Why It Is Important To Support The WRAP Act This Legislative Session

[TayAtkinson]

Did you know that plastic degrades each time it is recycled? Plastic can really only be recycled two to three times, whereas glass and aluminum have an infinite number of life cycles because the material never degrades. Not only does plastic degrade when it is recycled but it can be confusing to consumers which plastics can actually be recycled. The influx of plastic in our society- especially new kinds of plastic packaging that are not even recyclable- are plaguing our environment and mucking up Washington’s recycling systems. With more than 50% of consumer and paper packaging being landfilled or incinerated, we have a huge opportunity to improve our recycling systems, AND reduce the amount of plastic we’re producing and consuming as a society.

Fortunately, the proposed WRAP Act would do just that. It would establish a producer responsibility system which would require that companies that make packaging decisions are actually financially responsible for the end-of-life management, rather than the burden of these costs falling on Washington residents. This model can help push producers to use materials that are more easily recycled. Additionally, bottle deposit programs have proven to generate higher recycling rates by incentivising residents with a small monetary reward per bottle returned.

As a Washington resident, putting responsibility on the producer and creating more recycling opportunities seems like a win for a cleaner environment and more robust economy. This legislative session please encourage your legislators to vote yes on HB 1131 & SB 5154.

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Everything you say makes sense. And I have no faith left in our government to create the oversight this change would require. I was at the laundromat last weekend and I saw a large trash bag filled with large plastic detergent bottles. No one is looking to see which can go in the recycle bin. At work we have separate recycle and garbage at every desk. The recycle bins have plastic bags in them. Those papers aren’t taken out of each can to be recycled, they just grab the plastic bags and it all goes in the dumpster. There is no way to better manage plastic, we need to stop using it.
what I am doing is finding ways to eliminate plastic where i can. I recently purchased laundry strips, soap for your washer that come in a paper package. I also use shampoo bars, they come in paper boxes, no plastic shampoo bottles. And i share these options with others so they may make new choices as well.

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