SEATTLE, WA – A new bill announced today by Washington State Senator Christine Rolfes (D-Bainbridge Island) and Representative Liz Berry (D-Queen Anne) would reduce waste by cutting back on the growing amount of “unnecessary” packaging. The Washington Recycling and Packaging Act would hold companies responsible for managing and improving recycling, while at the same time offering incentives for waste reduction.
Rolfes says half of all packaging material in Washington ends up in landfills and incinerators. She adds that bills similar to the WRAP Act have been in place in other regions for years.
Berry calls the proposed legislation a “monumental opportunity” to take $100 million of consumer packaging which is currently going into landfills and turn it into valuable commodities.
Backers of the proposed measure also hope the WRAP Act will help cut the amount of plastics getting into the State’s waterways.
According to Zero Waste Washington, the WRAP Act also includes a “bottle bill” section.
“If passed, consumers will pay a 10 cents fee on beverage containers and then redeem the 10 cents at drop locations. When people return their bottles and cans, the redemption is credited to their online account and the funds can be redeemed for cash, put into a college savings account, or donated to nonprofits across the state, including schools and clubs,” the group says on its website.
This bill implements the top recommendations in the Department of Ecology’s Plastics Study (October 2020) which was required by Senator Rolfes’ SB5397 in 2019 to address the State’s recycling crisis and the increasing amount of plastic pollution. It still needs approval from the Senate and House, and a signature from the Governor.
Watch today’s announcement: https://tvw.org/video/state-legislator-bill-launch-event-2023011046/?eventID=2023011046
