Gov. Peter Shumlin recently signed H485 into law, which updates Vermont’s treatment of solid waste, striking a balance between current municipal needs and environmental protection.

Of particular note was the elimination of extended producer responsibility (EPR) language from the bill, which would have placed the burden of recovery on manufacturers.

“On behalf of the paper and wood products industry and the men and women it employs, I applaud Vermont legislators and Gov. Shumlin for taking steps to implement a sound solid waste plan for the state that does not unnecessarily increase costs for consumers,” said American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Donna Harman.

“In 2011, our industry recovered 66.8 percent of all paper consumed in the United States for recycling through voluntary, market-based systems.  We believe that EPR programs are regressive in nature and create distortions in the free flow of recoverable commodities.  Obligating the manufacturer to assume all costs associated with managing waste from its products or requiring the manufacturer to take back all of its products and packaging introduced into the commerce stream would be damaging to the market-based recycling infrastructure that has developed to support paper recovery and recycling.

“AF&PA looks forward to the opportunity to provide technical and industry expertise to the state’s Agency of Natural Resources as it looks to conduct a study of the state’s waste management plan,” said Harman.