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

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

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

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?

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%

1997 Amendments n Removes annual RPC recycling rate calculation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RPC Recycling n ,403 tons n ,357 n ,176 n ,837 n ,994 n ,515

RPC Recycling Rates n n n n n n

Recent Reports n 2000 Oregon RPC Rate Determined for Compliance Purposes & 1998 RPC Rate u solwaste/rpc2000.html n PPC Rules Summary u solwaste/rpcrules.html

For More Information William Bree Solid Waste Policy and Program Development Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 811 SW 6 th Avenue Portland, Oregon (503)