CURRENT CHALLENGES
The simple truth is that the status quo recycling system in Washington is not working as well as it should and is falling short of its potential. Overall, Washington’s recycling rate is for all consumer packaging and paper products material is estimated to be 48%, while other estimates fall below that, at about 36%. For beverage containers specifically, the recycling rate is only 30%.
Recycling Stats
Recyclable Material Isn’t Always Recycled
Currently, only 46-48% of recyclable material in Washington is actually recovered. The rest is wasted, often ending up in landfills. For example, many glass containers are no longer collected by waste haulers, sending an infinitely recyclable resource to the landfill.
Curbside Recycling Will Not Fix The Problem
Relying solely on curbside recycling will not improve Washington’s recycling rate. Despite 74% of Washington households having access to curbside recycling, the recycling rate for beverage containers remains shockingly low at just 30%.
Litter Is An Avoidable Problem
Beverage containers account for three of the top five types of litter collected along Washington’s coasts and roads each year. This contributes to over 26 million pounds of litter annually, costing the state up to $12 million for cleanup efforts—addressing only a small fraction of the overall problem.
Landfills Bursting, Climate Suffering
The unrecycled waste clogs overflowing landfills and demands more virgin materials for new packages, driving harmful greenhouse gas emissions. This vicious cycle directly challenges Washington’s climate and recycling goals. Beyond the environmental impacts, Washington’s own recycled content mandates for plastic highlights the need for and importance of this recycled material for container manufacturers. Those targets include 25% recycled content by 2026 and 50% recycled content by 2031. These are aggressive goals which will only be met by enabling a closed-loop recycling system where clean, recyclable material can be used in manufacturing new containers.
A Solution
High Performance Recycling Policy takes a comprehensive approach to producer-funded recycling by creating a well-coordinated system including both beverage container Recycling Refunds (RR), Deposit Return System (DRS), and EPR for packaging and paper products. Together these programs will achieve higher recycling rates at a faster pace, maximize closed-loop recycling, and deliver the best economic, employment, social, and environmental benefits.
HOW CAN HIGH PERFORMANCE RECYCLING POLICY IMPROVE RECYCLING?
Support A Cleaner Environment
By implementing both RR for beverage containers and EPR for packaging, Washington could reduce reliance on virgin materials and lower greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 2.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent—cutting the state’s packaging-related emissions by 70%. Similar programs in other states have already demonstrated an 84% reduction in litter.
Create Economic Benefits & Promote Green Jobs
An integrated recycling system could create up to 4,200 new jobs growing the state's recycling workforce to 8,700. These positions would support recycling infrastructure and generate around $456 million in wages for Washingtonians workers. Additionally, the policy would boost Washington’s recycling-related economic benefits from $871 million to $1.3 billion annually.
Increase Recycling & Empower Closed-Loop Recycling
By increasing recycling rates for beverage containers from 30% to 94%, Washington could significantly reduce waste sent to landfills as well as litter on coasts and roads. This would return $117 million in recyclable materials to the market, fostering a more circular economy and helping container manufacturers meet Washington’s ambitious post-consumer recycled content goals.