Product Stewardship: Global, Local and Practical Perspectives

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Product Stewardship Global, Local and Practical
Perspectives

• 2006 Northwest Pollution Prevention Roundtable
• May 25th, 2006
• Anchorage, AK
• Presented by David Stitzhal, NWPSC
• stitzhal_at_fullcircleenvironmental.com
• 206-723-0528

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Workshop Outline
Open Discussion Throughout

• Setting the Stage
• Electronics
• Paper Products
• Food Service and Packaging
• Themes, Lessons Recommendations

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What is Product Stewardship?

• Product Stewardship is an environmental
  management strategy that means whoever designs,
  produces, sells, or uses a product takes
  responsibility for minimizing the product's
  environmental impact throughout all stages of the
  products' life cycle. The greatest responsibility
  lies with whoever has the most ability to affect
  the lifecycle environmental impacts of the
  product. The mission of the Council is to
  integrate product stewardship principles into the
  policy and economic structures of the Pacific
  Northwest.

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Conceptual Nuggets

• Buzz Words
• Lifecycle Thinking
• Cradle to Cradle
• Upstream Design Change
• Design for the Environment
• Extended Producer Responsibility
• Zero Waste
• Design-to-go-into the Environment
• Tire Tread
• Shoe Soles
• Cleaning Supplies
• Windshield Wiper Fluid
• Excreted Pharmaceuticals

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DISCUSSION
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ELECTRONICS

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The Case for Product Stewardship
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Electronics Product Stewardship
Electronics Product Stewardship
Manufactured Globally
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Manufactured Globally
Product Stewardship The Old Edition
Manufactured Globally
No economic incentive for manufacturers to
minimize environmental Impacts.
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Disposed Locally
Product Stewardship The Old Edition
Disposed Locally
GO DIRECTLY TO LANDFILL. DO NOT PASS GO.
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Disposed Locally
Product Stewardship The Old Edition
Disposed Locally
Should local governments and rate payers cover
the costs of handling electronic wastes?
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Linear Lifecycle
Product Stewardship The Old Edition
The Linear Lifecycle of Consumer Goods
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The New Edition
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Create Economic Incentives
Create economic incentives for manufacturers to
redesign products to make them greener.
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Closed Loop Lifecycle
The Closed Loop Lifecycle of Consumer Goods
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Japanese Model
JAPANESE MODEL Mandated Responsibility

• Manufacturers set front-end fees for end-of-life
  management
• Retailers collect fees
• Fees cover orphan historic waste
• Consumers return products to retailers or
  municipalities
• Manufacturers compete to lower fees
• Manufacturers and recyclers are financially
  linked

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Old/New Editions

• Local governments manage product end-of-life.
• Rate payers and local government cover product
  end-of-life costs.

• Manufacturers responsible for product take-back.
• Costs of product end-of-life are included in
  price.

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Old/New Editions

• No incentives to alter current design.
• Continuing toxic legacy.

• Incentives to redesign products to make them
  greener.
• Upstream thinking.

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FINANCE ISSUES

• Funding Mechanisms
• General Tax Base/Garbage Fees
• End-of-Life Fees
• Advanced Fee (visible)
• Advanced Fee (internalized)

• Themes
• Where do funds originate?
• Rate payer vs. consumer
• Retailer vs. manufacturer
• What do funds cover?
• Collection, transportation, recycling
• Base level of service/collection
• Orphan historic waste
• Where does the money go?
• Are manufacturers individually or collectively
  responsible via TPO?

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A Tale of Two Programs

• The recently passed Washington state electronics
  recycling legislation sets each companys share
  based on the total weight across product
  categories method The department shall
  determine the return share for each manufacturer
  in the standard plan or an independent plan by
  dividing the weight of covered electronic
  products identified for each manufacturer by the
  total weight of covered electronic products
  identified for all manufacturers.

• By contrast, the Maine electronics recycling law
  sets each companys pro rata orphan share by
  product category and by units (not weight)
  returned in the various brand count studies.

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PAPER PRODUCTS
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Paper Considerations

• Use white rather than colored paper.
• Buy recycled content.
• Double-sided copying. (Require of vendors,
  including training.)
• Non-chlorine bleach.
• Minimize single use paper products.
• Reusable shipping containers (local, self-owned
  trucks with regular shipments)
• On-line bill paying and direct deposit.
• Minimize pay stub sizes

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Where does Product Stewardship Fit In?

• What externalized costs are paper manufacturers
  realizing the benefits of?
• Effluent.
• Energy source.
• Upstream impacts of dyes and bleaches.
• Disposal of non-recyclable ream wrapper.
• Costs of carton recycling.
• Timber subsidies.

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http//www.nwpaperforum.org
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Web-Based Paper Calculator http//www.ofee.gov/re
cycled/calculat.htm

• The "Paper Calculator" calculates the U.S.
  average energy and wood consumption and
  environmental releases summed across the full
  "life cycle" of each of five major grades of
  paper and paperboard.
• INSTRUCTIONS
• 1 Select the paper type.
• 2 Enter the quantity of paper purchased in tons.
• 3 Select the percentage of post-consumer recycled
  content in your current paper.
• 4 Select the percentage of post-consumer recycled
  content in your target paper.
• 5 Click on the "Calculate All" button.

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FOOD SERVICES AND PACKAGING
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• The Portland Public Schools serve 60,000 lunches
  per day at 94 schools
• Removed their wash systems on the promise of a
  market for polystyrene trays and dishware. That
  market has vanished, and a reassessment of
  durables resulted in a predicament
• As compared with disposal costs, it might repay
  the school system within 5 years to reinstall
  washers and buy durable dishware.
• BUT schools won't be making that move back to
  permanent ware, in part because of unpredictable
  costs of remodeling and dishware replacement,
  plus water-heating (energy) costs, employee
  health-and-safety concerns, the risk of
  contamination from improperly washed dishes, and
  the increasing reluctance to free student workers
  from class.
• PLUS, reinstalling a washables system involves a
  large, unbudgeted, unavailable, out-of-pocket,
  up-front chunk of dollars (vs. ongoing, familiar
  purchase-and-dispose budget items). Careers and
  personal relationships also get tangled up in
  this type of decision.
• The lesson might be Keep a wash system if you
  have one. Make efforts to reduce loss of
  permanent ware. Any cost analysis you do will
  have unique, local assumptions.

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Earthshell sandwich wrap is cast from a composite
containing a biodegradable polyester and recycled
ingredients. (Photo DuPont)
Spray-coated co-polyester provides a moisture
barrier on natural-composite hot and cold cups
now being introduced at fast-food outlets.
(Photo Eastman Chemical)
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Considerations re.PLA Plastic

• Composting PLA might meet the "zero waste to
  landfill" criteria if you don't look at the solid
  wastes created in the production of the PLA, but
  how well does it fare on "zero waste of
  resources" issue? When you compost PLA, you get
  nothing useful out of it only carbon dioxide
  and water.
• It may be worth considering biobased products in
  markets for which litter is a problem -- for
  example, food service near national parks. Rapid
  composting into water and CO2 would be a benefit
  in this situation.
• A key value of PLA may be that it makes the
  composting of other materials (food waste)
  easier.

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POLYLACTIC ACID PLASTICTerry S. Brennan,
Integrated Waste Management Specialist,
California Integrated Waste Management Board
(quoted from GreenYes List-Serve, Nov, 2004)

• There are several companies making or working on
  biodegradable coatings for paper products, most
  from Polylactic Acid (PLA), some not.
• There is still significant debate in the industry
  regarding the relative degradability of some of
  these products. The American Society for Testing
  and Materials (ASTM) specifications have been
  developed for compostability of both degradable
  plastics products such as cups, bowls, plates,
  utensils, straws, bags, etc. and degradable
  plastic coatings (ASTM 6400 and 6868,
  respectively).
• There are also International Organization for
  Standardization (ISO) German, Japanese,
  Taiwanese, and other specifications. Products
  that are tested to meet the ASTM specifications
  for compostability can be certified by the
  Biodegradable Product Institute (BPI -
  http//www.bpiworld.org/) and use their logo.
• It is important to do your homework and work with
  your composter prior to deciding on products to
  purchase.
• Many of these products can be purchased from
  companies listed on this pagehttp//www.ciwmb.ca.
  gov/FoodWaste/Compost/Biodegrade.htm

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THEMES, LESSONS RECOMMENDATIONS
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WHAT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CAN DO

• Locally managing electronics using product
  stewardship principles
• Facilitating partnerships
• Helping organize events or activities
• Education
• Recyclers pledges and environmental reviews of
  vendors
• Green purchasing and procurement specifications
• Level the playing field (e.g. urban vs. rural)

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Considerations for Local Communities Related to
Collection of Used Electronic Products

• An NWPSC document outlining particular things
  municipalities should consider when establishing
  an electronics recycling program and ways in
  which they can encourage product stewardship for
  electronics. (without accidentally footing the
  bill)
• http//www.productstewardship.net/libraryElectroni
  cs.html

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Grab Bag of Themes and Ideas

• Remember that there are different roles for
  different stakeholders Govt., NGO, OEM,
  retailer, consumer.
• Waste Prevention/ Upstream Questions (Business
  Visits)
• WHAT ARE YOU BRINGING ON SITE WHAT HAPPENS
  TO IT WHAT CAUSES YOU
  HEADACHES WHAT ARE YOU HANDLING A LOT WHAT
  ARE YOU PAYING A LOT OF MONEY FOR.
• Consider an Alaskan Product Stewardship Council
  (CA is on the way.)
• Case Study of Retail Apparel Product Stewardship
  Program (EPA R10 Seattle King County)

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• What product stewardship implications are there
  given Alaskas remote and rural nature?
• NOAA Research Vessel is First to Operate
  Petroleum Free
• Congratulations to the crew of the 41-foot NOAA
  R/V HURON EXPLORER, and to everyone responsible
  for creating the first U.S. research ship to
  operate free of petroleum products. Powered by
  soy biodiesel combined with bio-hydraulic and
  bio-motor oils, the environmentally-friendly
  vessel is well suited to working in the
  eco-systems it is helping to research.
• Not exactly product stewardship, but an inspiring
  way to bring together various stakeholders to
  effect change.

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The Socio-Cultural Trendline Toward Product
Stewardship

• The Cuyahoga River fire brought effluent control
  into the bottom line (i.e. along with the costs
  of turning on the factory lights, the CEOs
  retirement package, raw materials, etc.)
• The Triangle Shirt Factory brought worker health
  and safety into the bottom line.
• Naders Unsafe at any Speed brought consumer
  rights and safety into the bottom line.
• These costs all used to be external to product
  price. Now they are an accepted cost of doing
  business. Why should a products end-of-life
  consequences and management costs be any
  different?

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