Product Stewardship Programs Gaining Momentum

Local government Product Stewardship Councils in Vermont and British Columbia have joined their counterparts in California, Oregon and Washington to support “Joint Framework Principles for Product Stewardship Policy.” 

The purpose of the Joint Framework Principles is to guide local, state and federal policymakers in developing comprehensive product stewardship legislation. Product stewardship is based on the simple idea that producers should take primary responsibility for the environmental impacts of products they design, manufacture and market, according to the press release. 

 The Joint Framework Principles were developed independently by the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) and the NWPSC. The Product Policy Institute (PPI), which advocates sustainable production and consumption policies and good governance, coordinated harmonizing the two sets of principles into one document to guide councils as they promote comprehensive product policy legislation.

 “When producers are held responsible for channeling their discarded products safely back into useful service, they have an incentive to design products for reuse, disassembly, repair and recycling,” says Nicole Kohnert, co-chair of the British Columbia Product Stewardship Council.