It’s Kuhl To Recycle: Least Impact

An Update On Producer Responsibility And The Law

By Mark Kuhl

For the GPHN

Colorado passed a Producer Responsibility law one year ago that requires companies that sell products in packaging, paper products and food serviceware to fund current and future statewide recycling systems.

This concept — called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) — has been discussed before in these pages. The challenge has been that producers have little responsibility for the recycling and disposal of products, so this burden falls on taxpayers.

The new program will fund recycling services across the state, increases access to recycling (including in rural areas) and creates a more stable domestic supply of raw material to make new products. Most importantly the program incentivizes producers to design products with materials that have the least impact (environmental, social, and economic), as the funding structure is based on the amount and type of packaging they produce.

Mark Kuhl is an environmental advocate who lives in Park Hill with his family. His handy tips and news about recycling household items appear every month in these pages. A directory of his past columns for recycling everything from paint to Styrofoam to shoes is at greaterparkhill.org/sustainability/recycling-directory/.