SENATE MEMORIAL 71

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Jeff Steinborn

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO RECYCLING COALITION TO CREATE A PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP ADVISORY GROUP TO STUDY NECESSARY STEPS TO IMPLEMENT PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS IN NEW MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, in 1990, New Mexico enacted the Solid Waste Act and established the priorities of recycling and the diversion of waste materials into useful products; and

     WHEREAS, the Solid Waste Act set a statewide goal to attain a twenty-five percent recycling rate by 1995 and a further goal to increase the recycling rate to fifty percent by 2000; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico communities now have initial recycling infrastructures in place and are poised to work in concert with the state to expand recycling and increase diversion rates and the state's recycling rate stands at sixteen percent; and

     WHEREAS, in recent years, New Mexico has seen vast improvements in access to recycling, with eighty-seven percent of incorporated communities now having either drop-off options or curbside collections; and

     WHEREAS, "producer" means a person or business that:

          A. has legal ownership of the brand of a product sold in or into New Mexico;

          B. imports a product branded by a person that meets specific requirements of Subsection A of this definition and has no physical presence in the United States; or

          C. sells a product in New Mexico at wholesale or retail, does not have legal ownership of the brand of the product and elects to fulfill the responsibilities of the producer for that product; and

     WHEREAS, "product" means an item intended for sale within New Mexico that is identified as appropriate for a product stewardship program; and

     WHEREAS, "product stewardship" means a producer that takes responsibility for managing and reducing the life-cycle impacts of the producer's product, including recycling of the product after purchase or recycling of surplus inventory; and

     WHEREAS, "product stewardship program" means a program that is either managed or provided by producers, with government oversight, and includes the collection, transportation and reuse and recycling or disposal of products; and

     WHEREAS, "recycling market development zone" means an economic development program that focuses on recycling as an economic development tool and includes incentives for businesses to use recycled materials in manufacturing processes and to create new products for sale; and

     WHEREAS, a recycling market development zone also benefits businesses or individuals who collect, process and distribute recycled materials; and

     WHEREAS, in 2013, the house of representatives passed a memorial that resolved that the next step toward implementing a product stewardship program in New Mexico would include forming a task force of a variety of stakeholder organizations and facilitate additional product stewardship research, product material management data, stakeholder input into program development and recommended legislative changes to statute to facilitate the desired stewardship goals; and

     WHEREAS, in 2014, the house of representatives passed a memorial that a task force develop recommendations for legislative and state agency actions designed to enable New Mexico to attain the fifty percent recycling rate goal established in the Solid Waste Act, including budget recommendations and a projected time line; and

     WHEREAS, an objective outlined in the New Mexico recycling coalition's strategic plan is for the organization to serve as a leader, convener and initiator of policy initiatives and education programs to create pertinent local, state and institutional initiatives; and

     WHEREAS, economic incentives, such as recycling market development zones, could bring new facilities to New Mexico to develop product stewardship operations and combine economic development with diverting waste from landfills;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico recycling coalition be requested to organize a product stewardship advisory group; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the product stewardship advisory group include stakeholders from municipal government, the department of environment, the economic development department, the New Mexico manufacturing extension, industry representatives and any other appropriate stakeholders with technical expertise in product stewardship, solid waste management and recycling; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the product stewardship advisory group be requested to identify a product or products for product stewardship programs and related logistics, including collection, transportation, markets, estimated expenses and other pertinent information needed to launch a product stewardship program in New Mexico within a two-year time frame; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the product stewardship advisory group consider economic incentives to attract appropriate businesses to develop product stewardship operations; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the product stewardship advisory group report its findings and recommendations to the appropriate interim legislative committee by October 1, 2018; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of environment, the secretary of economic development, the executive director of the New Mexico recycling coalition, the governor and the co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative council.

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