Plastic interests petition Oregon to amend recycling laws

A coalition of industry groups have filed a petition with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to ask that the state’s law on recycling rigid plastic containers be amended. The current law requires that rigid plastic containers must be comprised of at least 25 percent recycled content. In its petition, the coalition requests that wording of the law be changed so that manufacturers can achieve compliance based on the average recycled content of their containers. This average could be calculated based on containers sold in Oregon or containers sold nationwide.

The petitioning coalition includes the Soap & Detergent Association; the Adhesive and Sealant Council; the American Chemistry Council; Associated Oregon Industries; the Consumer Specialty Products Association; the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association; the Grocery Manufacturers Association/Food Products Association; the Northwest Food Processors Association; Oregonians for Food and Shelter; the Plastic Shipping Container Institute; and the Rigid Plastic Packaging Group. A full copy of the petition can be found at www.deq.state.or.us/lq/sw/recovery/rpc.htm.