On Thursday, RCRC submitted comments (along with CSAC and the League of California Cities) on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Draft National Recycling Strategy. The National Recycling Strategy seeks to identify “strategic objectives and actions needed to create a stronger, more resilient U.S. municipal solid waste recycling system.”
RCRC noted that local governments are the backbone of solid waste management and recycling efforts in California and are charged with diverting 50% of solid waste from landfills through source reduction, recycling, and composting. Furthermore, RCRC highlighted the fact that local governments and the solid waste industry have no control over which products will be introduced into the marketplace and for which they will ultimately be responsible for disposal. At the same time, the solid waste industry is generally good at “mining” the waste stream to find and extract materials of value when there are entities interested in purchasing those materials.
Noting that U.S. EPA is uniquely positioned to facilitate national and global cooperation among manufacturers in a way that individual states and local governments are not, RCRC urged focusing on encouraging manufacturers to design products that are readily recyclable (not just theoretically recyclable) and for which there are end markets.
Equally important, RCRC also urged U.S. EPA to improve markets for recyclable materials. With the decline of foreign markets, there is a vital need to develop domestic and local markets for recycled materials. In addition to environmental benefits, creation of domestic markets will also in job creation and economic development.