To boost WA recycling, let’s lean into truth in labeling

Flip over any plastic container you find in the grocery store and chances are you’ll see the three chasing arrows — the universal recycling symbol. The confusing thing is that the arrows don’t actually mean the container is recyclable in your curbside cart. Frustrating, right?

We agree. That’s why WM and other companies that champion recycling across Washington are working to change this, while also increasing the recycling rate.

Reducing recycling misinformation and increasing how much material gets recycled is critical to recycling success. Here’s what’s needed to help improve recycling in Washington.

Truthful labels: Mislabeling plastic containers is a problem because materials end up in the wrong bins, contaminating the recycling stream. To equip Washingtonians with accurate, reliable information, recycling experts and many state lawmakers are supporting a bipartisan proposal for truth in labeling. Modeled after a law already in effect in California, this proposal would require packaging manufacturers to accurately label products, so consumers have the right recycling information to sort items into the correct containers.

Stronger markets: Unreliable recycling markets are also a problem. For recycling to work, there must be demand for the used materials. Products are recycled only when manufacturers buy used materials to turn them into something new.

One way to create stronger, more reliable markets is to require manufacturers to include recycled content in their products and packaging. A bipartisan bill in Olympia would expand requirements for certain packaging to include recycled content. Manufacturers would need to incorporate recycled materials like plastics into packaging, which may reduce reliance on new resources, strengthen recycling markets and help create a circular economy where materials are continuously reused.

High-tech recycling: Investments in technology can advance the entire system and make recycling better. WM recently invested approximately $65 million in our regional recycling facilities serving Western, Eastern and Central Washington. This technology investment is powering high-tech, automated recycling: advanced optical sorters (“computers with eyes”) and volumetric scanners for efficiency, versatility and automation. The expected result is fewer materials disposed of in landfills and more recyclables for new products.

Building on success: Washington’s recycling rate is 49%. That’s significantly above the national average and a powerful reflection of our recycling leadership. A foundational component of this success is the curbside recycling system. The all-in-one-cart system is popular because it’s easy and convenient to recycle.

We should work to improve the recycling rate and existing recycling programs, but we should also be skeptical of proposals that would discard the programs and infrastructure that have made our recycling leadership a reality.

In Olympia, there is an effort to reinvent our system with something called extended producer responsibility, or EPR. This type of program can be helpful for hard-to-recycle items like batteries, but it currently doesn’t make sense in Washington where packaging material is already effectively collected and recycled. Also, a recent study found EPR would likely add $36-$57 per month in grocery costs for a family of four.

WM believes the path forward is a bipartisan vision to keep Washington on course for another 40 years of world-class recycling and sustainability leadership:

• Product labels you can trust — Adopt Truth in Labeling to require accurate labeling from manufacturers.

• Stronger, reliable recycling markets — Create market demand by requiring manufacturers to use recycled content.

• State-of-the-art technology — Leverage ongoing investments in recycling facilities so more material can be made into new products.

• Roadmap for our sustainable future — Initiate a needs assessment to understand the needs of each community in our state and determine the most effective investment for the future. Specifically, the assessment will examine how needs in the Puget Sound region are different than the needs in our more rural communities.

If we walk this path, Washingtonians can feel proud of their recycling leadership and confident that important improvements are underway. They can also trust that the products they purchase with the recycling symbol on them will actually be recycled.