Republic Services Inc., Phoenix, and the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) have announced the formation of a partnership designed “to support the concept and implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), otherwise known as product stewardship.” The two organizations say the project will be funded in part by a donation of $10,000 by Republic Services.
“We are very proud to join a growing list of local governments, associations, and companies that support CPSC and its efforts,” says Johnnie Perkins, western regional director of Republic Services. “This fits in nicely with our mission of being an industry leader in managing waste materials,” he continues. “We are not just ‘waste haulers’ anymore. We are waste stream materials managers.”
EPR is a policy approach that places “a shared responsibility for end-of-life product management on the producers and all entities involved in the product chain, instead of solely being a local government responsibility with costs passed on to the taxpayers and ratepayers,” says Republic Services in a news release. “EPR also encourages product design changes [and] drives innovative, thoughtful ‘green’ design and self-sustaining take-back systems that are convenient for consumers,” states the release.
“For too long the burden of end-of-life management of problem products such as fluorescent lights, household batteries, sharps and other products have been placed on local governments,” says Rob D’Arcy, chair of CPSC. He says local governments in California spend more than $100 million every year collecting and managing products that are banned from landfills.
Remarks Heidi Sanborn, CPSC executive director, “We are sending a signal to product manufacturers they can play a key role not only in managing their products but in redesigning them to be less toxic and more recyclable.”
More information about CPSC and its EPR efforts can be found at www.calpsc.org.