NEWPORT-On Wednesday, October 12th, the Newport City Council passed a resolution in support of Framework Producer Responsibility, making it the 13th municipality in Rhode Island to do so. Justin McLaughlin, Naomi Neville, Jeanne-Marie Napolitano, and Charles Duncan were co-sponsors on the resolution.

Newport Energy and Environment Commission members with CWA Organizer, Ellie Leonardsmith

Producer Responsibility is a new waste management system in which producers are involved in the end-of-life management of their products. Ellie Leonardsmith, Community Organizer from the non-profit Clean Water Action, said, "This model gives the producers an incentive to make products that are less toxic, more durable, and more recyclable in the first place."

Framework Producer Responsibility has now been supported by one-third of the state's municipalities, and these thirteen municipalities represent 52% of the state's population. In addition to Newport, municipalities that have passed such resolutions include Providence, Cranston, Warwick, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Narragansett, Jamestown, Burrillville, Central Falls, Charlestown, North Smithfield, and West Greenwich.

The Newport Energy and Environment Commission also passed a resolution in support of the idea, and urged the City Council to follow suit. Beth Milham, co-chair of the Commission, said "We believe it's time for the producers to be responsible for the entire life cycle of their products. It's our honor to endorse this legislation." Commission members Lauren Carson, Doug Sabetti, and co-chair Kristie Gardiner were also in attendance at the meeting.

Multiple Councilmembers also spoke in support of the resolution. Councilmember Napolitano said, "This is one way to make manufacturers think about what they're producing." She also described how many mattresses she sees on the streets, and how much it costs the city. "I see this as a way of the taxpayers winning," she said. Neville expressed her thanks to the Commission for their hard work: "This is a step that helps our society keep moving towards recycling and reusing," she said.

Rhode Island currently has three producer responsibility laws on the books. The collection of mercury auto switches, mercury thermostats, and electronic waste are managed through programs that are funded by manufacturers. The state has seen significant increases in recycling rates for these products since the passage of these bills over the last decade.

"Rhode Island has been a leader in requiring manufacturers to pay for the recycling of computers, televisions and mercury products, but so far those laws have focused on individual products," said Leonardsmith. "This strategy is time-consuming and administratively costly, and ultimately inefficient. By contrast, a framework approach would streamline the entire process by applying the same general concepts to many consumer products. It takes lessons-learned from our product-specific laws and maximizes time and effort for everyone involved."

Framework approaches to product stewardship have been successful elsewhere, particularly in Canada. In 2010, Maine became the first state in the United States to pass framework producer responsibility legislation, and similar legislation has been introduced in five other states: California, Minnesota, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

Clean Water Action expects legislation to be introduced in the 2012 session of the Rhode Island Legislature that will propose Framework Producer Responsibility. Framework legislation will authorize the Department of Environmental Management to begin working with Rhode Island businesses, solid waste managers and the community to determine the best ways to take products out of the waste stream for recycling. Removing products such as mattresses and medical sharps will reduce solid waste management costs for Rhode Island municipalities and will involve producers in the end-of-life management of their products.

"It's the cities and towns that pay for the old, inefficient system of waste management," said Leonardsmith, "so it is appropriate that they are the ones urging the General Assembly into action. We praise the City of Newport for being proactive in this matter."