayers of the state to the producers     you are purchasing meet these obligations. A good
and marketers of the products, with the funds going to          plastics supplier will have resources to help customers
expand recovery and recycling infrastructure in the state.      understand these laws and can provide documentation
Examples of EPR laws are Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and         and certifications to demonstrate that their products meet
Recycling Modernization Act (or SB-582 signed in 2021 and       these regulatory requirements.
coming into effect in 2025) and California’s Plastic Pollution
Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act            Disclaimer: The information in this article may be incomplete,
(or SB-54 signed in 2021 and coming into effect in 2027).       incorrect, or out-of-date. This article is presented for informational
The responsibility generally falls upon the brand owners        purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
who are offering products for sale to comply with the
regulations. The states designate a non-governmental

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