The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted
unanimously on February 14, 2006 to pass a
resolution that supports statewide legislation
and local initiatives requiring manufacturers to
take responsibility for collecting and recycling
their products at the end of their useful life.
This is the strongest statement yet from a local
government in the United States. The resolution
signals a fundamental shift in thinking among
local governments, which have borne
responsibility for collecting and disposing
refuse since a century ago. As the resolution
puts it: "By covering the costs of
collection and disposal, local governments are
subsidizing the production of waste because
manufacturers know that whatever they produce the
local government will foot the bill for recycling
or disposal."
Product Policy Institute has
been assisting San Francisco and other California
communities develop policies and programs that
conserve resources and reduce local taxes by
transferring responsibility for product discard
management back to the makers of products and
their customers.
SAN
FRANCISCO EPR RESOLUTION
Passed Unanimously Feb 14, 2006
[Extended Producer Responsibility]
Urging San Francisco's State delegation to
support statewide efforts to hold producers
responsible for product waste, starting with
toxic products defined as universal waste;
requesting the Department of the Environment
recommend local extended producer responsibility
policies as well as work with necessary agencies
to develop producer responsibility language for
inclusion in City contracts.
WHEREAS, Manufactured goods and packaging
constitute about seventy-five percent of the
materials managed by the City and County of San
Francisco and sent to landfill, costing San
Francisco residents and businesses about $150
million a year in refuse rates plus millions more
in taxes to manage; and
WHEREAS, On February 8, 2006, a state law takes
effect that makes it illegal to throw in the
garbage items defined as "universal
waste," which includes household batteries,
fluorescent bulbs or tubes, thermostats, other
items that contain mercury, as well as electronic
devices including VCRs, microwaves, cellular
phones, cordless phones, printers, and radios;
and
WHEREAS, Assuming a fifty percent recovery rate,
collecting and disposing of these products now
banned from the trash will cost San Francisco an
estimated additional $5 million each year; and
WHEREAS, When additional products are declared as
hazardous by the State the burden to manage these
items will fall to local jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, There are significant environmental and
human health impacts associated with household
products that contain toxic ingredients,
including mercury, lead, cadmium and other toxic
chemicals that when disposed of improperly can
contaminate water supplies; and
WHEREAS, By covering the costs of collection and
disposal, local governments are subsidizing the
production of waste because manufacturers know
that whatever they produce the local government
will foot the bill for recycling or disposal; and
WHEREAS, Extended Producer Responsibility is an
environmental policy approach in which producers
assume responsibility-financial and/or
physical-for the management of post-consumer
products, so that those who produce and use
products bear the costs of recycling and proper
disposal; and
WHEREAS, When brand owners are responsible for
ensuring their products are recycled responsibly,
and when health and environmental costs are
included in the product price, there is a strong
incentive to design and purchase goods that are
more durable, easier to recycle, and less toxic;
and
WHEREAS, It is timely to develop and support
extended producer responsibility legislation to
address the universal waste sector of the waste
stream first in response to the state ban on
universal waste from household disposal; now,
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors urges our
representatives in Sacramento to pursue statewide
extended producer responsibility legislation
targeted at universal waste that will give
incentives for the redesign of products to make
them less toxic, and shift the cost for recycling
and proper disposal of products from the local
government to the producer and distributor of the
product; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Department of the
Environment develop producer responsibility
policies such as leasing products rather than
purchasing them, and requiring the manufacturers
of products sold to City departments to offer
less toxic alternatives, and to take
responsibility for collecting and recycling their
products at the end of their useful life; and, be
it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City and County of San
Francisco will continue to support extended
producer responsibility initiatives and statewide
legislation beyond universal waste to cover areas
including other hazardous products, bulky
packaging, and items like plastics and
multi-material products that are difficult to
recycle.
More Info:
The resolution and related documents are
posted under "Local Government EPR" at http://www.productpolicy.org/resources/index.html
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