ReWRAP Act Lobby Day

Worldwide, we produce almost 400 million tons of plastic waste annually—and nearly half of all plastic produced is intended to be used just once and thrown away. Washingtonians experience this problem first-hand with plastic and other materials littering our neighborhoods, shorelines, and parks, filling landfills to capacity, and harming wildlife. And it doesn’t stop with plastics, we are inundated with excess packaging, especially single-use items.

Unfortunately, Washington’s recycling systems have not been able to keep up with the influx of plastic and paper packaging flooding into our homes and environment. In Washington, only 17% of plastic is recycled. Only 58% of WA municipalities have residential curbside recycling services. But…

Washingtonians are demanding change.

Despite the freezing weather on Monday, January 15th, nearly 100 Washingtonians joined Environment Washington and the Plastic Free WA coalition in Olympia for a citizen lobby day in support of the ReWRAP Act (HB 2049/SB 6005). This bill, which will help address our plastic crisis and issues with our state’s recycling systems, is currently being considered by the Washington state legislature. 

Sponsored by Rep. Liz Berry and Sen. Liz Lovelett, the ReWRAP Act will expand recycling access across the state, reduce recycling confusion by creating one list of what can and can’t be recycled across the state, and improve recycling outcomes by making companies that make decisions about packaging financially responsible for the end of life costs of those materials.

Volunteers with Environment Washington and Plastic Free Washington coalition met with over 70 Washington state legislators to discuss the ReWRAP Act and how this policy offers the most comprehensive solution to improve recycling outcomes in Washington state, especially when paired with a convenient and effective bottle deposit program.  Additionally, plastic-free activists marched throughout the Capitol campus to raise awareness about the ReWRAP Act, holding signs bearing messages like “I want producer funded recycling” and props made of hard-to-recycle packaging materials, crafted by a class of Spokane-based fourth graders.

Nearly half of the lobby day attendees were youth activists, participating both in-person and virtually from all regions of the state, from Spokane to the San Juans. Dozens of high school and university students spent hours in the car on their day off of school to get to Olympia so that they could advocate for solutions that would address the plastic crisis, since their generation will be the ones to deal with the consequences of our waste management practices today.

While our state has made progress in addressing our growing plastic problem, we still have a long way to go to reduce unnecessary plastic use in the state and improve the functionality of our waste management systems.  Making producers responsible for the end-of-life management of their materials would go a long way to solve these issues.   

Fortunately, just three days after this citizen lobby day, the House Committee on Environment and Energy voted to pass the ReWRAP Act out of committee, though the bill still faces a long path before it becomes a law.   Washingtonians should continue to call on their legislators to support solutions like the ReWRAP Act, so we can reduce waste, reuse materials, and recycle more effectively.