MOSCOW (MRC) -- Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill May 17 that will limit the use of single-use plastic across the state, said Recyclingtoday.
Introduced by Sen. Mona Das, Washington’s SB 5022 bans the manufacture, sale and distribution of certain expanded polystyrene (EPS) products. This includes packing peanuts, foam plastic coolers and dinnerware, according to the bill.
According to a press release by Oceana, a group focused on ocean conservation, the bill also requires dining establishments to omit single-use plastic utensils, straws, cold-beverage cup lids and condiment packaging unless requested by customers. This applies to dine-in, takeout or delivery.
Oceana also reports that only 9 percent of the plastic scrap generated is recycled.
"Washington demonstrated its leadership in the fight against the growing plastic pollution crisis threatening our environment, health and future,” says Christy Leavitt, Oceana’s plastics campaign director. “Washington residents will now be able to skip much of the unnecessary and previously unavoidable single-use plastic that accompanies their meals."
In addition, Washington state will be the first US state to require minimum recycled content for plastic bottles and jugs for household cleaning and personal care products. This includes laundry detergent, spray cleaners, shampoos, conditioners, and lotion, starting with 15% recycled content in 2025 and increasing 50% in 2031.
Washington will also be the first state to require customers to be provided single-use utensils only upon request. The law applies to most food establishments, including third-party delivery services. This comes after many other states have enacted legislation surrounding chemical recycling to help end plastic waste. This month, Arkansas became the 13th US state to enact legislation.
Florida, Wisconsin, Georgia, Iowa, Tennessee, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Oklahoma, and Arizona have passed similar legislation to promote advanced recycling. In the last year, recycling legislation across many US state legislatures is seeing a resurgence as extended producer responsibility (EPR) bills take centre stage. These bills aim to shift recycling cost to product packaging producers. At the federal level, the Break Free from Pollution Act, which includes an EPR proposal, has been reintroduced.
As per ICIS-MRC Price Report, Prices of Russian EPS were not adjusted in the domestic market in the middle of the month. Prices for SIBUR-Khimprom's material remained at Rb157,000-165,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, this week. The producer Plastik, Uzlovaya did not reduce prices of its material on the back of high feedstock prices and continued to sell EPS at Rb158,000-160,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. A Russian EPS producer said EPS consumption increased in May.
MRC