Packaging & Sustainable Waste Management Meghan Stasz Senior Director, Sustainability Grocery Manufacturers Association

Grocery Manufacturers Association *Represents a sample of GMA’s Members 2

Sustainable Waste Management What is EPR? Solid Waste and Recycling in the U.S. Why EPR is not an effective solution What Next? 2

Solid Waste: What is EPR? Shifts responsibility for the end-of-life of products and/or packaging from the municipality to the manufacturer. How it works (generally) Regulators set recycling/recovery targets and put responsibility for collection/recycling onto producers Can be product-specific or more generic Companies can fulfill those obligations alone, or collectively through special purpose organizations Typically financed by manufacturers (i.e., built into price) or by point-of-sale fees to consumers

Solid Waste: What is EPR? Common Reasons for EPR Gives incentive to brand owners to reduce packaging and/or “design for the environment” Increases recycling rates Reduces environmental impact because more materials recycled Increases system efficiency More fair- industry and individuals pay for recycling rather than municipalities

Solid Waste: What is EPR? EPR Proponents in U.S.

2012 EPR Legislation ME OR NY TX FL EPR Legislation Introduced As of 6/21/12 NH VT WA ME MT MA ND MN OR MI WI NY ID SD RI WY PA IA CT NE IN OH CA NV IL NJ WV UT CO VA MO DE KS KY NC TN MD OK SC AK AZ NM AR GA MS AL TX LA FL HI EPR Legislation Introduced

Sustainable Waste Management What is EPR? Solid Waste and Recycling in the U.S. Why EPR is not an effective solution What Next?

Solid Waste in the U.S. Organic Waste Largest Percentage of Landfills: 2010 Landfill Composition

Solid Waste in the U.S. U.S. Recycling Rates of Packaging Source: US EPA 2010 MSW Report, 2009 data (last reporting year)

Solid Waste in the U.S. Landfilling is Decreasing Source: US EPA 2010 Municipal Solid Waste Report

Solid Waste in the U.S. State Overall Recycling Rates NH VT WA ME MT MA ND MN OR MI WI NY ID SD RI WY PA IA CT NE IN OH NV IL NJ WV CA UT CO VA MO DE KS KY NC TN MD OK SC AK AZ NM AR GA MS AL TX LA FL HI <10% 11%-20% 20%-30% 30%-40% *Note: 2004 Data >40%

Solid Waste in the U.S. U.S. vs. EU Recycling Rates United States *Note: 2007 data

Sustainable Waste Management What is EPR? Solid Waste and Recycling in the U.S. Why EPR is not an effective solution What Next?

Solid Waste: EPR is not an effective solution SAIC Study, Summary of Findings: U.S. overall MSW recycling rate is equal to or better than Canada & Europe EPR does not cause changes in package design or selection. EPR has not decreased system cost. Increases government & administrative costs. People ultimately pay for end-of-life management through taxes and utilities

B CPG Companies are increasing the amount of sustainable material in their packaging Clorox has focused on reducing paper usage at its facilities and using recycled content where available ConAgra Foods was the first company in North America to incorporate post-consumer recycled plastic into frozen meal trays Unilever instituted packaging innovations to reduce environmental impact ACTION Use an average of more than 15 percent postconsumer recycled plastic across our frozen foods brands Diverts eight million pounds of plastic from landfills annually Suave Body Wash bottles now use HDPE which is recycled at 26-29% in the U.S. instead of polypropylene which is recycled at only 9% Introduced a 100% recyclable cardboard box for Sun Green Power dishwasher detergent Clorox has reduced its paper use by 30 percent, with all remaining paper converted to 100 percent recycled content. Today, 90 percent of U.S. product cartons are made from 100 percent recycled content IMPACT SOURCE: GMA Membership Success Story Database, Unilever and Clorox websites

4 Billion Pound Packaging Weight Cumulative Avoidance (2005-2020) 19% Average weight reduction for 2005-2020 *McKinsey Study, representing 2005-2010 ** Cumulative, McKinsey Study and GES study, representing 2005-2020 2005 Baseline

Solid Waste: EPR is not an effective solution Additional Questions: What happens to existing assets? (MRFs, trucks, employees) Anti-trust issues? Efficiency: cost per increased percentage point? How does this fit with existing recovery programs and policies? Overall environmental impact?

What Next? Holistic, efficient solution needed GMA’s 5 Part Plan- “What We’re For” Continue our Commitment to Reduce Waste Address Food Waste Increase Recovery and Recycling Evaluate Options for Managing Waste Coordinate Efforts

Solution 3: Increase Recovery and Recycling % What Next? Solution 3: Increase Recovery and Recycling Many Communities Have Increased Recycling Rates Impact Program Only 44% of the United States population has single-stream recycling service, which is significantly easier for consumers L.A. switched to automated single stream collection, the city’s participation rate more than doubled Pay-as-you-throw programs charge for the collection of municipal solid waste based on the volume thrown away Communities typically report reductions in waste of 25 to 35 percent, including significant increases in recycling SOURCE: EPA website, wasteage.com

What Next? Solution 3: Increase Recovery and Recycling

What Next? Solution 4: Evaluate Options for Waste U.S. has One-Fifth Excess Capacity Recycling of total MSW Source: McKinsey & Company analysis

What Next? Solution 4: Evaluate Options for Waste Source: US EPA 2010 Municipal Solid Waste Report

What Next? GMA’s 5 Part Plan- “What We’re For” Continue our Commitment to Reduce Waste Address Food Waste Increase Recovery and Recycling Evaluate Options for Managing Waste Coordinate Efforts

Food for Thought What is the problem we’re trying to solve? Is a trash tax the most efficient way to address these challenges? Are there other solutions that are less costly? Are there more sustainable approaches that are both voluntary and more effective?

Sustainable Waste Management Questions? Meghan Stasz Senior Director, Sustainability mstasz@gmaonline.org 202-639-5935