1. Oregon’s Rigid Plastic Container Law William R. Bree Oregon Department of Environmental Quality California Rigid Plastic Packaging Container Conference San Diego May 16, 2000

2. Rigid Plastic Containers in Oregon n Oregon RPC Law and Rules n RPC Recycling Rate n Trends

3. Oregon RPC Law n Passed in 1991 n Amended in 1993 n Rules adopted in 1994 n Effective Date 1/1/95 n Amended in 1995 n Rules amended in 1996 n Law amended in 1997 n Rules amended in 1998

4. Provisions of the 1991/1993 Law n What is a rigid plastic container? n Who is responsible for compliance? n What are the compliance options? n Who does the reporting? n How is the recycling rate determined? n What is the penalty for non-compliance?

5. 1995 Amendments n Exempts food containers n Requires DEQ to determine “RPC recycling rate or compliance purposes” n Reduces maximum penalty from $10,000 to $1,000 n Allows one year exemption from enforcement n Delays any enforcement until after 1/1/98 n Provides relief from recordkeeping if rate remains above 25%

6. 1997 Amendments n Removes annual RPC recycling rate calculation

7. What is a rigid plastic container? n Package n Predominantly plastic n Relatively inflexible n 8 ounces to 5 gallons

8. Exemptions n Medical foods, drugs, & devices n Tamper-resistant seals n Reduced packaging n Food packaging other than beverages

9. What Are The compliance Options? n Recycled at a 25% rate n Made of 25% recycled content n Reused 5 or more times

10. Who is responsible for compliance? n Package manufacturer n Product manufacturer

11. Who does the reporting? n Department of Environmental Quality n Package manufacturer n Product manufacturer

12. What is the penalty for non-compliance? n Original maximum penalty $10,000 per day n Reduced in 1995 amendments to $1,000 per day

13. How is the recycling rate determined? n Annual material recovery survey n Annual disposal reporting n Waste composition studies Recycling rate equals tons recycled divided by the sum of tons recycled and tons disposed

14. Recycling Rate n RPC recycling rate n RPC recycling rate for compliance purposes

15. Recycling Rate Options n Aggregate or specified resin type recycling rate for compliance purposes n Calendar year aggregate recycling rate n Specified type rate n Product associated rate

16. Trends n Up, then down n More plastic containers n Increased recycling n Lower rate

17. RPC Recycling n 1993 8,403 tons n 1994 9,357 n 199510,176 n 199610,837 n 199710,994 n 199811,515

18. RPC Recycling Rates n 199327.1 n 199428.2 n 199530.1 n 199629.7 n 199728.5 n 199828.4

19. Recent Reports n 2000 Oregon RPC Rate Determined for Compliance Purposes & 1998 RPC Rate u http://www.deq.state.us/wmc/ solwaste/rpc2000.html n PPC Rules Summary u http://www.deq.state/or/us/wmc/ solwaste/rpcrules.html

20. For More Information William Bree Solid Waste Policy and Program Development Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 811 SW 6 th Avenue Portland, Oregon 97204 (503) 229-6046 bree.william.r@deq.state.or.us www.deq.state.or.us/wmc/solwaste/rsw.htm