Solutions for Single-Use Waste/Expanding Refill and Reuse Infrastructure: U.S. Senate on Environment & Public Works Hearing

The United States Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works held a July 27th hearing titled:

Solutions for Single-Use Waste: Expanding Refill and Reuse Infrastructure (“Hearing”)

The Hearing was held before the Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight.

The witnesses and selected points from their written testimony included:

• Reuse is key to addressing plastic pollution.
• Reuse includes refilling or returning packaging, at home or on the go.
• Specific policies like reuse targets and economic incentives can drive successful reuse systems.
  • Setting ambitious, binding reuse targets
  • Making the economics work
  • Harmonizing definitions and design
  • Focusing on the federal opportunity

• Reuse is a viable alternative to single-use.
• Reuse is a proven, better for the environment, solution.
• There is market demand for reuse.
• Reuse is already operational in its scale today.
• Durable packaging design plays a pivotal role in establishing a profitable business model for reuse.
• A centralized and flexible private system operator is necessary to enable the mutualization of the reverse logistics infrastructure.
• Reuse needs to grow in scale.
• Provide a legal framework that confirms reuse needs to be part of our economy.
• Develop guidelines that promote reuse and foster more voluntary actions until the legal framework comes into effect.
• Provide public funding to co-fund the development of reverse infrastructure.
• “Lead by example”

• Reuse is not about the material or product, but rather the system in which durable packaging is reused.
• Reuse systems generate economic value and growth while cutting off the incessant consumption of natural resources.
• There are many federal policy opportunities to support reuse infrastructures, but we need to prioritize reuse and broaden the material scope.

Written testimony of the witnesses can be downloaded from the links above.