The Word in the Hoouse 2/16/2017 - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Bags

The last time I went grocery shopping I tried to observe how many shoppers brought their own reusable bags to the checkout counter and how many used the disposable bags provided by the store. Very few shoppers that I observed actually brought their own reusable bags. Many walked out with four or more single-use plastic bags of groceries. While many of the larger supermarkets have barrels in the entry for recycling plastic bags and other thin film plastic, the bins are rarely full. Paper bags are somewhat better on the environment because they are made from a renewable resource (wood) and are more easily recycled. But they are also used only once or twice and involve an energy and chemically intensive manufacturing process.

So what happens to all the plastic bags that go home day after day, week after week, with us? If you're like me, they might get a second use like lining a small trash can before they get thrown away. On the other hand, heavy duty plastic or cloth bags can be used over and over many times. Americans consume 100 billion plastic bags per year, about 325 per person. Most in Vermont find their way to a landfill. One of the board members that oversaw the now-closed Moretown landfill told me that he would see hundreds of plastic bags blowing around during a strong wind. The only way to prevent that from happening was to quickly cover trash with dirt, which in turn lessened the capacity of the landfill. This is a serious concern because the Coventry landfill is the only one left in Vermont, and we have to make it last as long as possible.

So, the question is, what do we do about this problem? I and several colleagues introduced House bill H.88 seeking to reduce consumption of raw materials and the impact on the environment of disposable bags. It does this by putting a ten cent fee on disposable bags at the checkout counter. It is a tax, but an avoidable one simply by bringing your own reusable bag. Two cents of the tax is retained by the store and eight cents would be remitted to Vermont's Solid Waste Assistance Fund, which helps support the solid waste districts across the state. The bill also includes exemptions for small bags used for produce, newspapers, pet fish, etc., and a total exemption from the program for small retailers that typically dispense less than 20,000 bags per year, roughly 50 per day. Experiences with similar programs in states and cities across the U.S. have shown a decrease in the use of disposable bags of up to 40%. Retailers will save money by not having to buy as many bags, the cost of which is spread out over their merchandise. Some retailers already offer a small credit of 3 cents for each reusable bag brought by a customer. This has been shown to be not as effective as a fee because people are more likely to change their behavior in response to a loss of something than for a potential small gain. The bottom line is that this program will be a win for the environment, a win for the retailer, a win for consumers who take advantage of the program, and a win for our recycling program.

H.88 has been assigned to the Natural Resources, Fish & Wildlife Committee for consideration. They will be hearing testimony from consumers, retailers, environmental organizations and other interested parties over the next few months.

As always, I invite you to let me know your concerns and opinions. I can be reached by phone (802-233-5238) or by email (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com).

Legislative Report 2/12/2014 - Recycling Batteries

When the Moretown landfill was closed by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources last year because of contamination and odor problems, Vermont was left with only one active landfill for the entire state.  While some southern Vermont towns and solid waste districts ship their garbage across the borders to New York and New Hampshire, the rest of Vermont must rely on the Coventry landfill to meet its needs.  This location is also finite and will someday have to close as well.  To extend that day as far into the future as possible, we must learn to reduce the amount of waste we generate or else repurpose it and divert it from our remaining landfill.

The Vermont legislature has been addressing the problem of solid waste since 1987 when it passed Act 78 creating the first solid waste districts.  More recently, Act 148 addressing the diversion of yard waste and organic waste from landfills was passed in 2012.  And last year Vermont partnered with paint manufacturers to establish a paint stewardship program which will allow unused paint to be returned for recycling at participating paint retailers.  Other stewardship programs, in which manufacturers assume the cost of recycling, include electronic waste, mercury light bulbs, and mercury thermostats, which have all been banned from Vermont landfills.

There are other materials that we continue to dispose of in the trash because they are not currently recyclable by the methods available at Vermont recycling facilities.  One of these materials is single-use batteries, also known as primary batteries.  There are more than 190 manufacturers of primary batteries sold in the U.S.  According to an industry report, approximately 5.4 billion units of single-use batteries were shipped in the U.S. in 2010, including about 10 million in Vermont.  Recoverable materials from primary batteries include zinc, manganese and steel.  Offsetting the need for virgin materials is typically the best way to reduce a product’s overall lifecycle impact.  Material recovery reduces the energy consumption needed to acquire virgin materials as well as other environmental impacts from mining.  However, it is not economically feasible for our solid waste districts to pay for a primary battery recycling program.  While there is an active rechargeable battery recycling program run by the industry, single-use batteries have not been included.  This is now about to change.

Like the paint manufacturers, the primary battery industry has become proactive in supporting a battery stewardship program. Energizer, Panasonic and Duracell, which account for more than half of the batteries sold in the U.S., are ready to partner with Vermont and other states to collect, ship and recycle primary batteries.  House bill H.695, currently being developed by the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, will update Vermont’s solid waste laws to require all solid waste districts and municipalities, as well as retailers on a voluntary basis, to act as collection points.  It will also encourage other primary battery manufacturers to join an existing stewardship program or form one of their own.  Only primary batteries made by participating manufacturers will be allowed to be sold in Vermont beginning in 2016.  Finally, the bill will set up a process that will allow the industry-sponsored stewardship programs to recover recycling costs from each other and from non-participating manufacturers. 

While recycling and material diversion has come a long way in Vermont, we still have a long way to go.  Only 35% of the waste stream in Vermont is recycled.  In Chittenden County, it’s a little better at about 60%.  But I have seen too many recyclable bottles, cans, paper and plastic that is routinely thrown into trash cans and barrels.  It is incumbent on all of us to take personal responsibility for recycling our own waste and to remind others to do the same.

Legislative Report - 02/09/2012 - Vermont Recycles – But We Can Do Better

We Vermonters pride ourselves on being “green.”  It’s a great attitude to have.  However, we can do better.  We have had recycling programs since the 80’s and most of us do pretty well at it.  Recyclables are separated from trash for curbside pickups, and our solid waste districts are accepting more and diverse materials in their recycling streams.  But the fact is that, despite a goal set in 1999 to achieve a 50% recycling rate by 2005, Vermont has over the last decade reached a plateau of about 36%. This means 64% of everything we throw away as a state goes to the landfill.  This is a serious problem because we presently have only two operating lined landfills, one in Moretown and the other in Coventry; and the one in Moretown is estimated to have only about 18 months before it reaches capacity. 

So, the question is: how do we increase the recycling rate and reduce the amount of waste going to the landfills.  Landfill waste can include not only things we think of as recyclables, like paper, plastic, aluminum, glass, and cardboard, but also yard waste, food scraps and other organics, which make up about 23% of the waste stream in the Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD). Decomposing organic matter also generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.   

My Committee, Natural Resources & Energy, is working on a bill, H.485, that addresses this problem.  This bill sets a timeline for increasing the recycling rate of materials and diverting yard and organic waste from landfills.

The first step is to require mandatory recycling of materials we normally associate with recycling.  Some solid waste districts like CSWD and the Addison County SWD already encourage this through a “pay as you throw” system, which charges fees based on the amount of material going to the landfill.  ACSWD’s recycling rate is currently around 50% as a result of this policy.  The bill will require similar policies throughout the state.  CSWD’s spokesperson, Jen Holliday, estimates that such policies can help us achieve 75% to 85% recovery of materials. 

The next step is to require waste haulers to pick up leaf and yard residual waste that is separated from other types of waste and deliver it to a facility for management of such material.  This would assure that the material can be either composted or otherwise used for appropriate purposes.  Examples of this type of material include grass clippings, kraft paper, brush, and other woody materials.

The third step would be to require haulers to pick up “source separated organic material” and deliver it to composting facilities.  This material includes food scraps, food processing residue and unrecyclable paper.  This requirement would only apply to large producers of organic waste such as restaurants, hospitals, universities, grocery stores, etc.   The amount is under discussion and ranges between 50 and 100 tons per year per producer.   Composting this material would turn waste matter into valuable compost that can be used to enrich the soil.  How valuable compost is can be seen by several commercial composting operations that have been started in Vermont, including Highfields Composting in Hardwick and Green Mountain Compost, which is run by CSWD.  Other ways of diverting organic waste have also been identified, such as sending grocery products that have exceeded shelf life but are still usable to food shelf facilities. 

Vermont can and must be more efficient with reducing, reusing and recycling our unwanted material. 
http://www.cswd.net/recycling/

The Word in the House - 02/03/2012

The second session of the biennium of the Vermont Legislature got off to a bright and early start on January 3^rd.  That afternoon most committees were already conducting hearings on bills that were presented on the floor that morning.

The House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, of which I am a member, began consideration of three bills.  One of the bills, H.475, is a net-metering adjustment bill.  It identifies some technical changes to the 2011 Vermont Energy Bill (Act 47) that was passed last year.  The changes are needed to smooth out some unanticipated implementation wrinkles that surfaced since passage and to allow small solar installations of up to 10 kW in size to be permitted through a simple 10-day registration process, which is currently available for systems up to 5 kW in size.   This bill passed the House last week and has been sent to the Senate.

Another bill, H.468, is a starting point for a wide-ranging discussion on how to achieve more aggressive renewable energy goals of fighting climate change and growing a robust, green economy.  It continues Vermont’s support of renewable energy development by expanding the Sustainably Priced Energy Enterprise Development (SPEED) program and by proposing a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) for Vermont.  The RPS sets a goal of having utilities obtain 80% of their electricity generation from renewable resources by 2025.  This bill is likely to evolve significantly during the committee process, with details changed or refined as we hear testimony from various stakeholders.

The third bill, H.485, pertains to solid waste management.  Given that there are only two operating lined landfills in Vermont , and that one of them will reach capacity within 18 months at today’s rates of trash disposal, it is imperative that we divert as much material from these streams as we can.  Vermont’s recycling rate has leveled off at around 32%.  We can do a lot better than that.  H.485 seeks to promote sustainable materials management, lessen Vermont’s reliance on waste disposal, and create a waste management system that promotes energy conservation, reduces greenhouse gases, and limits adverse environmental impact.  It will phase in, between now and 2017, mandatory recycling of common household materials that are now recycled on a volunteer basis, as well as leaf and yard waste, and “source separated” organic material from restaurants, schools, hospitals, etc.  The latter material is better used for composting to return the nutrients to the soil than for landfill material.

Other committees have also been hard at work.   Appropriations worked long hours for several weeks to construct the 2012 Budget Adjustment bill.  These adjustments are necessary to bring the budget into balance based on actual versus projected revenues and expenditures since July.  Most of the changes are in response to the devastation of tropical storm Irene.  21 temporary positions were added to the Agency of Transportation and 17 positions were added to Health Access because of increased caseload.  12 more positions were added to other departments.  Most of these positions will be filled by transfer of employees from other departments.