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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 24, 2022 09:39 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator John R. Gordner |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Directing the Joint State Government Commission to Study Recycling Infrastructure and Operations |
| In the very near future, I plan to introduce legislation directing the Joint State Government Commission to assess and analyze public and private recycling infrastructure and operations across the Commonwealth. This analysis will form the foundation for policy recommendations to potentially promote increased investment in a Pennsylvania-wide recycling strategy through programs that encourage uniform, lifecycle-focused product stewardship efforts at the producer level. Pennsylvania has a vibrant and robust economy related to the production of packaging, which supports thousands of good-paying jobs across our communities. Many, if not all, of these products, can be recycled at the end of their life, decreasing our collective dependence on virgin materials and increase the consumption of recycled materials, ideally moderating environmental impacts in the process. However, investment in the operations necessary to collect, sort, and process some of these materials lags behind the volume of materials consumers use, resulting in their unfortunate diversion to landfills. Increased investment in recycling infrastructure should be funded to reverse this trend, help educate consumers on what can be recycled and how, invest in new operations that can create good-paying jobs, and promote increased circularity in the interest of sustainability. The Joint State Government Commission shall consult with representatives from a diverse array of backgrounds, including but not limited to, state agency officials, nongovernmental organizations, industry experts from both the recycling and manufacturing communities. The study will include a review of recycling infrastructure investment strategies adopted by other states, including public-private partnerships, industry-managed product collection strategies, and other legislative approaches to the management of plastics and other recyclable products, particularly packaging. I look forward to your support for this important study, which will provide an important roadmap for the legislature to continue to promote environmental stewardship across the Commonwealth through public policy, while avoiding unintended consequences experienced by other jurisdictions. |
Introduced as SR285