National Caucus of Environmental Legislators - Plastic Pollution Briefing Book

Economic Costs of Plastic Pollution Economic Benefits of Reusables • Single-use plastic bags costs retailers 4 billion • According to the World Economic Forum, the dollars annually. [...] This volume A round the world, EPR for Packaging of waste results in environmental harm and injustice, excess programs already exist in 47 jurisdictions, including the entire European Union and costs to taxpayers and potentially valuable recycling materials five Canadian provinces. [...] In 2021, Maine and Oregon became to design better and identify opportunities for efficiency in the the first states to enact EPR legislation for recycling system to reduce costs, leading to an increase in packaging materials. [...] M ulti-national companies are already participating in EPR for packaging EPR is a strategy to add all of the environmental costs associated programs in other countries and are with a product throughout the product life cycle to the market working together to suggest best practices price of that product. [...] law passed in 2019 directs a study of the impacts of plastic packaging in Washington and to develop recommendations • Oregon Recycling Steering Committee proposal from local governments.