National Stewardship Action Council forms

While countries around the world discuss and transition to a “circular economy,” the concept is relatively new to the United States. The National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC) was created to push the U.S. in the direction of a circular economy, which is a generic term for an industrial economy that is, by design or intention, restorative and in which material flows are of two types, biological nutrients, designed to reenter the biosphere safely, and technical nutrients, which are designed to circulate at high quality without entering the biosphere. In short, a closed-loop system where materials are all reused and recycled indefinitely.

Doug Kobold, vice chair of the California Product Stewardship Council (CSPC), explains why a new organization was formed. “With extender producer responsibility (EPR) beginning to take hold on a national level, expertise in the drafting of laws governing EPR is greatly needed. NSAC, being born out of CPSC, in a state with the most EPR laws on the books today, stands poised to help stakeholders nationwide develop quality state and local laws that will be affordable, sensible, fair, effective and enforceable. As president of NSAC, I am proud to be a part of this newly formed asset to the world of EPR and product stewardship.”

The NSCA is a network of governments, nongovernment organizations, businesses and individuals advocating for policies and projects where producers share in the responsibility for funding and managing problem products at end of life.

NSAC supports EPR to conserve resources, reduce costs to local governments, create jobs in remanufacturing, and provide a circular economy. NSAC’s goal is to align public and private sectors through information and partnerships to implement and ensure sustainable recovery systems where producers have an appropriate level of sharing in the responsibility for those systems.

Patty Garbarino of Marin Sanitary Service resigned from the CPSC board to become secretary/treasurer of NSAC. “We need the ability to advocate for producers sharing responsibility and I am proud to be playing a part in the start of the organization that will do just that,” says Garbarino. “I have been active for years trying to achieve zero waste, but we all know that until the products on the market are recyclable, there is only so much the waste management community can do to recycle and compost products designed for disposal.”

“I am very excited after eight years of leading CPSC to take that experience and move beyond primarily education about what producer responsibility means, to advocating nationally for this policy approach,” says Heidi Sanborn, executive director of NSAC. 

NSAC is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that will engage primarily in lobbying and advocacy work for EPR and product stewardship, anywhere in the U.S. and at any level of government interested in EPR legislation. NSAC will also be able to become involved in elections for public office, should such activities be needed to further its mission.

NSAC’s Vision is to “Be a catalyst to effect accountable, nationwide, producer responsibility.”

NSAC’s Mission is “Producers have the primary responsibility to establish, fund, and manage end of life systems for their products with governmental entities setting the performance goals, ensuring accountability and transparency, and driving green design. NSAC is to achieve these goals through an organization of broad stakeholder partners from both public and private interests.”

For more information, contact Sanborn at 916-402-3911 or visit www.NSAction.us.