Two priority zero waste policies advance in the legislature

On Thursday, two priority Environment Washington-backed bills cleared the House Appropriations committee, just a day before a key legislative deadline that bills need to meet in order to continue advancing through the legislative process.

The WRAP Act (HB 1131) would address the growing amount of unnecessary packaging –much of which is plastic and not recyclable and escapes into our communities and environment. The bill establishes a producer responsibility system for paper and packaging, requiring the companies that actually make packaging decisions to be financially responsible for the end-of-life management of these materials, rather than those costs falling on Washington residents and municipalities. By making companies financially responsible for the waste their products create, companies will actually have a stake in ensuring that their materials get reused, composted or recycled.

The bill would also establish recycled content standards for covered materials and create a bottle deposit program, which has been shown to generate very high recycling rates for beverage containers.  The WRAP Act was voted out of the House Appropriations Committee with a vote of 19-12.

The Fair Repair Act (HB 1392) would require manufacturers to provide consumers and independent repair shops with the parts, tools, and information necessary to fix electronic devices. The legislation aims to make device repair more accessible and affordable and reduce the e-waste generated when consumers have to throw out fixable devices. The bill passed the House Appropriations committe on Thursday by a vote of 18-12.

Both bills must be passed by the House of Representatives by March 8 to continue advancing this session. Now is the time to call your state representatives and tell them to support the Fair Repair Act (HB 1392) and the WRAP Act (HB 1131). For information on how to contact your legislators, use the legislature’s district finder tool.