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February 1, 2025 | By Heidi Sanborn and Jordan Wells
The National Stewardship Action Council is sounding the alarm—the materials management industry is in crisis. The increasing number of explosions and fires is putting our workers, already facing one of the top 4 most dangerous industries in the nation, at greater risk than ever before. It’s time for action to protect our workers and prevent our industry from losing insurance coverage altogether.
On February 1, 2025, Western City magazine published an article written by NSAC’s Heidi Sanborn and Jordan Wells. Read it below to understand why, now more than ever, we need to act on household hazardous waste extended producer responsibility.
California has been a national leader in passing legislation ensuring that producers, not ratepayers, are responsible for properly managing product and packaging waste. The state passed its first producer responsibility law in 2008 for mercury thermostats, followed by other common household objects like paint.
But although these programs have become the policy of choice in California, state lawmakers have yet to move away from a product-by-product approach. The state needs to pass a comprehensive producer responsibility law for household hazardous waste just like it did for single-use plastics and packaging.
Local governments have no knowledge or input on what products are coming to market — even those that are more dangerous than household hazardous waste, such as explosive marine flares, ammunition, and fireworks. None of these products have end-of-life plans, which pose serious public health and safety risks.
Marine flares, for example, are one of two products ocean boaters can use to follow safety signal requirements. Flares expire every 42 months and only one county in the state has the required permits and equipment to collect and manage them. Boaters have stored flares in garages or on boats, thrown them in the water, or set them off on the Fourth of July.
When we sell dangerous products without an end-of-life plan, residents must figure it out on their own. Many can’t or don’t do the right thing.
Our hazardous waste management system is reactive: It would take decades to address existing waste. And many of the people who haul our trash cannot wait any longer. The federal government just released a report stating that the waste and recycling industry was the fourth most deadly in the U.S. An increasing proportion of products sold are considered hazardous, leading to costly waste management and an unsustainable fire problem.
Let’s turn off the spigot, not grab the mop
When people see an overflowing tub, they turn off the spigot to stop the water before they grab the mop to clean it up. “Mopping” up hazardous waste will never succeed unless the spigot is off. California needs to move to a circular economy that reduces waste at the source, recycles products, and regenerates natural systems. This means working with manufacturers to ensure their products are as safe as possible and designed for collection and recycling.
There is already a playbook for this. Vermont passed the first household hazardous waste EPR in 2023: California is ready — and needs — to pass statewide hazardous household waste extended producer responsibility. The National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC) will do what we have done before — work with other stakeholders and allies, most importantly local governments, to enact ambitious reform.
In fact, many local governments here are already considering ways to solve this costly problem. On Jan. 14, the Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to explore the feasibility of regulating hazardous household waste through extended producer responsibility policies and/or sales bans. Officials noted the county spends nearly $14 million a year to manage hazardous household waste and costs are increasing rapidly. The motion requires staff to report back within 120 days with a plan and recommendations.
State leadership needs to solve this problem statewide
Passing new laws is only part of the puzzle. Oversight of hazardous waste management in California is bifurcated between the Department of Toxic Substances Control and CalRecycle. As a result, neither agency has full responsibility nor understanding of the hazardous household waste system.
Solutions start with clear responsibility and authority. It will take strategic action to unwind the bifurcation of responsibilities and ensure proper oversight of household hazardous waste.
Similarly, we do not have the level of investment needed to properly manage household hazardous waste. CalRecycle provides grants to local governments to implement or expand household hazardous waste collection programs, with a mere $1.5 million subject to the availability of funds.
Sonoma County is building a new hazardous household waste facility. In 2021, Zero Waste Sonoma estimated the facility will cost $12 million to construct, but the costs are likely to increase. $1.5 million statewide for grants isn’t even a drop in the bucket.
Passing a comprehensive extended producer responsibility is critical to making this system work. By continuing to work together with stakeholders like the League of California Cities, we can pass reforms that make managing hard-to-handle, toxic, or explosive waste safe, effective, and convenient. The growing interest in hazardous household waste (HHW) spurred NSAC to convene a national working group to discuss the problem of household hazardous waste and coordinate action among state and local governments.
“Participating in NSAC’s HHW working group helps to ensure that the voice and needs of local government are integrated into rulemaking discussions, while significantly increasing our exposure to other stakeholders,” said Courtney Scott, the HHW Manager for Zero Waste Sonoma.
These partnerships are necessary if we want to save public resources and put responsibility where it should be — the producers who design, market, and profit from products and consumers who choose to buy those products.
To join the NSAC working group, contact Jordan Wells at Jordan@nsaction.us.
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