Commission urges reduction of paper in Central landfill

PROVIDENCE – Reducing the paper and packaging-material waste stream in Rhode Island is of “critical importance to extending the life of the Central Landfill,” according to a report released last week by the Special Legislative Commission to Study Producer Responsibility Models for Paper and Packaging.
The report –the result of five hearings over five months held by the commission – says voluntary-producer-responsibility programs can play a role in helping to decrease that waste stream and increase the amount and kinds of materials that can be recycled.
In a statement, commission Chairman Sen. William A. Walaska, D-Warwick, said the commission’s primary goal was to find “the most reasonable means to increase both diversion and recycling rates in this state.”
One method of achieving that, the report said, is “extended producer responsibility,” the belief that product manufacturers should assume responsibility for managing their packaging waste once consumers are finished with it. •