Implementing Plastics Recycling Mandates

packaging and its disposal have been a focus of public concern for more than a decade. Beginning with a New York City sales tax on plastic containers in 1971, states and local governments have passed a wide array of regulatory controls ranging from outright bans to mandatory recycling requirements. New York City Local Law 43 (1971). See Society of the Plastics Indus., Inc. v. City of New York, 68 Misc. 2d 366, 326 N.Y.S.2d 788 (1971). Public concern arises in part from a general worry about excessive consumption habits and packaging practices. Who has not wondered about excessive packaging when trying to peel off shrink wrap or when collecting plastic popcorn that pads the contents of a mail-order box? Nonetheless, concerns about plastic packaging arise most from concern about the space it occupies in landfills, its longevity in landfills, and its potential to leach toxic compounds from some resins. The major policy reason for the regulatory focus on plastic packaging, however, is its low recycling rate. The American Plastics Council (APC), the leading plastics industry advocacy group, reports that plastics recovery for bottles and containers in 1993 was only 15.5 percent. Although this is a significant increase from the past, when the rate was as low as 1.1 percent, it is still significantly lower than the recycling rate for materials like paper (30 percent). See Office of Technology Assessment, Facing America's Trash ch. 5 (1989). Initial regulation of plastic packaging consisted of outright bans by some states and cities. Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis ban styrofoam cups. California bans plastic grocery or shopping bags unless the bags are made of recycled plastic. Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 18015. Florida bans polystyrene foam products for use in food containers. Fla. Stat. Ann. § 403708(b). Legislative attention, however, has shifted largely from outright bans to initiatives designed to remove obstacles to plastics recycling. These obstacles are many and varied. First, there is a lack of collection systems, partially attributable to the large volume plastics occupy in collection vehicles relative to their weight.