State Rep. Nicole Lowen has introduced new legislation to insure that producers remain responsible for their management of plastic packaging.
“We cannot keep pushing environmental costs onto states and municipalities while the industries that profit from polluting continue to peddle the myth that local, taxpayer-funded recycling programs and individual actions alone are real solutions,” Lowen said. “In Hawaii, plastics and other packaging waste threaten our marine resources and pollute our beaches, impacting the economy, public health and our way of life. By working with other states through NCEL’s network, it is my hope that together we can move the industry to take action on a national scale, and move the public to demand that they do so.”
Lowen, and the other legislators joining her, will also form an EPR for Packaging Network, which will establish a group of lawmakers to exchange policy ideas and strategies.