WA lawmakers consider bills to boost state’s recycling rate: ‘There’s opportunity to do more’

TACOMA – Truckloads of materials – aluminum cans, cardboard, old newspaper – are carted into Pioneer Recycling Services’ facility in Tacoma. These items are sorted with the help of workers and machines, then compacted into bales.

The facility operates like a well-oiled machine. But confusion abounds among state residents about what can and can’t be recycled.

Rick Vahl, government affairs manager for the waste-management company Waste Connections, met with McClatchy for a tour of the Tacoma-based facility on a gloomy morning in January. The day before, Vahl had testified in support of a bill aimed at clearing up that confusion and increasing recycling rates.

Washingtonians inherently understand that they should try to repurpose as many materials as possible, he said: “We take ownership in our environment and where we live, so recycling fits right in that fold.”

But Vahl wants to see more education about which items are recycle-friendly.

“Quite frankly, it’s easy to put (recyclable material) in a bin at your house and be thankful that it’s gone when you get home at the end of the day – whether it’s school or work, it’s gone,” Vahl said. “But where did it go?”

On Feb. 11, House Bill 1071 was unanimously passed out of the lower chamber’s Environment and Energy Committee. It was then heard Saturday in the House Appropriations Committee.

The bill would require producers of certain plastic packaging and paper products to report to and register with the state Department of Ecology concerning the distribution and sale of such products. The department would also be required to conduct a recycling-system needs assessment.

In addition, the agency would publish and update two statewide lists of what is suitable for drop-off and curbside collections.

The curbside list would include items such as newspaper, magazines, tin, aluminum, corrugated cardboard, and HDPE and PETE plastic containers. The drop-off collection list would feature flexible plastic and glass.

“This is going jurisdiction by jurisdiction, company by company, anybody that’s involved in the recycling process, getting it all in one place to understand that baseline information,” Vahl said. “We’ve looked at different solutions, but this needs assessment will help us understand the problem.”

State Rep. Jake Fey, a Tacoma Democrat, is HB 1071’s prime sponsor. The bill would help spell out what investments are needed to reach higher recycling rates while taking into account the state’s varied geography.

“We’re one of the highest states now, close to 50%, in recycling compared to other states in the country,” Fey told McClatchy. “But we want to do more, right? There’s opportunity to do more.”

In 2021, roughly 49% of waste generated in Washington wound up being recovered via recycling, composting or other beneficial uses, according to the Department of Ecology.

Fey’s bill would direct the Ecology to create an advisory committee with duties such as “the formation of a task force to make recommendations on misleading recyclability claims.” The proposed law would take effect 90 days after the legislative session adjourns.

Among those who have backed the bill is Jennifer Ziegler with Whatcom County’s Sanitary Service Company. She told the House Appropriations Committee on Saturday that the family-owned solid waste collection company has made investments in sustainability technologies.

Each time the company makes such decisions, she said, it asks three things: What would it cost the company, what would it cost consumers and what’s the level of service that consumers would receive?

“This bill takes that exact same approach: What’s the cost to you, the state; what’s the impact on consumers; and what level of service will they receive – and waits to make the decision until you know that information,” Ziegler said. “So we’d strongly encourage you to support it.”

Others have spoken out against the bill, including some who have argued that the Legislature shouldn’t establish in advance which materials can be collected at the curb.

Scott DeFife, president of the Glass Packaging Institute, said during a public hearing last month that 60% of the state’s residents enjoy curbside glass recycling. Yet the bill would predetermine that “glass would be deviated to drop -off only, which would significantly reduce the glass recycling rate in the state of Washington,” he said.

Other recycling bills: Dylan de Thomas with the Recycling Partnership national nonprofit highlighted two different recycling-related bills that he’s hoping get passed into law.

House Bill 1150 would launch a producer responsibility program wherein brands and manufacturers work to fund statewide recycling services, cut back on unnecessary packaging such as plastics, and make sure that materials placed in the recycling bin really wind up being recycled. It’s scheduled for an executive session in the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday afternoon.

House Bill 1607 would create a recycling-refund program for Washington state. Nicknamed the “bottle bill,” it would effectively ensure that 10 cents are refunded for each covered beverage container taken to a redemption site.

De Thomas said 10 other states adhere to such a system, including his home state of Oregon.

“It’s a super popular program, and because of this system, we have a 90% recycling rate on these covered beverage containers,” de Thomas told McClatchy.

HB 1607 was scheduled for a public hearing Monday afternoon in the House Appropriations Committee.