Recology Signs up for Product Stewardship Role

Recology Inc., a recycling and solid waste company formerly known as Norcal, and the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) have announced a partnership designed to support the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR), also known as product stewardship.

“We are very proud to join a growing list of local governments, associations, and industry leaders who support CPSC and its efforts to develop relationships with the producers of products to reduce waste at the source,” says Mike Sangaicomo, president of San Francisco-based Recology (www.recology.com). “This fits in nicely with our company’s mission of being so good at materials management that we ultimately have no material that is deemed a waste that is land-filled.”

Recology operates several materials recovery facilities (MRFs) in California and also collects and hauls recyclables. Recology bills itself as the largest employee-owned company in the solid waste industry, and says it provides waste management services to more than 50 communities representing 570,000 residential and 55,000 commercial customers.

Product stewardship is a policy approach that shifts financial responsibility for end-of-life product management from government to producers and others involved in the product chain. EPR also encourages product design changes that minimize life cycle impacts, such as making them easier to recycle.

“For too long the burden of end-of-life management of problem products such as fluorescent lights and household batteries have been placed completely on local governments,” says Heidi Sanborn, executive director of Sacramento-based CPSC. According to CPSC, Californians and their government agencies spend more than $100 million each year managing products that are banned from landfills.

More information on CPSC can be found at www.calpsc.org.