LPDD Model Law: State Extended Producer Responsibility Legislation

This model state law addresses Extended Producer Responsibility for collection opportunities and recycling of packaging for all types of consumer products. Numerous states have developed EPR bills of various types, which our drafting team analyzed, and combined the best parts of each, while allowing room for states to modify the legislation where appropriate. States can modify the draft, for example, to adjust which agency will administer and enforce the act, the length and difficulty of the phasing-in period for producers, and the structure and nature of penalties for failure to comply.

The ultimate responsibilities imposed by the legislation assign most of the heavy lifting to the producer or industry, while retaining meaningful roles for consumers and governments. This model bill is set up so that producers, either individually or through an industry producer responsibility organization, must take ownership of the packaging and paper products (PPP) used in every sale. Whether the PPP is reusable, contains all or some recyclable materials, or is not recyclable at all and contains more hazardous materials, this bill works to ensure that every producer has a role and responsibility from beginning to end. This bill is also readily extended into extending producer responsibility to the product itself, not just the PPP.

The accompanying memorandum includes a compendium of existing state and federal laws and regulations currently addressing the issue and compares their varying approaches.

The memorandum and research accompanying this model law was done by Scott Wilson Badenoch, Jr.  (Visiting Attorney, Environmental Law Institute), Denise Taliaferro, Sara Zimmerman, Nwamaka Ikenze, James Brien, Rachael Bruketta, Garrett Arnold, Sarah A. Semaan and Bruce Johnson. The model bill itself was prepared by Scott Wilson Badenoch, Jr., Denise Taliaferro, and an anonymous drafter.  Peer reviewing was supplied by Michael Burger, Executive Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer-in-Law, Columbia Law School.