Study shows EPR laws could increase US recycling rates

A recent study conducted by The Recycling Partnership, Washington, claims states can expect significant increases in recycling rates for packaging—including plastic, glass, aluminum and steel—and printed paper with the adoption of extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs.

The study, “Increasing Recycling Rates with EPR Policy,” explores the impact of EPR programs in seven jurisdictions worldwide and in six U.S. states to assess the effect on state-level recycling rates and other key metrics.

The research focused on EPR’s impact on seven paper and packaging recycling programs around the world. The organization says the findings showed that across the board, EPR policy drove the collection and recycling of target materials to more than 75 percent in British Columbia, Belgium, Spain, South Korea and the Netherlands, with Portugal and Quebec at more than 60 percent. Across all materials, the study shows that U.S. state programs performed far lower.

U.S. states the organization tracked included Washington, Connecticut, Maryland, Wisconsin, Colorado and Florida. Using the most recent recycling rate data provided by those states between 2019 and 2021, Washington had the highest rate at 52 percent, while Florida was sixth amongst those studied at 17 percent.

The report also notes that important performance gaps are present across the U.S. when it comes to recycling rates for packaging and printed paper (PPP). It says that mixed plastics and films and flexibles continue to be a drag on recycling performance, with both categories composing a significant amount of PPP material by weight, but, with the exception of Washington’s polypropylene recycling (6 percent in 2021), very little of the material was meaningfully recycled.

In addition, mixed paper, cardboard and glass continue to dominate the weight of generated material. The organization concludes that if just cardboard and mixed paper in Colorado performed at the levels seen in PPP EPR programs, Colorado’s existing recycling rate would almost double to 42 percent. The report also states that access data suggests a significant gap in U.S. state recycling performance is likely driven by the lack of comprehensive multifamily recycling.

“Lack of sustainable funding is one of the greatest challenges for U.S. residential recycling systems,” says Keefe Harrison, chief executive officer of The Recycling Partnership. “EPR provides a huge opportunity to unlock the environmental and economic benefits of recycling.”

According to The Recycling Partnership, under EPR policy, companies that produce packaging materials are required to fund local recycling programs by paying fees, shifting the financial burden away from local governments and taxpayers. EPR fees also can incentivize companies to make packaging more recyclable and use a greater percentage of recycled content. California, Colorado, Maine and Oregon all have adopted EPR legislation. Several other states are currently considering these programs.

Through the study, the organization says implementing EPR programs in U.S. states would:

• increase overall residential recycling rates by as much as 48 percentage points;
• create nearly universal recycling access;
• increase overall participation in recycling;
• boost the amount of recycled content by millions of tons; and
• recapture between $13 million and $91 million in lost material economic value in EPR states.

“With this research, we can see that these international programs drive dramatic improvement in recycling rates and that EPR policy has a significant impact,” says Dylan de Thomas, vice president of public policy and government affairs at The Recycling Partnership. “It’s clear that well-designed EPR policy is key to growing and improving recycling and achieving a circular economy.”

De Thomas continues, “EPR has the potential to close gaps in recycling rates for all materials, create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deliver even more benefits to support people and planet.”