Sen. Kennedy Welcomes Final Passage of Consumer Packaging Legislation

From the Connecticut General Assembly:

Boxes, packaging and other consumer packaging materials have become one of the top contributors to Connecticut’s growing waste stream. This year, Sen. Ted Kennedy, Jr. (D-Branford) worked with industry representatives to create bipartisan legislation that will lead to a decrease in consumer packaging waste, protecting our environment and cutting waste disposal costs for Connecticut municipalities.

“Connecticut has set a goal to reduce solid waste in our state by 60 percent by 2024. The dramatic increase in internet shopping has made achieving this goal difficult, if not impossible,” said Sen. Kennedy, Senate chair of the Environment Committee. “The increase in shipping materials, boxes and other pieces of consumer packaging clog Connecticut’s waste stream and costs communities millions of dollars due to increased municipal trash pickup and disposal expenses. This bill was made in a cooperative effort with the industry to help reverse the trend, cutting down on waste created by excessive consumer packaging.”

Senate Bill 233, An Act Concerning A Reduction of Consumer-Based Packaging Materials, establishes a task force that will research and recommend the best practices for reducing consumer packaging waste through improving Connecticut’s recycling infrastructure, working with businesses to reduce the amount of packaging they create and increasing the amount of biodegradable and recyclable materials used in consumer packaging.

The task force will consider a range of strategies to reduce packaging waste, including producer stewardship and establishing low-cost methods to increase recycling and generate job opportunities. Task force members will also determine strategies to measure and verify the success of their recommendations. The recommendations of this task force will be used to reduce the amount of consumer packaging in the state’s waste stream by at least 25 percent by Jan. 1, 2024.

Packaging materials comprise the largest category of solid waste in Connecticut, accounting for a third of the waste that municipalities are tasked with disposing of. Dan McGowan, who runs Branford’s waste management program, says that it already costs Branford taxpayers $1.5 million every year to pick up and dispose of solid waste.

Now that Senate Bill 233 has passed the House and the Senate, it moves to the desk of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and awaits his signature.