2021-08-25 EMC agenda item 5-b(1) - HB1316_TESTIMONY_EEP_02-09-21_

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management practices for collected materials, and a demonstrated effort by producers to coordinate with communities in implementing the stewardship program. There is currently little incentive for the system to change. To drive real transformation, funding for recycling must come from the producers who benefit from the sale of packaging and paper products. Producers are in the best position to make design choices regarding what materials to use for their packaging and paper products, and to source recycled content. HB 1316 places strong emphasis on incentives and criteria for reusable and refillable products and packaging, as well as post-consumer recycled content requirements provisions which will promote waste reduction, better packaging and product design, and contribute to recycling markets. PSI is a national nonprofit working to reduce the health and environmental impacts of consumer products from design and production through end-of-life. We work closely with 47 state environmental agency members, hundreds of local government members, and over 120 partners from businesses, universities, organizations, and international governments. PSI created the model for packaging EPR that is consistent with HB 1316 and is based on decades of research and partnership with EPR practitioners around the world. Our model has also shaped the EPR policy at the center of the federal Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act, which will be reintroduced this session by U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Alan Lowenthal to reduce packaging waste, as well as emerging bills in a dozen states, including New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, and other states around the country. The need for a new recycling approach has never been clearer. With staffing and budget disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and commodity prices at all-time lows due to the loss of export markets, local governments are struggling to maintain recycling programs. Communities in Hawaii have faced overwhelming increases in residential trash and recycling volumes since the start of the pandemic and continue to grapple with high rates of contamination due to consumer confusion and increasingly complex packaging. Many counties have been forced to dispose of recyclable material, stop curbside service, or even suspended recycling programs altogether. We urge you to support HB 1316 for the financial and environmental health of Hawaiis communities and economy. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (617) 236-4822, or Scott@ProductStewardship.US. Sincerely, Scott Cassel Chief Executive Officer/Founder PSI |February 8, 2021 PSI Support for HB 1316 Packaging Stewardship Page 2 of 2