Dan Felton, Executive Director of AMERIPEN, the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works at a hearing about extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies for consumer packaging. After introducing AMERIPEN as the only material-inclusive and science-focused trade association in the U.S. representing the entire packaging industry supply chain, Felton went on to emphasize the value of packaging to all who come in contact with it. “Packaging has value throughout its life cycle, and none of it belongs in landfills, roadsides, or waterways,” said Felton. “We need to recover it to be recycled and reused.”
Felton continued to address the many ways AMERIPEN has engaged to support public policy aimed at recovering and reusing as much packaging as possible. For AMERIPEN, such policy must be results based, effective and efficient, and equitable and fair. It is from this perspective that AMERIPEN has been deeply engaged in the four states that have enacted full packaging EPR laws and the two additional states that have enacted groundwork laws.
“We will support thoughtful packaging EPR proposals that properly balance the needs of all stakeholders,” Felton testified. “We will not support poorly designed packaging EPR proposals that we believe are not based in reality and will not result in positive environmental change and greater packaging recovery and recycling.”
Felton highlighted critical barriers to effective policy: as separate states enact their own EPR bills, there has emerged a lack of consistency that will decrease efficiency and challenge brand owners, the primary parties responsible for funding new programs. “A deeper discussion is merited on how uniformity may be achieved if packaging EPR continues to expand in the U.S., and whether something could or should be done at the federal level,” Felton said. “To that end, AMERIPEN would be pleased to work with federal policymakers and other stakeholders to explore the potential need and design for any federal framework or program.”
Felton then shared with the Committee several thoughts on potential elements of any federal packaging EPR framework or program that might emerge to effectively improve packaging recovery and recycling in the U.S., alongside the need to keep existing systems and infrastructure operational and profitable. Ultimately, Felton’s testimony highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts among all stakeholders to develop and implement effective shared responsibility solutions for packaging recovery and recycling in the U.S.