On December 9th, RCRC’s John Kennedy was invited to discuss the costs and challenges of managing household hazardous waste (HHW) at the Household and Commercial Product Association’s annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Local governments operate household hazardous waste collection facilities (HHWCFs) that provide opportunities for residents and small businesses to safely and properly dispose of HHW. HHW typically includes things like antifreeze, used oil, batteries, cleaners, glues, paints, electronic waste, pesticides, and pool chemicals.
HHW can be extremely expensive for local governments to manage, with the cost to dispose a product sometimes exceeding the consumer’s cost to purchase the product at the point of sale. While flavored nitrous oxide cylinders may only cost consumers $40, they may cost local governments as much as $70 to dispose. Similarly, small propane tanks that cost consumers $4-$5 may cost local governments up to $8 each to dispose.
RCRC supported last year’s Senate Bill 1143 (Allen). That bill sought to require manufacturers of products that become HHW to collectively ensure the safe and convenient collection and management of those products and reimburse local jurisdictions their collection and management costs. RCRC’s letter in support of SB 1143 can be found here. That bill was ultimately scaled down to simply expand the scope of the state’s paint recycling program, in which form it was signed into law. RCRC expects similar legislation to be introduced in 2025.
In addition to reimbursing local governments for the costs of managing products that manufacturers introduce into the stream of commerce, RCRC also suggested several other opportunities for collaboration. Local governments and manufacturers can work together to urge the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control to recalibrate regulatory waste classifications and to provide additional flexibility for collection and management of HHW. RCRC also suggested that simple product design changes may enable local governments to quickly determine if a container is empty and can be managed as solid waste or recycled. Finally, RCRC urged manufacturers to work with local governments to facilitate materials exchange or product take-back programs that reduce the amount of waste that must be managed as HHW. RCRC’s presentation can be found here.
For more information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, John Kennedy.