A measure designed to hold producers of packaging products sold in New Jersey accountable for the costs associated with recycling and disposing of their material will likely face an uphill battle in the state Legislature. Under Senate Bill 426/Assembly Bill 111, introduced in January 2022, producers and manufacturers that use packaging materials would be required to develop a stewardship plan to help manage, collect, transport, recycle, reuse and dispose of those products. The bill – whose sponsors include state Sens. Bob Smith, D-17th District, and Richard Codey, D-27th District, and Assemblymembers James Kennedy, D-22nd District; Shama Haider, D-37th District; and Raj Mukherji, D-33rd District – would also encourage those companies to increase post-consumer content in packaging products, as well as reduce the amount of waste generated from discarded packaging products.
To reach that goal, the legislation sets out several benchmarks, including:
- By Jan. 1, 2032: All single-use packaging products be reduced 25% by volume. At least 10% of this would be achieved by shifting to refillable or reusable products or eliminative plastic.
- By Jan. 1, 2034: All single-use packaging products be readily recyclable or compostable.
- By Jan. 1, 2036: All packaging products have a recycled rate of no less than 65%.
Stewardship plans, which would require state Department of Environmental Protection approval, must provide for the costs of collecting, transporting, recycling or disposing of discarded packaging products, according to the bill. Producers, in conjunction with the DEP, would also develop a financing system to ensure prompt payment to counties, municipalities, trash haulers and recycling companies for handling the products, the legislation states.