Bill textThe Vermont producer responsibility bill would repeal the bottle bill and replace it with a comprehensive waste management system funded by the waste producers.
| Bill Number and Name | House Bill 696, Vermont Extended Producer Responsibility Act Bill text |
|---|---|
| Primary Sponsor | Cheney, Margaret Edwards, Sarah Klein, Tony Krawczyk |
| Reclamation System | Eliminates the deposit/return system. |
With the claim that maintaining separate recycling systems for beverage containers and other recyclable materials is costly and unsustainable because of related vehicle traffic and emissions, the bill would eliminate the beverage container deposit and replace it with an extended producer responsibility scheme covering all packaging and printed material generated in the state.
At a later date, other materials may be added to the list of covered products, referred to in the bill as "designated waste." Any type of designated waste is banned from landfills one year after being added to the list.
Producers must design waste management schemes for their products, which must be approved by the Agency of Natural Resources. They must pay all costs incurred by the program, which must cover the collection, transportation, reuse, recycling, processing, and final management of a designated waste. Under the proposed law, producers set their own performance goals, including recycling rates; however, each program must achieve a 60% recycling rate within 5 years.
Producers participating in a program are also required to produce educational and promotional materials about the program and submit annual reports to the agency. Producers may be required to pay fees to the agency to support the administration of the program.
The bill also requires municipalities to implement mandatory recycling for designated waste and pay-as-you-throw programs for all other waste.
The bill is set to come into effect July 1, 2010.
February 2, 2010: Introduced and referred to committee on Natural Resources and Energy