PPI staff have been featured, referenced, or published in dozens of articles in various publications across the country. Here are the most recent articles.
State Environmental Laws: At Your Disposal [1] April 19, 2010 CFO.com
Just whose trash is it, anyway? In March, Maine became the latest state to mandate that certain products and forms of packaging remain the responsibility of those who make them, up to and including the time the products are thrown away.
US Gets First Product Stewardship Law [2] March 26, 2010 Triplepundit
All across the United States, local governments, who carry the burden of waste disposal for their communities, have been overwhelmed by literal mountains of hazardous waste that are the byproducts—the unintended consequences—of our voracious consumer society. Because local governments are rarely if ever equipped to deal with a disposal problem of this magnitude, the result is that there has been a tremendous amount of dangerous substances leaching out from landfills, or out-gassing from incinerators into our air, our water and our bodies, taking a tremendous toll on our environment and our health.
Maine Passes Landmark Product Stewardship Law [3] March 25, 2010 Miller-McCune
Maine manages to pass product stewardship legislation with bipartisan support. Will the nation follow its lead? With a green light from local business, Gov. John Baldacci of Maine today signed a landmark product stewardship bill, paving the way for the state to shift more of the cost of recycling and trash disposal to the manufacturers of consumer goods.
Where does waste actually start? [4] February 19, 2010 Cape Argus
Perhaps it is time to help clear up some confusion around Cape Town waste, and chart some possible ways forward. Much has been written recently, ranging from selective information, defensive responses and the continued focus on already failed non-solutions.
Shifting the Trash Burden [5] February 18, 2010
First, the good news: recycling rates in the U.S. are higher than they've ever been. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in 2008, Americans recycled or composted 83 million tons of the waste they generated—an average of 1.5 pounds per person per day. About one-third of the waste generated in the U.S. each year is recycled, up from 16 percent in 1990 and 6.6 percent in 1970.
Focus on Product Stewardship Shifts Waste Disposal Responsibility to Manufacturers [6] February 2, 2010 triplepundit
Most manufacturers of products that contain hazardous substances, like toxic mercury, cadmium, nickel, arsenic and lead, don’t think much about the end of their products life cycle. The onus to properly dispose of many banned substances is predominantly on the consumer.
Climate Turns Hot for Products and Packages [7] February 2, 2010 The Future 500
It’s not quite a perfect storm – but several factors have converged that could drive a host of new fees on three types of products: beverages, electronics, and packaging – in 2010 and 2011. Whether the fees make good policy sense – or get to the root of the problems they are intended to address – depends on whether the diverse universe of supporters and opponents can actually work with one another, directly or indirectly.
Waaay Extended Producer Responsibility [8] January 7, 2010 Elizabeth Royte
Here’s an editorial from Resource Recycling magazine for December 2009, by Jerry Powell, that explains how Extended Producer Responsibility works and why it’s a great idea. To learn more about EPR, check out the Product Policy Institute [9].
The Smoldering Trash Revolt [10] January 21, 2010 Miller-McCune
Every time a Californian breaks the law and throws a battery into the trash, it's a headache for someone like Kevin Hendrick. As director of the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority, Hendrick spends $50,000 in taxpayer money providing one day per year on which county residents can bring in their household hazardous waste, including batteries, for proper disposal. The problem is, only 5 percent of them ever show up.
E.P.A. Report Suggests Waste Reduction and Recycling [11]
Reduces CO2 Emissions [11] September 21, 2009 New York Times-Green, Inc.
A new report from the United States Environmental Protection Agency suggests that way Americans procure, produce, deliver and dispose of goods and services — what the agency refers to as ―materials and land management‖ — accounts for 42 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. The study took stock of the emissions generated by land use, food and product production across the entire life cycle — from resource extraction (think mining, agriculture and forestry) to manufacturing, packaging, transportation and ultimately disposal.
Activists urge green Black Friday [12] November 27, 2009 Politico
The day after Thanksgiving is known for shopping sprees, but “Black Friday” is getting blacklisted by environmentalists — and they’re hoping President Barack Obama will back them up. “In the climate change sense, it’s not that every other retail day isn’t bad. This just happens to be the worst day for the environment,” says Bill Sheehan, executive director of the Product Policy Institute, a nonprofit that aims to prevent waste through better design.
Everything You Know About Going Green Is Wrong [13] November 16, 2009 The Daily Green
What if that brand new Prius is worse for the environment than a 1995 Chevy Suburban, despite getting 38 more miles to the gallon [14]? What if that sirloin, shipped to the steakhouse from a newly deforested pasture in the Amazon, means less to the global climate than a hill of individually wrapped jellybeans?
Back to the Future [15] November 14, 2009 Resource
Our landfills didn’t use to overflow with unnecessary packaging and obsolete products. Janine Derry looks at extended producer responsibility, a not-so-new idea that could ensure our landfills are free of products and packaging once more.
John DeCock: Want to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint? Reduce Your Trash Footprint! [16] October 28, 2009 The Huffington Post
The Product Policy Institute has recently released two new reports that confirm product and packaging waste contribute forty-four percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The reports, produced by the U.S. EPA and the Product Policy Institute [17], look at both products produced within the U.S. and those that are imported into the U.S. These reports help make the connection between EPR and reducing GHG emissions.
The Missing Link in Climate Change: Product Policy [18] October 18, 2009 Planetsave
Although images of giant coal-fired smokestacks and automobile tailpipes characterize greenhouse gas scenarios, a new report [19] proposes a different way of thinking about it – product policy. Products and packaging contribute 44% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and reduction plans are more likely to succeed if extended producer responsibility (EPR) is made a cornerstone of commerce and environmental policy, the report says.
Get Rid of Unused Prescription Drugs Without Contaminating Your Drinking Water [20] August 15, 2009 Rodale
Getting Big Pharma to take back unused or expired prescription drugs could protect fish and wildlife and keep our drinking water safe, says the National Association of Counties (NACo), an organization that represents U.S. county governments. The group recently adopted a resolution pushing for laws that could force drug companies to accept and dispose of unwanted medicines.
Proper Medicine Disposal Prescribed Daily [21] July 30, 2009 Reuters
Among many reasons not to flush medicines down the drain or throw them out with the trash is to prevent the chemicals from decomposing in soil and water supplies. Chemicals are passed on to wildlife and humans consuming that water, and the chemicals may destroy important bacteria in soils and water that actually help purify those resources.
Group Asks Companies to Pay for Medecine Disposal [22] July 30, 2009 Waste & Recycling News
An association representing the nation ́s county governments is asking pharmaceutical companies to bear the financial responsibility for disposing of unwanted medicines. The National Association of Counties adopted a policy July 28 supporting producer responsibility for unwanted medicines.
