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

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February 8, 2021 To: The Honorable Nicole E. Lowen, Chair Members, House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection From: Tim Shestek Senior Director, State Affairs Re: I. ЊЌЊЏ /ƚƓĭĻƩƓƭ The American Chemistry Council (ACC) appreciates the opportunity to comment on HB 1316, legislation that would establish a comprehensive product stewardship program for packaging and identified covered products. Though ACC supports the overall intent of this legislation, we do have concerns with some provisions of the bill as drafted including many mischaracterizations in the findings section. ACC recognizes that plastic waste is a global problem that requires everyone from plastic producers, product manufacturers, brands, retailers, recyclers and waste haulers, as well as communities, nonprofits and federal, state and local government to come together to create a more circular economy for plastics. This means more efficiently using plastics by keeping them in use for as long as possible, getting the most from them during use, and recovering them to make new products. In order to achieve these objectives, ACC recently announced goals that 100% of plastics packaging is recyclable or recoverable by 2030 and we continue to be engaged in developing policies and programs aimed at increasing the recovery of plastic packaging and developing new domestic markets for recycled materials. These efforts include building on recent domestic industry-announced investment of more than $5 billion in traditional and advanced recycling; using recycled plastic as feedstock to produce new plastics and other products; improving plastic product design to increase recyclability; and developing plastics value chain financing for collecting and sorting various plastics packaging formats. 12 Circular Economy Accelerator a collective effort of more than 30 companies across the value chain to advocate for policy and legislative solutions that rapidly advance the circular economy. This policy includes a multi-material package fee and a disposal surcharge to help support recycling infrastructure investment and recycling operations. ACC encourages the State of Hawaii to explore the Recycling Achieving higher recovery rates for packaging materials will most certainly require enhancements to the existing recycling infrastructure, but will also require the use of new and innovative advanced recycling technologies. ACC members, as part of our Advanced Recycling Alliance for Plastics are developing new technologies and building new processing capability to convert post-use plastics into their original building blocks, specialty polymers, feedstocks for new plastics, fuels, waxes, and other valuable products. These technologies include creating recycled post-consumer resin (PCR) that can be used to manufacture new packaging, including food packaging. These technologies will help create a true circular economy. 1 https://recyclingpartnership.org/ 2 https://recyclingpartnership.org/accelerator-policy/ ® americanchemistry.com 1121 L Street, Suite 609 | Sacramento, CA | (916) 448-2581