North Carolina House Bill 1113 (2022) - (Failed)

Packaging material is any part of a package or container, regardless of recyclability or compostability, including material types such as paper, plastic, glass, or metal, that is used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, transport, distribution, and presentation of a product that is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in North Carolina. Bags are included within this definition.

Packaging material does not include any of the following:

1. Material, or a category of material, intended to be used for long-term storage or protection of a durable product that can be expected to be usable for that purpose for a period of at least five years.
2. Medical devices and packaging that are included with products regulated as a drug, medical device, or dietary supplement under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
3. Packaging products used to contain substances hazardous to the environment, regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

A producer is a person that manufactures and uses in a commercial enterprise, sells, offers for sale, or distributes packaging material in North Carolina under the brand of the manufacturer.

If there is no brand manufacturer, the producers is the owner or licensee of a trademark under which the packaging material is used in a commercial enterprise, sold, offered for sale, or distributed in North Carolina, regardless of whether the trademark is registered.

If there is no brand, owner or licensee of the trademark then the producer is a person that sells packaging in North Carolina that is intended to be filled at the point of sale or a person that imports the packaging material into North Carolina for use in a commercial enterprise, sale, offer for sale, or distribution.

A producer is exempt if they realize less than 2 million dollars in total gross revenue, use less than one ton of total packaging material, or operates as a single point of retail (not part of a franchise).

Every eligible producer will either establish or join a producer responsibility organization. A producer may participate in more than one producer responsibility organization if each organization is established for a different category of packaging materials.

Producers may comply individually.

Any producer responsibility organization formed for the purpose of complying shall be established and operated as a non-profit.

The producers or PRO(s) are responsible for all financial costs of the program. The PRO(s) will reimburse collectors (any public or privately owned solid waste management services or recycler) that elect to be compensated by the producer responsibility organization.

The plan must cover all recycling services, including the collection, transportation, sorting, and processing of covered materials at both curbside services and drop-off centers.

The plan must cover education and outreach programming.

The plan must cover operating costs of the program and fees to the department for implementation.

A PRO shall establish fees that sufficiently cover costs. The fee must reflect per ton costs associated with he collection, processing, transportation, and recycling and disposal of a producer's packaging material.

A PRO shall structure the fees so that a financial incentive rewards waste reduction and recycling compatibility innovations and practices.

Fees must incentivize the use and rate of postconsumer waste material.

Fees must vary based on contributions to greenhouse gas emissions from the production, use, collection, processing, and marketing of the packaging material

Fees must incentivize whether the packaging material is specifically designed to be reusable or refillable and has a high reuse or refill rate.

Fees must vary based whether the packaging material includes labels, inks, and adhesives containing heavy metals or other hazardous wastes that would contaminate the recycling process.

Each producer shall ensure that all of its non-reusable packaging material, in the aggregate, sold, offered for sale, or distributed is recycled at a rate consistent with the following schedule: (1) Fifty percent (50%) after five years following approval of the stewardship plan. (2) Eighty percent (80%) after eight years following approval of the stewardship plan. (3) Ninety percent (90%) after 12 years following approval of the stewardship plan.

Each producer shall ensure that all of its non-reusable packaging material sold, offered for sale, or distributed incorporates, on average and in the aggregate, the following amount, by weight, of postconsumer waste material in accordance with the following schedule: (1) Fifty percent (50%) after five years following approval of the stewardship plan. (2) Eighty percent (80%) after eight years following approval of the stewardship plan. (3) Ninety percent (90%) after 12 years following approval of the stewardship plan.

Each producer shall reduce the total amount of non-reusable packaging materials sold, offered for sale, or distributed by unit, on average, and in the aggregate by: 1) Ten percent (10%) after two years following approval of the stewardship plan. (2) Twenty percent (20%) after four years following approval of the stewardship plan. (3) Thirty percent (30%) after six years following approval of the stewardship plan. Forty percent (40%) after eight years following approval of the stewardship plan.

A producer responsibility organization shall provide for widespread, convenient, and equitable access to collection opportunities for the packaging material identified under the stewardship plan.

Each responsible producer shall register with the Department before selling, offering for sale, or distributing packaging materials in North Carolina.

Each PRO shall develop and submit a stewardship plan to the department. No later than 90 days after the submission the Department shall approve the plan as submitted, approve the plan with conditions, or deny the plan.

No later than July 1 each year following plan approval, each producer shall submit a report to the Department.

If a penalty is imposed on a producer responsibility organization, each responsible producer participating in the producer responsibility organization is jointly and severally liable for the payment of the penalty.

A PRO(s) shall provide effective outreach and education programming that is easy to understand and easily accessible for the diverse ethnic populations in the state.

The PRO(s) shall include proper end-of-life management of covered materials in education and outreach materials.

The PRO(s) shall consult with local governments and other stakeholders on developing and providing education and outreach in the state

A producer responsibility organization shall provide stakeholders, including units of local government, municipal solid waste management facilities, recycling facilities, collectors, and other members of the general public with an opportunity to review and comment on the draft stewardship plan prior to its submission to the Department. The PRO program plan must include a description of how stakeholders were considered in the plan development.

No person may knowingly do any of the following: Manufacture packaging material containing a covered toxic substance. Distribute, sell, or offer for sale, for use within the State or for export from the State, any packaging material containing a covered toxic substance including: Ortho-phthalates, Bisphenols, PFAS, Lead and lead compounds, Hexavalent chromium and compounds, Cadmium and cadmium compounds, Mercury and mercury compounds, Benzophenone and its derivatives, Halogenated flame retardants, Perchlorate, Formaldehyde, Toluene, Polyvinyl chloride, Polystyrene, and Polycarbonate.

The recycling rate shall be calculated as the percentage of discarded packaging material that is managed through recycling or reuse, by dividing the amount of discarded packaging material collected and recycled or reused by the total amount of discarded packaging material collected over a program year.

Producers shall indicate on all packaging material sold, offered for sale, or distributed for sale in the State the percentage of postconsumer waste material content, whether the packaging material is readily recyclable, and whether the packaging material is compostable.