[OKC] Groups Organize to Bring Recycling into the 21st Century

[Shauna Struby]

FYI ...

 

 


Cradle2 Logo


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 19, 2012

Contacts:

*	Matt Prindiville, Product Policy Institute, matt at productpolicy.org,
207-236-8603
*	www.cradle2.org <http://www.cradle2.org/>  - Steering Committee
contacts listed below

Earth Day 2012: Groups Organize to Bring Recycling into the 21st Century:New
coalition seeks to make manufacturers responsible for collecting and
recycling products

TODAY, Forty-two years after the recycling movement began on the first Earth
Day, a new coalition launched to "bring recycling into the 21st century" by
making manufacturers responsible for collecting and recycling the products
and packaging they produce.  The CRADLE² Coalition <http://www.cradle2.org/>
includes more than 40 organizations from around the country, concerned about
the squandering of natural resources, the impacts on climate change, and the
loss of jobs from wasting valuable, recyclable materials in landfills and
incinerators. 

"We've come together because we're concerned about the human and
environmental impacts of throw-away products and packaging," said Matt
Prindiville, Associate Director of the Product Policy Institute and a
co-founder of the new coalition.  "We know better products can be designed
with people and the planet in mind.  Better systems for recovering, reusing
and recycling them will revitalize our economy and create jobs in our
communities."

The name of the coalition, CRADLE², comes from the groups' vision of
building a cradle to cradle economy where products and packaging are managed
from "cradle to cradle" instead of "cradle to grave."  In this scenario,
says Prindiville, "Manufacturers provide and finance collection programs,
ensuring that every consumer product and its packaging are reused or
recycled, providing American jobs as well as using resources responsibly."  

While CRADLE² is launching on Earth Day, this idea is not new.  The policy
concept, known as extended producer responsibility (EPR)
<http://www.cradle2.org/2012/04/the-solution-producer-responsibility/>  -
also referred to as manufacturer "take-back" or product stewardship - has
become one of the dominant policies governing production and solid waste in
the European Union, Canada and Japan.  Numerous laws around the world now
direct manufacturers to set up and finance collection and recycling programs
for consumer products and packaging.  In the United States, there are more
than 80 producer responsibility laws in 33 states, covering 10 different
product categories from used paint to unwanted electronics to leftover
carpet and more.  Twenty-four of these producer responsibility laws are
aimed at collecting and recycling electronics, in part because many products
contain significant amounts of toxic materials.

"Manufacturer take-back laws prevent toxic pollutants - like lead and
mercury in electronics and other products - from ending up in our air and
water," said Laura Haight, Senior Environmental Associate with New York
Public Interest Research Group.

"The Texas Legislature voted unanimously for producer take-back recycling
for computers," said Robin Schneider, Executive Director of Texas Campaign
for the Environment.  "If the good ol' boys in Texas get it, anyone can."

CRADLE² points to a new report which asserts that getting US recycling rates
up - to levels achieved in much of Europe and many American cities - can
lead to millions of new American jobs.  According to the Tellus Institute,
boosting recycling from our current national rate of 34% to 75% of municipal
solid waste, will result in 1.5 million new jobs and result in greenhouse
gas and pollution reduction benefits. Suellen Mele, director of Zero Waste
Washington, says that new recycling businesses moved into her state after
the EPR law for electronics was passed by the state legislature.

"Most people don't realize that when we throw away our newspaper or soda
can, we are actually throwing away American jobs," said Abby King, Policy
Advocate with the Natural Resources Council of Maine."  In order to get to
higher recycling rates that can create millions of new jobs, we need
manufacturer take-back policies to build infrastructure, encourage
entrepreneurial development and help change consumer behavior."

While producer responsibility laws are aimed at increasing recycling, some
products that are typically thrown away can be also reused, including paint.
"Paint manufacturers now fund the collection and reuse of unused paint.
They even support it," said Jamie Rhodes, Rhode Island director of Clean
Water Action. "Who doesn't have cans of unused paint stashed somewhere
around the house?  Our legislature is poised to add paint to the growing
list of products covered by take-back policies."

Over the next several years, CRADLE² plans to build a grassroots movement
for producer responsibility and cradle to cradle solutions for better
products and less waste. 

"Right now, we're consuming the planet's resources at a rate which will not
allow the next generation to enjoy the same standard of living, or provide
them with the same opportunities to live healthy, productive lives on a
healthy, productive planet." said Annie Pham, Policy Advocate with Sierra
Club California.  "We owe it to our children to deliver goods and services
in ways that sustain and even promote the life-support systems of the
planet." 

Steering Committee Member Contacts:

*	Abby King, Natural Resources Council of Maine, (207) 430-0144
*	Annie Pham, Sierra Club California, (916) 557-1100
*	Jamie Rhodes, Clean Water Action, Rhode Island, (401) 225-3441
*	Laura Haight, New Public Interest Research Group, (518) 436-0876
*	Lauren Hierl, Vermont Public Interest Research Group, (802) 223-5221
*	Lynne Pledger, Clean Water Action, Massachusetts,  (413) 477-8596
*	Robin Schneider, Texas Campaign for the Environment, (512) 326-5655
*	Suellen Mele, Zero Waste Washington, (206) 441-1790

  

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