The Future of HHW: How Collection, Education and Product Stewardship Can Work Together

1. The Future of HHW: How Collection, Education and Product Stewardship Can Work Together Jim Quinn Metro Solid Waste and Recycling Department Portland, Oregon

2. Metro’s Program • Large urban HHW collection program, >50,000 customers annually, $4 million annual budget • We spend about $100,000 annually on education- 1 full time staff person • Involved in product stewardship- PSI member, active in paint dialogue, etc.

3. Collection • Began in early 1980s • Several good reasons to collect: • Health & environmental impacts • CERCLA does not exempt HHW • Collection fosters education • Public demand • Regulations in some areas • Today > 3,000 collection programs

4. Collection program trends • Events Permanent facilities • Improving: • efficiency, environmental protection, worker protection • Multi-faceted programs: • permanent + mobile • CESQG • latex paint recycling • other: emergency response, abandoned waste, etc. • Taking on new waste streams: electronics, fluorescent tubes, etc.

5. Participation trends • Increasing convenience leads to more customers • Ultimate: door-to-door • In some cases growth has slowed • Portland Metro still typically sees 7-8% annual growth

6. How much HHW nationwide? 2 approaches: • Percent of annual MSW- figures vary, 0.5% typical • 1.15 million tons total • EPA: 20 pounds per household per year • 1.3 million tons total • Round figure: 1 million tons nationally • Any good house to house surveys?

7. Collection program effectiveness • % of households served annually • Average pounds per customer (A X B)/20= % of all HHWgenerated that your program is managing

8. Collection program effectiveness (cont.) If: Every jurisdiction had a collection program Every collection program collected 50% of what’s out there At ~$1 per pound, we’d be spending $1 billion annually, but 1 billion pounds of HHW would still be going to landfills!

9. Education • Not just education about hazards & collection opportunities, but waste reduction- buy only what you need, use it up, give it away, etc. • Evolution from simply handing out brochures, to changing behavior • Community-based social marketing principles: determine barriers, pilot on a small scale, measure effectiveness, person-to-person contact, get people to make commitments, understand societal norms, use credible sources, etc.

10. Education (cont.) • Still a lot to learn about effectively changing behavior when it comes to HHW • So far it is hard to show measurable impact on purchase and use of HHW products, except for highly targeted, small scale, intensive programs • Staffing, funding is limited • Meanwhile, industry spends countless millions getting people to buy more

11. Product stewardship • Why should government bear the burden of dealing with leftover hazardous products? • The greatest responsibility lies with whoever has the most ability to affect the lifecycle environmental impacts of the product • Shift the responsibility to industry (manufacturers, distributors and retailers) • Ensure that products are nontoxic & recyclable • Incorporate the cost of end-of-life management into the price

12. Product Stewardship (cont.) • Lots of recent activity on electronics, mercury-containing products, paint • Some are skeptical that it can have a real impact on the quantity of HHW products coming into collection programs

13. Collection & Education • The existence of collection programs serves to educate people about the hazards • Collection program users are already taking the first step- probably a receptive audience for waste reduction messages • Target waste reduction education on wastes that are most problematic for collection programs- high volume, high cost, toxicity, difficult to recycle

14. Collection & Education (cont.) • Collection programs may be tailored to handle priority wastes, along with an education program- e.g. mercury & other PBTs • Even if waste reduction education is completely successful, there will still be some wastes generated: spent batteries, used antifreeze & oil, etc.

15. Collection & Product Stewardship • Collection programs should consider avoiding taking on new wastes when product stewardship solutions are possible • Target product stewardship on wastes that are most problematic for collection programs • Advanced disposal fees may help fund existing collection programs • Industry may operate their own collection programs

16. Education & Product Stewardship • The user of a product is an important part of the product chain and has their role to play • Product stewardship programs should include a public education component • Promote product stewardship concepts as a part of education programs

17. Tying it all together • All three tools are important • Consider the role of industry, consumer, & government • The appropriate mix of collection, education & product stewardship depends on the product • Consider cost, public health & environmental impact, waste volume,

18. Vision Manufacturers are fully engaged in reducing the impacts of their products, and in funding collection and education efforts Fully-funded education programs have had widespread success in changing the public’s use and disposal of hazardous products Convenient, fully-funded collection programs are available and used for disposal of all hazardous products that are still generated