THE LOCAL
GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE
Name, date of event
Name of presenter

• Introduction - Why Product Stewardship?
• History: How Waste Became a Local
Government Responsibility
• How Waste Has Changed
• The Impacts of Products and Packaging
• The Product Stewardship Approach
• SWMCB Roles and Activities
• The Future of Product Stewardship

Introduction:
Why Product Stewardship?
• Local government “charge” for environmental and public health protection – the arm of the State.
• Environmental impacts – GHG emissions, water, landfills, toxicity.
• Local government costs, such as recycling and HHW management .

HISTORY:
HOW WASTE BECAME A
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
RESPONSIBILITY

History: How Waste Became a Local
Government Responsibility
Rapid urbanization occurred from
1840 – 1920.

History: How Waste Became a Local
Government Responsibility

History: How Waste Became a Local
Government Responsibility

History: How Waste Became a Local
Government Responsibility

HOW WASTE HAS CHANGED

How Waste Has Changed
* Grey area includes household ash

How Waste Has Changed
Disposable By Design

THE IMPACTS OF PRODUCTS
AND PACKAGING

US Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Consumption View – Global
Local Passenger
Transport
13%
Non-local Passenger
Transport
9%
Infrastructure
1%
Provision of Food
12%
Building HVAC and Lighting
21%
Use *
Provision of Goods
37%
Products & Packaging
44%
* Use of Appliances and Devices
7%
© 2009 Product Policy Institute
Source: PPI 2009
– Joshua Stolaroff

Our Waterways - Plastics
Plastic bottles thrown into the Mississippi in
Minnesota…

Our Waterways - Plastics
… flow downriver to the Gulf of Mexico and into the ocean, circulate through ocean currents…

Our Waterways - Plastics
…and eventually end up here.

Our Waterways – Plastics

Our Waterways -
Pharmaceuticals
• Small concentrations of pharmaceuticals have been found in:
– Drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans.
– Water at landfills, also known as leachate, which can eventually end up in rivers.

CO$T
• All Minnesota solid waste costs are at least
$1 billion a year, which is impacted by:
– Clean up costs for 112 closed landfills.
– Costs to manage Household Hazardous Waste
(HHW).
• Counties in the SWMCB six-county metro area paid a total of $8.6 million in 2008 to manage HHW.
– Mounting state budget deficits.

MSW Generation and
Management
7
6
5
• Total 2008 MSW
Generation:
5,926,951 tons.
4
3
2
1
0
1991 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Recycling Other MSW
• For 2007-2008 the amount of MSW generated in
Minnesota decreased by 3.5%, while population increased by 0.5%.

So Why Doesn’t the
Current System Work?
• Current government waste management programs unwittingly contribute to:
– Manufacturer design of wasteful and toxic products.
– Consumer acceptance of disposable products.
• Convenient disposal perpetuates the problem.

THE PRODUCT
STEWARDSHIP APPROACH

Product Stewardship Defined
SWMCB
“Product stewardship means that all parties involved in designing, manufacturing, selling, and using a product share in the financial and physical responsibility for collecting and recycling products at the end of their useful lives.”

Today’s Linear
Waste Management System
Manufacturers Retailers Consumers
Recycle &
Garbage
Bins
Local
Government
Funded
Recycling
Landfill and
Waste-to-Energy
Processes
© 2009 by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB)

Tomorrow’s
“Cradle to Cradle” System
Retailers
Consumers
Manufacturers
Materials are recycled into new products
Take Back Programs mail-back, collection sites, haulers, local governments
© 2009 by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB)

Current Minnesota Product
Stewardship Efforts
• Focus on specific products to reduce government costs and remove them from the waste stream.
– Includes e-waste, paint, CFLs, carpet, beverage containers, telephone directories, mercury auto switches, and thermostats.
• Products mostly with hazardous character.
• Significant investment of time.
• Some success, some failure.

E-Waste
• SWMCB and MPCA partnerships with manufacturers, retailers and recyclers.
• Successful passage of legislation in 2007 after several years.
• SWMCB and MPCA evaluating legislation in 2010.

E-Waste: Carver County
E-waste recycling costs:
– ’06 - $46,000 pre e-waste law.
– ‘07 - $31,000 law in effect 7/1/07.
– ‘08 – $broke even.
– ‘09 - $forecast to break even again.
Due to:
– $0.05/lb credit in ’08.
– $0.05/lb credit 1 st half ’09 & 80%. credit agreement for 2 nd half ’09.
– Balancing revenues with costs.
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
200
180
160
140
The winners: Resident’s access to permanent facility & special e-waste collections was free for two years.
2006
2007
2008
2009

Paint
• SWMCB and MPCA involvement in national dialogue with industry partners.
• Minnesota was the site of an industry-led statewide paint management model.
• Minnesota Paint Stewardship bill passed legislature in 2008 & 2009, later vetoed.

• Currently recycling
35%.
• Collection needs to more than double to reach 80% goal by
2012 (unlikely).
• Many of the strategies require legislative action.

Container Deposit
• 10 states have Container Deposit Laws.
• Recycling rates vary:
– Lowest (Massachusetts) 72%.
– Average 78%.
– Highest (Michigan) 95%.
• Michigan has a 10 cent deposit, the rest have 5 cent deposits.
• Most laws only include 79% of all beverage containers.

SWMCB ROLES AND
ACTIVITIES

SWMCB Policy Development
• August 2009 SWMCB meeting - discussion of SWMCB Roles and policy direction:
• Foundation for waste management policy.
• A means to increase efficiency (that is, less waste) in business and government.
• A way for government to reduce its waste management costs.

Recommended SWMCB Roles
POLICY DEVELOPMENT
EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION
ADVOCACY
RESEARCH
COORDINATION AND REGULATION

Minnesota Integrated Solid Waste
Management Stakeholder Process
• Identifies strategies to meet state goals of
GHG reduction by 2025, which included
Source Reduction, Recycling, Organics, and Waste-to-Energy.
• Metro Centroid:
– 3 scenarios – public, incentive based, waste-toenergy, organics, etc.
– Final report concludes Extended Producer
Responsibility/Product Stewardship is leading method – framework policy.

SWMCB Resolution
• On January 27, 2010 the SWMCB adopted a resolution for product stewardship.

THE FUTURE OF PRODUCT
STEWARDSHIP

Product Stewardship in the Future
• It could be:
– The foundation for waste management policy;
– A means to increase efficiency (that is, less
waste) in business and government;
– A way for government to reduce its waste management costs; and
– A movement towards less toxic products
(i.e. “green” chemistry or design for the environment).

Action – What You Can Do
• Lead the way!
– Introduce and discuss ideas in your organization.
• Adopt a product stewardship resolution.
• Develop product stewardship policies.
• Advocate for the product stewardship legislative platform.
• Support local take-back programs.
• Form a product stewardship committee.
• Join other efforts underway (e.g. MPSC,
SWMCB).

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