The National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC) and California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) co-hosted a legislative awards ceremony to honor legislators who introduced and passed groundbreaking waste and toxics reduction and producer responsibility legislation in the 2021-2022 legislative session, sponsored by Atlantic Packaging and CPSC funders.
“The 2021 – 2022 legislative session has been the most productive yet for passing high-bar legislation to eliminate toxic and wasteful products, bring truth in recycling labeling, and ensure producers are responsible for the end-of-life impacts of their products” said Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director of NSAC, “We wanted to celebrate State Treasurer Fiona Ma who has been a champion for a Circular Economy for two decades and the legislative leaders and staff who worked so hard to make this very successful session a reality.”
“We thank our legislators that fearlessly took on two of the most problematic waste streams threatening our recycling infrastructure: batteries and single-use 1 lb. propane cylinders,” said Doug Kobold, Executive Director of CPSC. He goes on to say that “after years of trying to solve the battery recycling issue, we have effective solutions for loose batteries, embedded-battery products, and single-use 1 lb. propane cylinders that threaten our waste management infrastructure.”
The bills featured include SB 343 (Allen): Truth in Recycling Labeling from 2021 and SB 54 (Allen): Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act from 2022 , AB 818 (Bloom): Truth in Labeling for “Flushable” Wipes from 2021, AB 2208 (Kalra): Mercury Lamp Pollution Prevention Act, AB 1894 (L. Rivas & Petrie-Norris): Truth in Cannabis Vape Marketing, AB 707 (Quirk): Mercury Thermostat Collection Act of 2021 and AB 1793 (Quirk): Aquatic Toxicity Testing, AB 2440 (Irwin): The Responsible Battery Recycling Act, SB 1215 (Newman): The Electronic Waste Recycling Act, and SB 1256 (Wieckowski): Disposable 1 lb. Propane Cylinder Phaseout.
State Leader Awardees included: State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Senator Ben Allen, Senator Bob Hertzberg, Senator Josh Newman, Senator Nancy Skinner, Senator Henry Stern, Senator Bob Wieckowski, Senator Scott Wiener, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, Assemblymember Richard Bloom, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, Assemblymember Dr. Bill Quirk, Assemblymember Luz Rivas.
Also honored was legislative and committee staff including Tina Andolina, Genevieve M. Wong, Elizabeth MacMillan, Marissa Plante, Dr. Marika Nell, Paige Brokaw, Dr. Manar Zaghlula, Claire Conlon, Matthew Montgomery, Judy Yee, Tricia Lipper, Josh Tooker, April Bird, Megan Mekelburg, and Margaret Lie.
“When I served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2002-2006, our San Francisco Department of the Environment wanted to increase our recycling percentage since the Altamont landfill was filling up and running out of space. This started me down my garbage and recycling journey. Since then, and later as an Assemblymember, I focused on waste reduction and improving recycling systems by bringing producers and all stakeholders to the table to negotiate and achieve Circular Economy legislation such as SB 54 (Allen). Receiving the Circular Economy Champion Award is wonderful, but seeing our state leading the nation is the greatest reward”, said Fiona Ma.