What is Product Stewardship?
Product Stewardship, also known as extended producer responsibility (EPR), supports the collection and recycling of end-of-life products. In Alaska, these activities are currently performed on a voluntary basis by an individual, local government, nonprofit, or business.
Product Stewardship extends a producer’s financial and managerial responsibility for its products beyond the manufacturing stage to the post-consumer collection, recycling, and safe disposal. While the concept is new to Alaska, manufacturers are already familiar with it – they currently help to fund collection and recycling of electronics in 25 other states.
Product stewardship ends the cycle of waste because manufacturers have a vested interest in making more durable products with more recyclable components. The financial cost? It is most often embedded in the retail cost of the product worldwide. That means our high disposal costs are spread out among every product consumer in the U.S. or even world. In fact, when you purchase a computer, you are helping to pay for 25 US states’ electronics product stewardship programs. Why not have them help pay for ours?
Electronics Product Stewardship
Electronics are proposed for Alaska’s first stewardship program. These products contain hazardous chemicals, such as lead, cadmium, and flame retardants that, if not managed properly, can cause substantial and permanent harm to human health and the environment. They are widely used by individuals, businesses, and even our schools. The volume of spent electronics generated each year is growing, in part due to the short-life design of such products and to their increasing integration into every facet of daily life.
There are few recycling opportunities for electronics in Alaska because there are no processing facilities located here. While urban residents have some opportunities for electronic drop-off, their cost and inconvenience can dissuade many families from using them. In our remote communities, shipping costs alone are cost prohibitive. With rural landfills unlined, these communities face higher health and environment costs.
Without Product Stewardship, all Alaskans pay in the end. Not only can the water that sustains our fisheries be polluted, our municipal governments must currently bear the cost of disposal at a time of tightened local and state budgets. Taxes and budget cuts must cover this cost, and our children inherit contaminated land.
Electronics Bill in the Alaska Legislature
Senator Löki Tobin introduced Senate Bill 175 for Electronics Product Stewardship in 2024. We are excited to watch all our hard work advance through the legislative process! Continue reading to see how SWAT’s advocacy got us to this point.
You can track Senate Bill 175 by texting “SB175” to 559-245-2529 to enroll in text alerts. You will receive an enrollment confirmation.
SWAT’s Advocacy for Alaska: 2017 – 2024
Since 2017 SWAT has been working to develop a Product Stewardship Program beginning with a trip to British Columbia (BC), Canada to see how they operate their well-established program. BC has many similarities to Alaska and includes both metropolitan areas and small, remote communities. We learned that a program can be tailored to whatever circumstances and needs there are.
Following the trip, we began contacting other states and organizations that have successfully operated programs to get their advice. We engaged nonprofits, native nonprofits, tribes, multiple industries, and local and state governments in the discussion to develop a program.
In 2018, we sponsored a presentation and half-day summit with regional entities, municipal governments, and the recycling industry to learn more about product stewardship and identify potential barriers to an Alaskan program. We held a series of webinars and meetings to begin crafting an Alaska product stewardship framework.
The global pandemic caused a pause in our work, but we were back on track in 2021. SWAT engaged the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) to help guide our next steps. We formed the Electronics Stewardship Committee to build on the 2018 framework to create a policy model for Alaska. Throughout 2022 we conducted interviews to educate more stakeholders and receive feedback on the model.
Over the course of 2022 and 2023, we continued to build a coalition of supporters to join in our advocacy movement. The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) passed resolution 23-19 supporting legislation for an electronics product stewardship. The Alaska Chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) passed resolution 2023-01 supporting the concept of a statewide electronics stewardship program.
Finally in 2024 our efforts paid off! Senator Löki Tobin introduced Senate Bill 175 for Electronics Product Stewardship. We are excited to watch all our hard work advance through the legislative process.
How Can You Become Involved?
SWAT welcomes those who would like to participate in our work to develop a Product Stewardship Program for Alaska. Please contact us at 907swat@gmail.com for more information or to be included in future updates as we build our coalition of supporters.