A proposal that would require a shift in the financial responsibility for recycling from consumers to manufacturers is generating an uproar among a diverse coalition of industries, ranging from  cannabis to newspapers, big box stores to small businesses.

The bill, known as the Extended Producer Responsibility Act from Rep. Lisa Cutter, has not yet been introduced, though the Littleton Democrat said she expects it to come within the next few days.

The bill would require the state Department of Public Health and Environment to select a nonprofit that will implement a recycling program by March 2023. The bill envisions the program will be funded by annual “producer responsibility dues” paid by producers who use packaging materials, paper products, and single-use food serviceware.

The nonprofit would be industry-run and known as a “producer responsibility organization,” according to Randy Moorman of Eco-Cycle, which along with Recycle Colorado are the bill’s main backers. The PRO would set the rates, including a minimum recycling rate, that the state would begin to use beginning in 2030. 

PROs are not a new idea in Colorado, Moorman said, pointing to a successful paint recycling program that is industry-run.

Moorman said the billwill address Colorado’s abysmal recycling rates, which he said stagnated between 11% to 15% as compared to the national average of around 34% and rates between 60% to 80% in countries with extended producer responsibility laws.

That, Moorman said, results in five million pounds of materials dumped in landfills in Colorado every year.

“The system is broken and we have to fix it. We’re burying $100 million in commodity value in landfills,” he said.

There’s another issue at play, however, and that’s changing consumer culture around recycling. Moorman said participation goes up when barriers to recycling are eliminated, such as accessibility. The PRO will pay for recycling, instead of consumers, eliminating a second barrier: consumer cost.

 Recycling groups been working to get more infrastructure into the system and provide services to residents and businesses so they can recycle, Moorman said.

The PRO will help with that, he added, by transforming the recycling system from top to bottom. Everyone will have access, he said, whether that’s in rural Colorado or a multifamily unit in Denver.

The draft also says that by July 2025, any producer of materials covered under the bill “may not sell or distribute any products that use covered materials in the state unless the producer is participating in the (state) program or an alternative.” 

That provisions comes with penalties for offenders.

A first violation would earn a penalty of $5,000 for the first day of each violation and $1,500 for any subsequent day tied to that first violation. A second violation within 12 months would earn a $10,000 penalty for the first day and $3,000 per day after that. A third violation within 12 months would result in a $20,000 penalty on the first day and $6,000 per day after that. 

Out-of-state manufacturers would not be let off the hook. The PRO will be responsible for enforcing the law, which will say that anyone selling products with packaging included under the bill would have to participate in the PRO. 

Cutter’s bill is Colorado’s version of a piece of legislation that is gaining popularity in state legislatures across the country. Oregon and Maine have passed versions of their own, but have not yet implemented them, while a New York version, which is what Cutter’s bill is based on, is awaiting action in the New York state senate.

The Colorado bill is making businesses and organizations nervous, including the Colorado Press Association. 

Tim Regan-Porter, the press association’s CEO, said in a statement the CPA “is very concerned about the potential impact of the recycling bill on citizens’ ability to get trustworthy news.”

“Many Coloradans depend on printed newspapers as their primary source of reliable information, and many who lack broadband access are without digital alternatives,” Regan-Porter said. “As currently structured, the bill would impose significant hardship on newspapers and likely force some to shutter. This would be especially devastating to rural communities where the local newspaper is the only source of local news.” 

He noted that while the bill has an exemption for small businesses, it would still impact many small newspapers.

Regan-Porter pointed out that newspapers, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, are among the most recycled products, constituting less than 1.7% of municipal solid waste nationwide. He also noted that unlike the other materials referenced in the bill, newspapers are the product, not packaging for another physical product. That’s why other versions of the EPR legislation exempts books, newspapers or magazines.

“We are hopeful that any final versions of this bill will reflect these realities and not penalize and jeopardize these vital sources of community news and information,” Regan-Porter said.

Inclusion of newsprint is part of what jeopardized the bill in New York last year. It has since been amended to include books, newspapers and magazines among a long list of exemptions.

The newspaper industry wasn’t alone in voicing concern about the proposal. 

Chris Howes of the Colorado Retail Council explained it this way: a big box retailer needs to ship a big screen TV to a consumer, but must package it in a way to protect the product, using cardboard boxes and other materials. Under Cutter’s bill, he said that’s going to cost the retailer more.

There’s also the issue of planning ahead, Howes said. Retailers need about two years of lead time on packaging materials, a factor the draft measure doesn’t take into account.

Moorman said that stores like big box retailers would be exempted from the recycling fees. The responsibility would be put on the manufacturer of the TV, he explained. That exemption wouldn’t apply to stores like King Soopers, which brings its own Kroger brand products into its stores.

Along with journalists and retailers, the cannabis industry also has concerns with the bill and is seeking to be exempted from it.

Truman Bailey of the Marijuana Industry Group said the state has for years regulated how marijuana is packaged. That packaging, part of an effort to keep marijuana out of the hands of kids, includes opaque products that cannot be recycled.

Bailey also highlighted an issue with residue. Marijuana products such as concentrates or edibles leave behind a residue in their containers, making those products un-recyclable. Disposal of those containers also poses an issue legally, he said. By law, those containers must be locked in a trash can and rendered unusable and unrecognizable.

“We’re very limited on the packaging we can use for our products,” Bailey explained. “A bill like this does not make sense for our industry.”

Cutter said she has amendments planned that she hopes will address some of the industry concerns.

While EPR programs are in their infancy in the United States, they have been a tradition in Europe for years, with mixed results.

Anne Germain, chief operating officer and senior vice-president of regulatory affairs for the National Waste & Recycling Association, said her organization recently contracted for a study on the European EPR programs prompted by the increasing interest in such programs in the United States.

The results, Germain said, showed EPR programs increase recycling, though also showed mixed results in pushing industries to design more recyclable products.