Number: 2005-11
Prevention and Reduction of Packaging Waste in the Municipal Solid Waste Stream WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Summary of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) (2001 Facts and Figures Executive Summary), containers and packaging comprise the largest segment of the U.S. waste stream at 32 percent (74 million tons) and yet only 38 percent of this segment of MSW is recovered, recycled or reused; and
WHEREAS, plastic packaging is the second largest component (11.2 percent) of the packaging waste stream, yet has the lowest recycling rate among packaging product categories (9.6 percent); while plastics overall, which are the fourth largest component of total MSW (11.1 percent), have one of the lowest recycling rates of any component of the waste stream (5.5 percent); and
WHEREAS, most recycling programs collect only polyethylene terephthalate (PETE or PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) containers, labeled #1 and #2 respectively, while plastics labeled #3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 currently lack viable markets and/or technology for processing and recycling, yet are widely believed by the public to be recyclable; and
WHEREAS, plastic packaging materials, especially film plastics, pose a significant threat to wildlife, particularly marine mammals and birds; and
WHEREAS, communities all across the country are generating more solid waste each year and having to absorb the increasing costs of collection and disposal, burdening taxpayers and municipal budgets; and
WHEREAS, incinerating and landfilling plastics are more greenhouse gas intensive throughout the life cycle of the products than source reduction or recycling; incineration is known to produce dioxins, to contribute heavy metals to ash and air emissions and to release hydrochloric acid (a contributor to acid rain and a precursor to dioxin formation); and
WHEREAS, source reduction and recycling are important solutions to the many problems associated with plastic packaging and other forms of MSW, yet limited economic incentives exist to encourage manufacturers to design products for reusability or recyclability or to otherwise reduce packaging waste; and
WHEREAS, several other countries, including Canada, Japan, Korea, Germany and other members of the European Union, have successfully implemented a variety of regulatory and other approaches to reduce and recover plastic and other packaging, and U.S. corporations have managed to comply in those countries and should be held to similar domestic standards;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its annual meeting assembled April 1-2, 2005, in Washington, D.C., supports the creation of a national product stewardship program that encourages producers to design readily reusable and recyclable products; to use post-consumer recycled materials in products manufactured; to assume responsibility for reducing the waste, greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of pollution associated with each product throughout the life cycle of the product; and to otherwise assist businesses, municipalities and other entities in the minimization of plastic and other packaging waste generated in the U.S.; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the labeling of materials as recyclable be restricted only to those products for which viable recycling programs, markets and facilities are available.