A new law that takes effect July 1, 2008, requires hands-free cell-phone use while operating a motor vehicle. So my husband recently bought each of us wireless hands-free earpieces.
These earpieces are tiny, approximately thimble-size. They come with a couple of rechargers: one for plugging into the wall and one for the cigarette lighter of a car.
So why were these three small items distributed in plastic-and-cardboard packaging that took up at least half of my desk?
This gross irresponsibility is why I”ve said — again and again — product manufacturers must be held responsible for end-of-life disposal of their wasteful and excessive packaging. California consumers and governments have been doing our part for years to recycle as much as we can — but much of what we”re diverting from California”s landfills should never have been created in the first place.
Thankfully, someone else is also espousing this belief and — dare I hope? — it may eventually become law.
On Wednesday, Jan. 23, the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) approved a framework for “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).” This would bring California in step, more than eight years after the fact, with Canadian provinces and the European Union. There”s nothing like knowing that we”re at the forefront of positive environmental action.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency”s practice of “Extended Product Responsibility” (please pay careful attention to the distinction) has held us back for years, letting manufacturers off the hook. Its so-called “equal” responsibility has worked out to anything but, since manufacturers” compliance is entirely voluntary (“What is Product Stewardship?” by the EPA, www.epa.gov).
But for other entities in this equation, compliance is anything but. Consumer choices are often limited to those products that are readily available. If every single model of a necessary product in my local grocery store comes with wasteful and unnecessary packaging, do I have any “choice” at all? And after I”ve purchased this product, my local government must meet state mandates for diverting the excess packaging from the landfill.
Among waste management directors is former State Senator Wesley Chesbro, who is familiar to many Lake County residents. He is also a founding member of the integrated waste management board.
When Chesbro served Lake County as its representative in California legislature, he co-authored legislation that allows teens to work in pear-packing sheds for extended hours during peak season. This legislation had to be reenacted due to recurring sunset clauses.
Chesbro served until termed-out in the California Senate and now fills an appointed position on the CIWMB.
Minutes for Jan. 23 record a unanimous vote by Chesbro and the other directors for a revised EPR Framework. The agenda item notes that EPR seeks to shift responsibility for discarded products and materials from local government to private industry.
This is a change that I think is necessary and only right — since private industry insisted on creating this wasteful material in the first place.
So what needs to happen now to make EPR a reality? It needs to be enacted legislatively and signed into law by the governor. Lake County”s representatives are State Assemblymember Patty Berg and State Senator Patricia Wiggins.
Berg is being termed-out and cannot run for reelection, which means if Chesbro is elected to her seat, he will be in a position to introduce legislation that could make EPR a reality. Ideally, however, EPR would eventually be enacted nation-wide.
The CIWMB notes that “patchwork” regulations already deal with product-specific environmental issues for things like lighting, computers, tires, mercury, lead and brominated flame retardants. “Extended Producer Responsibility” can provide a cohesive, comprehensive approach — just as it already does elsewhere in the world. It”s past time that we got on board.
For more information about recycling and other issues related to waste management, please see the CIWMB Web site, www.ciwmb.ca.gov.
Contact Cynthia Parkhill at cparkhill@clearlakeobserver.com.
