Recycling Reform Act

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5284 Chapter 316, Laws of 2025 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session SOLID WASTE —PACKAGING AND PAPER PRODUCTS —PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY EFFECTIVE DATE: July 27, 2025 Passed by the Senate April 23, 2025 Yeas 27 Nays 21 DENNY HECK President of the Senate Passed by the House April 14, 2025 Yeas 51 Nays 45 LAURIE JINKINS Speaker of the House of Representatives CERTIFICATE I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5284 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. SARAH BANNISTER Secretary Approved May 17, 2025 1:55 PM FILED May 19, 2025 BOB FERGUSON Governor of the State of Washington Secretary of State State of Washington AN ACT Relating to improving Washington's solid waste management 1 outcomes; amending RCW 70A.205.045, 70A.205.500, 81.77.030, 2 81.77.160, 81.77.185, and 70A.245.100; reenacting and amending RCW 3 43.21B.110, 43.21B.300, and 49.48.082; adding a new section to 4 chapter 49.46 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 70A RCW; creating 5 new sections; prescribing penalties; and providing an expiration 6 date. 7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:8 NEW SECTION. Sec. 101. FINDINGS—INTENT. (1) The legislature 9 finds that, as of 2025:10 (a) Washington's statewide waste recovery rate has been generally 11 static since 2011 and Washington is not meeting the statewide goal of 12 50 percent recycling established in 1989; and 13 (b) Many residents, particularly those who live in rural areas 14 and in multifamily residences, do not have access to convenient or 15 affordable curbside recycling, and must rely on taking recyclables to 16 drop box locations, and that extended producer responsibility 17 programs could make curbside recycling available and affordable for 18 most people in the state. 19 (2)(a) It is the intent of the legislature to require extended 20 producer responsibility programs for consumer packaging and paper 21 ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5284 AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE Passed Legislature - 2025 Regular Session State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session By Senate Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Lovelett, Shewmake, Nobles, Bateman, Salomon, Saldaña, Stanford, C. Wilson, Frame, Pedersen, Hasegawa, Liias, Orwall, Slatter, and Valdez) READ FIRST TIME 02/28/25. p. 1 E2SSB 5284.SL products to be implemented in a manner that involves producers in 1 material management from design concept to end of life.2 (b) It is intended that these programs be responsibly planned and 3 funded in a manner that minimizes negative impacts to the environment 4 and minimizes risks to public health and worker health and safety. It 5 is also intended that these programs build and expand on the existing 6 waste and recycling system's infrastructure and reliance on the 7 authority of local governments and the utilities and transportation 8 commission in solid waste management. 9 (c) It is the intent of the legislature that Washington should 10 maintain the successful public-private partnership between state, 11 local government, and solid waste and recycling service providers. 12 The legislature does not intend to diminish or displace the primary 13 role of the utilities and transportation commission and local 14 governments in regulating or contracting directly with service 15 providers for the curbside collection of residential recyclables. 16 Local governments maintain their existing authority to collect, 17 contract for collection with solid waste and recycling service 18 providers, or defer to solid waste collection services regulated by 19 the utilities and transportation commission. 20 (3) It is the intent of the legislature for the 2029 legislature 21 to consider the draft plans submitted by producer responsibility 22 organizations to the department of ecology in October 2028, prior to 23 the approval of such plans by the department of ecology taking 24 effect. It is the intent of the legislature for the 2029 legislature 25 to consider the draft plans submitted in October 2028 and the 26 independent analysis carried out by January 2029, of those submitted 27 draft plans, in order for the 2029 legislature to determine whether 28 to amend the requirements of this chapter, to make other recycling 29 policy changes including the potential establishment of a bottle 30 deposit return program, or to allow that the proposed plan and 31 program under this chapter be implemented in full.32 NEW SECTION. Sec. 102. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this 33 section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly 34 requires otherwise.35 (1) "Advisory council" means the council established in section 36 105 of this act. 37 (2) "Alternative recycling process" means a recycling process 38 that occurs other than through purely physical means.39 p. 2 E2SSB 5284.SL (3)(a) "Beverage" means a drinkable liquid intended for human 1 oral consumption. 2 (b) "Beverage" does not include: (i) A drug regulated under the 3 federal food, drug, and cosmetic act, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.; 4 (ii) 100 percent fluid milk; (iii) infant formula; or (iv) a meal 5 replacement liquid. 6 (4) "Beverage container" means any container in which a producer 7 originally prepackaged and sealed a beverage. 8 (5) "Brand" means a name, symbol, word, logo, or mark that 9 identifies an item and attributes the item and its components, 10 including packaging, to the brand owner of the item.11 (6) "Collection rate" means the amount of a covered material by 12 covered materials type collected by service providers and transported 13 for recycling or composting divided by the total amount of the type 14 of a covered material by covered materials type introduced by the 15 relevant unit of measurement established in the plan.16 (7) "Compostable" means a product that is capable of composting 17 in a composting system and is in compliance with the requirements for 18 a product labeled as compostable under chapter 70A.455 RCW .19 (8) "Composting" means the controlled microbial degradation of 20 source separated compostable materials to yield a humus-like product.21 (9) "Composting rate" means the amount of compostable covered 22 material that is managed through composting, divided by the total 23 amount of compostable covered material introduced by the relevant 24 unit of measurement. 25 (10) "Composting system" means a system meeting the requirements 26 of chapter 70A.205 RCW applicable to facilities that treat solid 27 waste for composting. 28 (11) "Contamination" means: 29 (a) The presence of materials that are not on the list of 30 materials collected in that material stream; or 31 (b) The presence of materials that are not specified or accepted 32 as a component of the feedstock or commodity. 33 (12) "Covered entity" means a person or location that receives 34 covered services for covered materials in accordance with the 35 requirements of this chapter, including: 36 (a) A single-family residence; 37 (b) A multifamily residence; and 38 p. 3 E2SSB 5284.SL (c) A public place where a government entity managed recycling 1 collection receptacles as of August 1, 2025, and any additional 2 public place identified in an approved plan. 3 (13)(a) "Covered material" means packaging and paper products 4 introduced into the state. 5 (b) "Covered material" does not include exempt materials.6 (14) "Covered materials type" means a singular and specific type 7 of material, such as paper, plastic, metal, or glass, that is a 8 covered material and that: 9 (a) May be categorized based on distinguishing chemical or 10 physical properties, including properties that allow a covered 11 materials type to be aggregated into a discrete commodity category 12 for purposes of reuse, recycling, or composting; and13 (b) Is based on similar uses in the form of a product or 14 packaging. 15 (15)(a) "Covered services" means collecting, transferring, 16 transporting, sorting, processing, recovering, preparing, or 17 otherwise managing for purposes of waste reduction, refill, reuse, 18 recycling, composting, or disposal of contamination or residuals.19 (b) Except with regard to contamination, "covered services" do 20 not include: 21 (i) Resource recovery through mixed municipal solid waste 22 composting or incineration; or 23 (ii) Land disposal. 24 (16) "De minimis producer" means a producer that:25 (a) In their most recent fiscal year introduced less than one ton 26 of covered materials; 27 (b) Has a global gross revenue, not including on-premises alcohol 28 sales, for the prior fiscal year of: 29 (i) Until January 1, 2031, less than $5,000,000; or30 (ii) Beginning January 1, 2031, less than $5,000,000, as adjusted 31 for inflation. The department must use the consumer price index for 32 urban wage earners to calculate the annual rate of inflation 33 adjustment effective January 1st of each year, beginning January 1, 34 2031; or 35 (c) Is an agricultural employer, as defined in RCW 19.30.010, 36 regardless of where the agricultural employer is located, with less 37 than $5,000,000, as adjusted for inflation as described in (b) of 38 this subsection, in gross revenue in Washington from consumer sales 39 p. 4 E2SSB 5284.SL of agricultural commodities sold under the brand name of the 1 agricultural employer. 2 (17) "Department" means the department of ecology.3 (18) "Drop-off collection site" means a physical location where 4 covered materials are accepted from the public and that is open a 5 minimum of 12 hours weekly throughout the year. 6 (19) "Exempt materials" means materials, or any portion of 7 materials, that are: 8 (a) Packaging for infant formula, as defined in 21 U.S.C. Sec. 9 321(z); 10 (b) Packaging for medical food, as defined in 21 U.S.C Sec. 11 360ee(b)(3); 12 (c) Packaging for a fortified oral nutritional supplement used by 13 persons who require supplemental or sole source nutrition to meet 14 nutritional needs due to special dietary needs directly related to 15 cancer, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, malnutrition, or failure to 16 thrive, as those terms are defined by the International 17 Classification of Diseases , tenth revision; 18 (d) Packaging for a product regulated as a drug, medical device, 19 or dietary supplement by the United States food and drug 20 administration, including associated components and consumable 21 medical equipment, under the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act (21 22 U.S.C. Sec. 321 et seq.), or a product regulated as a biologic or 23 vaccine by the United States food and drug administration under the 24 public health service act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 201 et seq.);25 (e) Packaging for a medical equipment or product used in medical 26 settings that is regulated by the United States food and drug 27 administration, including associated components and consumable 28 medical equipment; 29 (f) Packaging for drugs, biological products, parasiticides, 30 medical devices, or in vitro diagnostics that are used to treat, or 31 that are administered to, animals and are regulated by the United 32 States food and drug administration under the federal food, drug, and 33 cosmetic act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.) and by the United States 34 department of agriculture under the federal virus-serum-toxin act (21 35 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.); 36 (g) Noncompostable film plastic packaging used in direct contact 37 with raw meat; 38 p. 5 E2SSB 5284.SL (h) Packaging for products regulated by the United States 1 environmental protection agency under the federal insecticide, 2 fungicide, and rodenticide act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.);3 (i) Packaging used to contain liquefied petroleum gas and are 4 designed to be refilled; 5 (j) Packaging used to contain hazardous or flammable products 6 classified by the 2012 federal occupational safety and health 7 administration hazard communication standard, 29 C.F.R. Sec. 8 1910.1200 (2024), that prevent the packaging from being reduced or 9 made reusable, recyclable, or compostable, as determined by the 10 department; 11 (k) Packaging that is associated with products managed through a 12 paint stewardship plan approved under chapter 70A.515 RCW ;13 (l) Excluded materials, as determined by the department under 14 section 126 of this act; 15 (m) Used to protect or store a durable product for a period of at 16 least five years; 17 (n) Packaging used for bulk construction materials;18 (o) Covered materials that: 19 (i) A producer distributes to another producer;20 (ii) Are subsequently used to contain a product and the product 21 is distributed to a commercial or business entity for the production 22 of another product; and 23 (iii) Are not introduced to a person other than the commercial or 24 business entity that first received the product used for the 25 production of another product; and 26 (p) Covered materials for which the producer demonstrates to the 27 department that the covered material meets all of the following 28 criteria: 29 (i) The material is not collected through a residential recycling 30 collection service; 31 (ii) The material is recycled at a responsible market;32 (iii) The material is intended to be used and collected within a 33 commercial setting; 34 (iv)(A) The producer annually demonstrates to the department that 35 the material has had a state recycling rate of 65 percent for three 36 consecutive years, until December 31, 2029. Beginning January 1, 37 2030, the producer must demonstrate to the department every two years 38 that the material has had a state recycling rate of at least 70 39 percent annually; or 40 p. 6 E2SSB 5284.SL (B) The producer annually demonstrates to the department that the 1 material is directly managed by the producer and has had a reuse or 2 recycling rate of 65 percent for three consecutive years, until 3 December 31, 2029. Beginning January 1, 2030, the producer must 4 demonstrate to the department every two years that the material 5 controlled by the producer has had a reuse or recycling rate of at 6 least 70 percent annually; and 7 (v) If only a portion of the material sold in or into the state 8 by a producer meets the criteria of (p)(i) of this subsection, only 9 the portion of the material that meets that criteria is an exempt 10 material and any portion that does not meet the criteria is a covered 11 material for purposes of this chapter. 12 (20) "Government entity" means any: 13 (a) County, city, town, or other local government, including any 14 municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or special 15 purpose district, or any office, department, division, bureau, board, 16 commission, or agency thereof, or other local public agency;17 (b) State office, department, division, bureau, board, 18 commission, or other state agency; 19 (c) Federally recognized Indian tribe whose traditional lands and 20 territories include parts of Washington; or 21 (d) Federal office, department, division, bureau, board, 22 commission, or other federal agency. 23 (21) "Individual plan" means a plan submitted by a producer that 24 registers with the department as a producer responsibility 25 organization to address the covered materials of the producer.26 (22) "Introduce" means to sell, offer for sale, distribute, or 27 ship a product within or into this state. 28 (23) "Material recovery facility" means any facility that 29 receives, compacts, repackages, or sorts source separated solid waste 30 for the purpose of recycling. 31 (24) "Overburdened communities" means the overburdened 32 communities identified and prioritized by the department under RCW 33 70A.02.050(1)(a). 34 (25)(a) "Packaging" means a material, substance, or object that 35 is used to protect, contain, transport, serve, or facilitate delivery 36 of a product and is sold or supplied with the product to the consumer 37 for personal, noncommercial use. 38 (b) "Packaging" does not include exempt materials.39 p. 7 E2SSB 5284.SL (26) "Paper product" means paper sold or supplied to a consumer 1 for personal, noncommercial use, including flyers, brochures, 2 booklets, catalogs, magazines, printed paper, and all other paper 3 materials except for: (a) Bound books; (b) conservation-grade and 4 archival-grade paper; (c) newspapers, including supplements or 5 enclosures; (d) magazines that have a circulation of fewer than 6 95,000 and that includes content derived from primary sources related 7 to news and current events; (e) copy paper; (f) paper for use in 8 building construction; and (g) paper that could reasonably be 9 anticipated to become unsafe or unsanitary to handle.10 (27)(a) "Plastic source reduction" means the reduction in the 11 amount of covered plastic material introduced by a producer relative 12 to a baseline year of 2023, or relative to an alternative baseline 13 year of no earlier than 2013 where a producer submits data 14 documenting the plastic source reduction to a producer responsibility 15 organization. Methods of source reduction include, but are not 16 limited to, shifting covered material to reusable or refillable 17 packaging or a reusable product, eliminating unnecessary packaging, 18 or reducing the packaging to product ratio. "Plastic source 19 reduction" must include elimination, which means the removal of 20 plastic covered materials. 21 (b) "Plastic source reduction" does not include either of the 22 following: 23 (i) Replacing a recyclable or compostable covered material with a 24 nonrecyclable or noncompostable covered material or a covered 25 material that is less likely to be recycled or composted; or26 (ii) Switching from virgin covered material to postconsumer 27 recycled content, except as allowed under an alternative compliance 28 formula in section 115 (6) of this act. 29 (28) "Postconsumer recycled content" has the same meaning as 30 defined in RCW 70A.245.010. 31 (29)(a) "Producer" means the following person responsible for 32 compliance with requirements under this chapter for a covered 33 material introduced into the state: 34 (i) For items sold in or with packaging at a physical retail 35 location in this state: 36 (A) If the item is sold in or with packaging under the brand of 37 the item manufacturer or is sold in packaging that lacks 38 identification of a brand, the producer is the person that 39 manufactures the item; 40 p. 8 E2SSB 5284.SL (B) If there is no person to which (a)(i)(A) of this subsection 1 applies, the producer is the person that is licensed to manufacture 2 and sell or offer for sale to consumers in this state an item with 3 packaging under the brand or trademark of another manufacturer or 4 person; 5 (C) If there is no person to which (a)(i)(A) or (B) of this 6 subsection applies, the producer is the brand owner of the item;7 (D) If there is no person described in (a)(i)(A), (B), or (C) of 8 this subsection within the United States, the producer is the person 9 who is the importer of record for the item into the United States for 10 use in a commercial enterprise that sells, offers for sale, or 11 distributes the item in this state; or 12 (E) If there is no person described in (a)(i)(A) through (D) of 13 this subsection, the producer is the person that first distributes 14 the item in or into this state; 15 (ii) For items sold or distributed in packaging in or into this 16 state via e-commerce, remote sale, or distribution:17 (A) For packaging used to directly protect or contain the item, 18 the producer of the packaging is the same as the producer identified 19 under (a)(i) of this subsection; and 20 (B) For packaging used to ship the item to a consumer, the 21 producer of the packaging is the person that packages the item to be 22 shipped to the consumer; 23 (iii) For packaging that is a covered material and is not 24 included in (a)(i) and (ii) of this subsection, the producer of the 25 packaging is the person that first distributes the item in or into 26 this state; 27 (iv) For paper products that are magazines, catalogs, telephone 28 directories, or similar publications, the producer is the publisher;29 (v) For paper products not described in (a)(iv) of this 30 subsection: 31 (A) If the paper product is sold under the manufacturer's own 32 brand, the producer is the person that manufactures the paper 33 product; 34 (B) If there is no person to which (a)(v)(A) of this subsection 35 applies, the producer is the person that is the owner or licensee of 36 a brand or trademark under which the paper product is used in a 37 commercial enterprise, sold, offered for sale, or distributed in or 38 into this state, whether or not the trademark is registered in this 39 state; 40 p. 9 E2SSB 5284.SL (C) If there is no person to which (a)(v)(A) or (B) of this 1 subsection applies, the producer is the brand owner of the paper 2 product; 3 (D) If there is no person described in (a)(v)(A), (B), or (C) of 4 this subsection within the United States, the producer is the person 5 that imports the paper product into the United States for use in a 6 commercial enterprise that sells, offers for sale, or distributes the 7 paper product in this state; or 8 (E) If there is no person described in (a)(v)(A) through (D) of 9 this subsection, the producer is the person that first distributes 10 the paper product in or into this state; 11 (vi) A person is the "producer" of a covered material sold, 12 offered for sale, or distributed in or into this state, as defined in 13 (a)(i) through (v) of this subsection, except: 14 (A) Where another person has mutually signed an agreement with a 15 producer as defined in (a)(i) through (v) of this subsection that 16 contractually assigns responsibility to the person as the producer, 17 and the person has joined a registered producer responsibility 18 organization as the responsible producer for that covered material 19 under this chapter. If another person is assigned responsibility as 20 the producer under this subsection, the producer under (a)(i) through 21 (v) of this subsection must provide written certification of that 22 contractual agreement to the producer responsibility organization. 23 The following persons are not eligible to be the assigned recipient 24 of responsibility as a producer under this subsection: (I) A person 25 who produces an agricultural commodity introduced under the brand or 26 trademark of another manufacturer or person; or (II) a distributor of 27 a beverage sold in a beverage container; and 28 (B) If the producer described in (a)(i) through (v) of this 29 subsection is a business operated wholly or in part as a franchise, 30 the producer is the franchisor, if that franchisor has franchisees 31 that have a commercial presence within the state. 32 (b) "Producer" does not include: 33 (i) Government entities; 34 (ii) Registered 501 (c)(3) charitable organizations and 501 (c)(4) 35 social welfare organizations; or 36 (iii) De minimis producers. 37 (30) "Producer responsibility organization" means:38 (a) A nonprofit organization that qualifies for a tax exemption 39 under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 501 (c)(3) of the federal internal revenue code 40 p. 10 E2SSB 5284.SL and is designated by a producer or group of producers to fulfill the 1 requirements of this chapter; 2 (b) A producer that registers with the department as a producer 3 responsibility organization and implements an individual plan 4 addressing the covered materials of the producer; or5 (c) An organization as defined by the department by rule.6 (31) "Program" means the activities conducted to implement an 7 approved plan. 8 (32)(a) "Public place" means an indoor or outdoor location open 9 to and generally used by the public and to which the public is 10 permitted to have access including, but not limited to, streets, 11 sidewalks, plazas, town squares, public parks, beaches, forests, or 12 other public land open for recreation or other uses, and 13 transportation facilities such as bus and train stations, airports, 14 and ferry terminals. 15 (b) "Public place" does not include a retail establishment or 16 industrial, commercial, or privately owned property that is not 17 required to be accessible to the public. 18 (33) "Recycling" means transforming or remanufacturing covered 19 materials into usable or marketable materials for use other than 20 landfill disposal or incineration and does not include reuse or 21 composting. 22 (34) "Recycling rate" means the amount of covered materials, in 23 aggregate or by individual covered materials type, delivered to 24 responsible markets for recycling in a calendar year divided by the 25 total amount of covered materials introduced by the relevant unit of 26 measurement and excluding covered materials that are reusable or 27 compostable. 28 (35) "Refill" means the continued use of a covered material by a 29 consumer through a system that is: 30 (a) Intentionally designed and marketed for repeated filling of a 31 covered material to reduce demand for new production of the covered 32 material; 33 (b) Supported by adequate logistics and infrastructure to provide 34 convenient access to consumers; and 35 (c) Compliant with all applicable federal, state, and local 36 statutes, rules, ordinances, and other laws governing health and 37 safety. 38 (36) "Responsible market" means an entity that:39 p. 11 E2SSB 5284.SL (a) First produces and sells, transfers, or uses recycled organic 1 product or recycled content feedstock that meets the quality 2 standards necessary to be used in the creation of new or 3 reconstituted products; 4 (b) Complies with all applicable federal, state, and local 5 statutes, rules, ordinances, and other laws governing environmental, 6 health, safety, and financial responsibility; 7 (c) If the market operates in the state, manages waste according 8 to the state's solid waste management hierarchy established in RCW 9 70A.205.005; and 10 (d) Meets the minimum operational standards adopted under a 11 producer responsibility organization plan to protect the environment, 12 public health, worker health and safety, and minimize adverse impacts 13 to socially vulnerable populations. 14 (37) "Responsible producer" means a producer that is not a de 15 minimis producer. 16 (38) "Retail establishment" includes any person, corporation, 17 partnership, business, facility, vendor, organization, or individual 18 that sells or provides merchandise, goods, or materials directly to a 19 customer. 20 (39) "Return rate" means the amount of reusable covered material 21 in aggregate or by individual covered materials type, collected for 22 reuse by a producer or service provider in a calendar year, divided 23 by the total amount of reusable covered materials introduced by the 24 relevant unit of measurement. 25 (40) "Reusable" means capable of reuse. 26 (41) "Reuse" means the return of a covered material to the 27 marketplace and the continued use of the covered material by a 28 producer or service provider when the covered material is:29 (a) Intentionally designed and marketed to be used multiple times 30 for its original intended purpose without a change in form;31 (b) Designed for durability and maintenance to extend its useful 32 life and reduce demand for new production of the covered material;33 (c) Supported by adequate logistics and infrastructure at a 34 retail location, by a service provider, or on behalf of or by a 35 producer, that provides convenient access for consumers; and36 (d) Compliant with all applicable federal, state, and local 37 statutes, rules, ordinances, and other laws governing health and 38 safety. 39 p. 12 E2SSB 5284.SL (42) "Reuse rate" means the share of units of a reusable covered 1 material introduced into the state in a calendar year that are 2 demonstrated and deemed reusable in accordance with an approved plan.3 (43) "Service provider" means an entity that provides covered 4 services for covered materials. A government entity that provides, 5 contracts for, or otherwise arranges for another party to provide 6 covered services for covered materials within its jurisdiction may be 7 a service provider regardless of whether it provided, contracted for, 8 or otherwise arranged for similar services before the approval of the 9 applicable plan. 10 (44) "Socially vulnerable population" means: 11 (a) Any person residing in: 12 (i) A census tract that contains a high overall social 13 vulnerability index as measured using the United States centers for 14 disease control and the agency for toxic substances and disease 15 registry's social vulnerability index, as it existed as of January 1, 16 2025, for the most recent year such data are available; or17 (ii) As applicable, an alternative population specified in 18 section 127 of this act; or 19 (b) Any person that has an income below the minimum necessary for 20 a household based on family composition in a given geography to 21 adequately meet their basic needs without public or private 22 assistance, as measured by the University of Washington's center for 23 women's welfare, for the most recent year such data are available.24 (45) "Third-party certification" means certification by an 25 accredited independent organization that a standard or process 26 required by this chapter, or by a plan approved under this chapter, 27 has been achieved. 28 (46) "Toxic substance" means chemicals that are regulated under 29 chapter 70A.222, 70A.350, 70A.430, or 70A.560 RCW.30 (47) "Vulnerable populations" has the same meaning as defined in 31 RCW 70A.02.010. 32 NEW SECTION. Sec. 103. PRODUCER AND PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY 33 ORGANIZATION REGISTRATION. (1) By January 1, 2026, each producer must 34 appoint a producer responsibility organization or producer 35 responsibility organizations to address its covered materials.36 (2) By March 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, a producer 37 responsibility organization must register with the department on 38 p. 13 E2SSB 5284.SL behalf of its producers. A registration submission by a producer 1 responsibility organization must include the following:2 (a) Contact information for a person responsible for implementing 3 an approved plan; 4 (b) A list of all member producers that have entered into written 5 agreements to operate under an approved plan by the producer 6 responsibility organization, copies of the written agreements for 7 each member producer and, except in the first year of registration, a 8 list of all brands of each producer's covered materials introduced;9 (c) A plan for recruiting additional member producers and 10 executing written agreements confirming producers will operate under 11 an approved plan administered by the producer responsibility 12 organization; 13 (d) A list of current board members and the executive director if 14 different than the person responsible for implementing approved 15 plans; and 16 (e) Documentation demonstrating adequate financial responsibility 17 and financial controls to ensure proper management of funds and 18 payment of the annual registration fee to the department.19 (3) Notwithstanding subsections (1), (2), and (4) of this 20 section, for purposes of the first plan implementation period, the 21 department may not allow registration of more than one producer 22 responsibility organization, other than an individual producer 23 registered as a producer responsibility organization.24 (4) By September 1, 2026, a producer responsibility organization 25 must submit a one-time payment to the department, and each May 1st 26 thereafter, a producer responsibility organization must submit an 27 annual registration fee to fund all costs of the department to 28 implement, administer, and enforce this chapter, including the costs 29 of the department of labor and industries to implement and enforce 30 section 304 of this act. 31 (5) The following persons are ineligible to serve on the board of 32 the producer responsibility organization or to be hired as an officer 33 or employee of the producer responsibility organization:34 (a) Any state or local elected official; 35 (b) Any former employee of the department's solid waste program 36 or that worked on solid waste policies for the department, if such an 37 employee has served in that role within the most recent two calendar 38 years; and 39 p. 14 E2SSB 5284.SL (c) Any former state or local elected official that has served in 1 such a role within the most recent two calendar years.2 NEW SECTION. Sec. 104. PRODUCER AND PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY 3 ORGANIZATION RESPONSIBILITIES. (1) A producer must:4 (a) After July 1, 2026, be a member of a producer responsibility 5 organization registered in this state or register as a producer 6 responsibility organization that will implement an individual plan;7 (b) Through a producer responsibility organization, implement and 8 finance a statewide program for packaging and paper products in 9 accordance with this chapter that encourages redesign to reduce 10 environmental impacts and human health impacts and that reduces 11 generation of covered material waste through waste reduction, refill, 12 reuse, recycling, and composting and by providing for the collection, 13 transportation, and processing of used covered materials for reuse, 14 recycling, and composting; 15 (c) Maintain membership with and pay fees to the producer 16 responsibility organization under which they are registered; and17 (d) Comply with all other applicable requirements under this 18 chapter. 19 (2) Beginning March 1, 2029, a producer that is not a member in 20 good standing with a registered producer responsibility organization 21 or has not submitted an individual plan may not introduce covered 22 materials into the state. 23 (3) A producer responsibility organization must:24 (a)(i) Beginning March 1, 2026, register with the department;25 (ii)(A) Except as provided in (a)(ii)(B) of this subsection, by 26 September 1, 2026, submit a one-time payment to the department, to 27 cover the costs of the department under this chapter from the 28 effective date of this section through June 30, 2027, including the 29 costs determined by the department of labor and industries to 30 implement and enforce section 304 of this act; 31 (B) By September 1, 2026, an individual producer registered as a 32 producer responsibility organization must make a one-time payment in 33 an amount determined by the department to cover any incremental costs 34 to the department under this chapter from the effective date of this 35 section through June 30, 2027, associated with the registration of 36 the individual producer as a producer responsibility organization;37 (iii) Beginning May 1, 2027, pay an annual registration fee to 38 the department as required under section 103 of this act;39 p. 15 E2SSB 5284.SL (b) Establish an initial producer fee structure to fund the 1 initial implementation of the program, to be used until the producer 2 responsibility program has an approved plan, and collect fees 3 annually from registered producers; 4 (c) By October 1, 2028, and every five years thereafter, submit a 5 plan that meets the requirements of this chapter to the department 6 for approval; 7 (d) By January 1, 2030, or within six months of plan approval, 8 whichever is later, implement the plan approved by the department;9 (e) By July 1, 2031, and each July 1st thereafter, submit an 10 annual report to the department for the prior calendar year;11 (f) Ensure that each producer operating under a plan administered 12 by the producer responsibility organization complies with the 13 requirements of the plan and this chapter; 14 (g) Expel a producer from the producer responsibility 15 organization if efforts to return the producer to compliance with the 16 plan or the requirements of this chapter are unsuccessful and notify 17 the department of the producer's expulsion; 18 (h) Consider and respond in writing to comments received from the 19 advisory council, including justifications for not incorporating 20 advisory council recommendations; 21 (i) Provide producers with information regarding state and 22 federal laws that restrict toxic substances in covered materials or 23 require postconsumer recycled content in covered materials;24 (j) Notify the department within 30 days of a change made to 25 board membership, to the executive director, or to the contact 26 information for a person responsible for implementing the plan;27 (k) Assist service providers to identify and use responsible 28 markets; 29 (l) Reimburse service providers in a timely manner, at intervals 30 no longer than monthly unless agreed to by a service provider and a 31 producer responsibility organization; 32 (m) Maintain a website and implement education and outreach 33 activities as required under section 119 of this act; and34 (n) Comply with all other applicable requirements of this 35 chapter. 36 (4) If more than one producer responsibility organization is 37 established under this chapter, the producers and producer 38 responsibility organizations must establish a coordinating body and 39 process to prevent redundancy. The coordinating body must integrate:40 p. 16 E2SSB 5284.SL (a) Plans of all producer responsibility organizations into a 1 single plan that implements all requirements of this chapter and 2 encompasses all producers when submitted to the department for 3 approval; 4 (b) Annual reports of all producer responsibility organizations 5 into a single annual report that covers all requirements of this 6 chapter and encompasses all producers when submitted to the 7 department; and 8 (c) Payments between all registered producer responsibility 9 organizations to achieve equitable apportionment of funding for the 10 reuse financial assistance program and coordination of that program's 11 administration. 12 (5)(a) Each producer responsibility organization must annually 13 fund and implement a reuse financial assistance program to reduce the 14 negative environmental impacts of covered materials through reuse. 15 The reuse financial assistance program must collectively be funded by 16 registered producer responsibility organizations. The funded amount 17 must be: 18 (i) At least $5,000,000 beginning in 2029 and adjusted annually 19 thereafter for inflation. The producer responsibility organization 20 must use the consumer price index for urban wage earners to calculate 21 the annual rate of inflation adjustment effective January 1st of each 22 year; and 23 (ii) Sufficient to achieve the reuse and return rate targets and 24 requirements established in section 115 of this act. If at any point 25 the department determines that reuse and return rate targets or 26 statewide requirements are not met, each producer responsibility 27 organization must increase annual contributions to and expenditures 28 from the reuse financial assistance program. 29 (b) Entities eligible for reuse financial assistance include, but 30 are not limited to: 31 (i) Government entities; 32 (ii) Tribal governments; 33 (iii) Nonprofit organizations; and 34 (iv) Private organizations. 35 (c) In administering the reuse financial assistance program, the 36 producer responsibility organization must solicit applications using 37 an open and competitive process and must select applications through 38 an evaluation that considers criteria including, but not limited to:39 (i) The environmental benefits of the activity;40 p. 17 E2SSB 5284.SL (ii) The human health benefits of the activity;1 (iii) The social and economic benefits of the activity;2 (iv) The cost-effectiveness of the activity; and3 (v) The needs of economically distressed or overburdened 4 communities. 5 (d) The producer responsibility organization must consult with 6 the advisory council in determining the criteria in (c) of this 7 subsection, evaluating and selecting applications, and in 8 administering the reuse financial assistance program under this 9 subsection. 10 (6) A producer responsibility organization may not include on its 11 board of directors, or otherwise be governed by, representatives or 12 affiliates of any public or private entities that submit bids to 13 perform work for the producer responsibility organization or that 14 contract with the producer responsibility organization.15 (7) The activities authorized by this chapter require 16 collaboration among producers. These activities will enable the waste 17 reduction, collection, recycling, composting, and disposal of covered 18 materials in Washington and are therefore in the best interest of the 19 public. The benefits of collaboration, together with active state 20 supervision, outweigh potential adverse impacts. Therefore, the 21 legislature exempts from state antitrust laws, and provides immunity 22 through the state action doctrine from federal antitrust laws, 23 activities that are undertaken in compliance with and pursuant to 24 this chapter, including activities that are reviewed or approved by 25 the department, that might otherwise be constrained by such laws. The 26 legislature does not intend and does not authorize any person or 27 entity to engage in activities not provided for by this chapter, and 28 the legislature neither exempts nor provides immunity for such 29 activities. 30 NEW SECTION. Sec. 105. ADVISORY COUNCIL. (1) The advisory 31 council is established to review all activities conducted by producer 32 responsibility organizations under this chapter and to advise the 33 department and producer responsibility organizations regarding the 34 implementation of this chapter.35 (2) By January 1, 2026, the department must establish and appoint 36 the initial membership of the advisory council. The membership of the 37 advisory council must consist of the following: 38 p. 18 E2SSB 5284.SL (a) Two members representing manufacturers of covered materials 1 or a statewide or national trade association representing those 2 manufacturers; 3 (b) Two members representing recycling facilities that manage 4 covered materials; 5 (c) One member representing a solid waste collection company or a 6 statewide association representing solid waste collection companies;7 (d) One member representing retailers of covered materials or a 8 statewide trade association representing those retailers;9 (e) One member representing a statewide nonprofit environmental 10 organization; 11 (f) One member representing a community-based nonprofit 12 environmental justice organization; 13 (g) One member representing entities that own or operate a 14 material recovery facility; 15 (h) One member representing entities that own or operate a waste 16 facility that accepts and processes compostable materials for 17 composting or a statewide trade association that represents those 18 facilities; 19 (i) One member representing an entity that develops or offers for 20 sale covered materials that are designed for reuse or refill and 21 maintained through a reuse or refill system or infrastructure or a 22 statewide or national trade association that represents those 23 entities; 24 (j) Three members representing government entities, with at least 25 one member representing counties; 26 (k) One member representing tribal or indigenous solid waste 27 services organizations; 28 (l) Two members representing other interested parties or 29 additional members of interests represented under (a) through (k) of 30 this subsection, as determined by the department, prioritizing 31 representation of diverse communities, including marginalized groups, 32 to ensure the activities carried out under this chapter reflect their 33 perspectives; 34 (m) One nonvoting member representing each registered producer 35 responsibility organization; and 36 (n) One nonvoting member representing the department.37 (3) The department must appoint an equity subcommittee to the 38 advisory council comprised of six representatives from overburdened 39 communities or socially vulnerable populations, including 40 p. 19 E2SSB 5284.SL representatives from three geographic locations in eastern Washington 1 representing a small, medium, and large community. The equity 2 subcommittee is responsible for informing and making recommendations 3 to the advisory council, the department, and producer responsibility 4 organizations regarding the impacts of activities under this chapter 5 on socially vulnerable populations and overburdened communities, 6 including the accessibility of covered services for covered materials 7 to socially vulnerable populations and overburdened communities. At a 8 minimum, the equity subcommittee must review and, as appropriate, 9 provide information or make recommendations regarding needs 10 assessments, submitted plans, and submitted annual reports. The 11 department must appoint the members of the equity subcommittee based 12 on solicited input received from the commission on African American 13 affairs, the commission on Hispanic affairs, the commission on Asian 14 Pacific American affairs, the LGBTQ commission, and the women's 15 commission. 16 (4) In appointing members, the department: 17 (a) Is prohibited from appointing members who are state 18 legislators or registered lobbyists; 19 (b) Is prohibited from appointing members who are employees of 20 producers required to be members of a producer responsibility 21 organization under this chapter; and 22 (c) Must endeavor to appoint members from all regions of the 23 state. 24 (5)(a) The member appointed to represent the department serves at 25 the pleasure of the department. All other members serve for a term of 26 four years, except that the initial term for nine of the initial 27 appointees must be two years so that membership terms are staggered. 28 Members may be reappointed but may not serve more than eight 29 consecutive years. 30 (b) A member may be removed by the department at any time. The 31 chair of the advisory council must inform the department of a member 32 missing three consecutive meetings. After the second consecutive 33 missed meeting, the chair of the advisory council must notify the 34 member in writing that the member may be removed for missing the next 35 meeting. If there is a vacancy on the advisory council for any 36 reason, the department shall make an appointment to become effective 37 immediately for the unexpired term. 38 (6) Advisory councilmembers that are representatives of tribes, 39 tribal or indigenous services organizations, community-based 40 p. 20 E2SSB 5284.SL organizations, or environmental nonprofit organizations must, if 1 requested, be compensated and reimbursed in accordance with RCW 2 43.03.050, 43.03.060, and 43.03.220. 3 (7)(a) A majority of the voting members of the advisory council 4 constitutes a quorum. If there is a vacancy in the membership of the 5 advisory council, a majority of the remaining voting members of the 6 council constitutes a quorum. 7 (b) Action by the advisory council requires a quorum and a 8 majority of those present and voting. All members of the advisory 9 council, except the member appointed to represent the department and 10 the member appointed to represent the producer responsibility 11 organization, are voting members of the council. 12 (8)(a) The advisory council must meet at least two times per year 13 and may meet more frequently upon 10 days' written notice at the 14 request of the chair or a majority of its members.15 (b) Meetings of the advisory council must comply with chapter 16 42.30 RCW , the open public meetings act. 17 (9) At its initial meeting, and every two years thereafter, the 18 advisory council must elect a chair and vice chair from among its 19 members. 20 (10) The department shall provide administrative and operating 21 support to the advisory council, including compensation in accordance 22 with subsection (6) of this section, and may contract with a third-23 party facilitator to assist in administering the activities of the 24 advisory council, including establishing a website or landing page on 25 the department website. 26 (11) The department must assist the advisory council in 27 developing policies and procedures governing the disclosure of actual 28 or perceived conflicts of interest that advisory councilmembers may 29 have as a result of their employment or financial holdings with 30 respect to themselves or family members. Each advisory councilmember 31 is responsible for reviewing the conflict-of-interest policies and 32 procedures. An advisory councilmember must disclose any instance of 33 actual or perceived conflicts of interest at each meeting of the 34 advisory council at which recommendations regarding plans, programs, 35 operations, or activities are made by the advisory council.36 NEW SECTION. Sec. 106. DEPARTMENT'S DUTIES. (1) The department 37 must implement, administer, and enforce this chapter and may adopt 38 rules as necessary for those purposes.39 p. 21 E2SSB 5284.SL (2) The department must: 1 (a) By January 1, 2026, appoint the initial membership of the 2 advisory council, as required under section 105 of this act;3 (b) Provide administrative and operating support to the advisory 4 council, as required under section 105 of this act;5 (c) Consider and respond in writing to all written comments 6 received from the advisory council; 7 (d) By January 31, 2026, and annually thereafter, facilitate 8 registration by service providers, as required under section 107 of 9 this act; 10 (e) Beginning March 1, 2026, accept the registration of producer 11 responsibility organizations and, if necessary, select the producer 12 responsibility organization required by subsection (3) of this 13 section; 14 (f) By October 1, 2026, develop the initial statewide collection 15 lists required by section 109 of this act; 16 (g) By December 31, 2026, complete the preliminary needs 17 assessment required by section 111 of this act; 18 (h)(i) By July 1, 2026, determine the one-time registration fee 19 in subsection (4)(c) of this section; and 20 (ii) By March 31, 2026, determine the one-time payment and every 21 March 31st thereafter determine the annual registration fee in 22 subsection (4)(a) of this section; 23 (i) By December 31, 2027, and every five years thereafter, 24 complete the statewide needs assessment required by section 111 of 25 this act; 26 (j) By 2028, adopt rules to administer and implement this 27 chapter. The department shall seek to adopt rules that are harmonized 28 with other states; 29 (k) Beginning October 1, 2028, and periodically thereafter, 30 review and approve plans, as described in subsection (5) of this 31 section; 32 (l) By January 31, 2029, create a model comprehensive solid waste 33 plan amendment for use by cities and counties in lieu of updating, 34 amending, or revising a plan consistent with RCW 35 70A.205.045(7)(b)(i); 36 (m) Beginning March 1, 2029, initiate enforcement activities with 37 respect to noncompliant producers that are not members of the 38 producer responsibility organization, consistent with section 104 (2) 39 and 123 of this act; 40 p. 22 E2SSB 5284.SL (n) Beginning July 1, 2031, and annually thereafter, review and 1 approve annual reports, as described in subsection (6) of this 2 section; 3 (o) By January 31, 2032, submit the equity study to the 4 legislature required in section 112 of this act; 5 (p) By September 1, 2038, submit the independent review of the 6 program report to the legislature as required in section 121 of this 7 act; 8 (q) Establish statewide requirements as required under section 9 115(10) of this act; 10 (r) Review and make determinations on proposals related to 11 alternative recycling processes, as described in section 115 (5) of 12 this act; 13 (s) Review confidentiality requests submitted under section 122 14 of this act; 15 (t) Enforce the requirements of this chapter, as required by 16 section 123 of this act; 17 (u) Review petitions to exempt materials, as required by sections 18 109(5) and 126 of this act; and 19 (v) Establish a public website that includes: 20 (i) The most recent registration materials submitted by producer 21 responsibility organizations; 22 (ii) A list of registered service providers; 23 (iii) The most recent needs assessment; 24 (iv) Any plan or amendment submitted by a producer responsibility 25 organization that is in draft form during the public comment period;26 (v) The most recent lists under section 109 of this act;27 (vi) The list of exempt materials; 28 (vii) Links to producer responsibility organization websites;29 (viii) Comments of the public, advisory council, and producer 30 responsibility organizations on the items listed in (v)(iii) through 31 (vi) of this subsection and, if any, the responses of the department 32 to those comments; 33 (ix) The names of producers and brands that the department or a 34 producer responsibility organization has identified as not being in 35 compliance with the requirements of this chapter; and36 (x) Links to adopted rules implementing this chapter.37 (3) By March 1, 2026, if registrations for more than one producer 38 responsibility organization, other than producers registering as 39 producer responsibility organizations, are submitted to the 40 p. 23 E2SSB 5284.SL department, the department must determine which proposed producer 1 responsibility organization can most effectively implement this 2 chapter until the first approved plan period ends. Until the 3 conclusion of the initial plan implementation period, producers of 4 covered materials that do not register as producer responsibility 5 organizations must join the producer responsibility organization 6 whose registration is approved by the department. This limitation 7 only applies for the purposes of program development and the initial 8 plan implementation period. For purposes of plan implementation after 9 the first plan approved by the department expires, the department may 10 allow registration of more than one producer responsibility 11 organization. 12 (4)(a) By March 31, 2027, and every March 31st thereafter, the 13 department must determine a total annual registration fee to be paid 14 by each producer responsibility organization that is adequate to 15 cover, but not exceed, the costs to implement, administer, and 16 enforce this chapter, including the costs determined by the 17 department of labor and industries to implement and enforce section 18 304 of this act, in the next fiscal year; 19 (b) By 2028, the department must adopt rules to equitably 20 determine annual registration fees by producer responsibility 21 organizations if the department has approved the registration of more 22 than one producer responsibility organization; 23 (i) Until rules are adopted under (b) of this subsection, issue a 24 general order to all registered producer responsibility 25 organizations; and 26 (ii) Send notice to each producer responsibility organization of 27 fee amounts due, consistent with either the general order issued 28 under (b)(i) of this subsection or rules adopted under (b) of this 29 subsection. 30 (c) The department must: 31 (i) In the March 31, 2027, producer responsibility organization 32 annual registration fee determination under (a) of this subsection, 33 adjust the fee to account for funds received that were due by 34 September 1, 2026, under section 104 of this act; 35 (ii) Apply any remaining annual fee payment funds from the most 36 recently closed fiscal year to the annual fee for the coming fiscal 37 year, if the collected annual fee exceeds the costs identified under 38 (b) of this subsection for the most recently closed fiscal year; and39 p. 24 E2SSB 5284.SL (iii) Increase annual fees for the coming fiscal year to cover 1 the costs identified under (b) of this subsection, if the collected 2 annual fee was less than the amount required to cover those costs for 3 a given year. 4 (c) By March 1, 2026, the department must determine the one-time 5 payment to be paid by each producer responsibility organization that 6 is adequate to cover, but not exceed, the costs to implement, 7 administer, and enforce this chapter from the effective date of this 8 section until June 30, 2027. 9 (5) Within 120 days of receipt, the department must review and 10 approve, approve with conditions, deny, or request additional 11 information for a draft plan or draft amendment, including a 12 contingency plan as required in section 114 of this act, submitted by 13 a producer responsibility organization or coordinating body.14 (a) The department must post the draft plan or plan amendment on 15 the department's website, notify the appropriate committees of the 16 legislature that a draft plan has been submitted and posted, and 17 allow public comment for no less than 45 days before approving, 18 denying, or requesting additional information on the draft plan or 19 amendment. 20 (b)(i) If the department denies or requests additional 21 information for a draft plan or amendment, the department must 22 provide the producer responsibility organization with the reasons, in 23 writing, that the plan or amendment does not meet the plan 24 requirements of section 113 of this act. The producer responsibility 25 organization has 60 days from the date that the rejection or request 26 for additional information is received to submit to the department 27 any additional information necessary for the department's approval. 28 The department must review and approve or disapprove the revised 29 draft plan or amendment no later than 60 days after the department 30 receives it. If the department disapproves the revised plan or 31 revised plan amendment, the department shall provide the reason, in 32 writing, and either: (A) Direct changes to the revised plan or plan 33 amendment; or (B) require the producer responsibility organization to 34 submit a second revision no later than 60 days from the date of the 35 rejection. 36 (ii) The department may approve the second revision submitted by 37 the producer responsibility organization with additional conditions 38 the producer responsibility organization must implement.39 p. 25 E2SSB 5284.SL (c) The department's approval of the first producer 1 responsibility organization plans submitted by October 1, 2028, must 2 take effect no earlier than the adjournment of the 2029 regular 3 legislative session, in order to allow an opportunity for the 2029 4 legislature to determine whether to amend the requirements of this 5 chapter, to make other recycling policy changes including the 6 potential establishment of a bottle deposit return program, or to 7 allow that the proposed plan and program under this chapter be 8 implemented in full. Nothing in this subsection (5)(c) amends or 9 limits the duties or authorities of a producer, a producer 10 responsibility organization, or the department under this chapter, 11 including with respect to the timing of plan submission, plan review, 12 or plan revision processes specified in this section, while the 2029 13 legislature reviews the draft plan submitted to the department as 14 provided in this subsection. Nothing in this subsection prevents a 15 plan from being implemented in absence of legislative action after 16 the effective date of this section. 17 (d) Upon recommendation of the advisory council, or upon the 18 department's initiative, the department may require an amendment to 19 the plan if the department determines that an amendment is necessary 20 to ensure that the producer responsibility organization maintains 21 compliance with the requirements of this chapter. 22 (6) The department must review annual reports and:23 (a) Make annual reports available for public review and comment 24 for at least 30 days; 25 (b) Review within 120 days of receipt of a complete annual 26 report; 27 (c) Determine whether an annual report meets the requirements of 28 this chapter, considering comments received under (a) of this 29 subsection, and notify the producer responsibility organization of 30 the approval or reasons for denial. The producer responsibility 31 organization must submit a revised annual report within 60 days after 32 receipt of a denial letter; and 33 (d) Notify a producer responsibility organization if the annual 34 report demonstrates that a plan fails to achieve the requirements 35 under this chapter. 36 (7) Upon request of the department for purposes of determining 37 compliance with this chapter, or for purposes of implementing this 38 chapter, a person must furnish to the department any information that 39 the person has or may reasonably obtain. 40 p. 26 E2SSB 5284.SL NEW SECTION. Sec. 107. SERVICE PROVIDER REGISTRATION. (1) By 1 January 31, 2026, and annually thereafter, each service provider that 2 intends to seek reimbursement for services provided under an approved 3 plan must register with the department by submitting the following 4 information:5 (a) The contact information for a person representing the service 6 provider; 7 (b) The address of the service provider; 8 (c) Identification of service areas where covered services are to 9 be provided to covered entities; 10 (d) Identification of the covered services to be provided to 11 covered entities, by service area; and 12 (e) If applicable to services provided, a report of the number of 13 covered entities currently provided service, the number of covered 14 entities eligible to receive service, and the total amount billed for 15 collection for covered entities, processing services, transfer 16 station operations provided, and tons managed during the preceding 17 calendar year, by covered entity type and by service area. When 18 possible, values must be separated for collection, transfer, and 19 processing. 20 (2)(a) Material recovery facilities receiving covered materials 21 collected from covered entities must register as service providers as 22 described in subsection (1) of this section and must report annually 23 to the department by commodity type and covered material type, in a 24 form and format created by the department, on the following:25 (i) Tons received and processed, by jurisdiction and service 26 provider; 27 (ii) Inbound material quality and contamination;28 (iii) Outbound material quality and contamination;29 (iv) Outbound material tons, destinations, and final use by 30 commodity type, including each destination company and location. If 31 exported outside of the United States, the destination country must 32 be listed. Beginning in 2031, material recovery facilities must 33 submit certification, for each destination to which commodities 34 containing covered materials were sent, that the destination is a 35 responsible market; 36 (v) Methods of managing contaminants and residue to avoid 37 negative impacts on other waste streams or facilities;38 (vi) Residuals, including residue rate, composition, and disposal 39 location; 40 p. 27 E2SSB 5284.SL (vii) Any violations of existing permits, regarding emissions to 1 air and water, and the status of those permit violations; and2 (viii) Labor metrics including wages, unions, and workforce 3 demographics. 4 (b) All data reported by material recovery facilities under this 5 subsection must, at the request of the department, be audited by an 6 independent third party. 7 (c) The requirements of (a) and (b) of this subsection do not 8 apply to any facility operated by a scrap metal business as defined 9 in RCW 19.290.010 that holds a current scrap metal license unless the 10 covered materials were received directly from collection services for 11 which a producer responsibility organization has provided 12 reimbursement. 13 NEW SECTION. Sec. 108. SERVICE PROVIDER RESPONSIBILITIES. A 14 service provider receiving reimbursement or funding under an approved 15 plan must:16 (1) Provide covered services for covered materials included on 17 the statewide collection lists, covered services for a refill system, 18 or covered services for reusable covered materials, as applicable to 19 the services offered by and service area of the service provider;20 (2) Register annually with the department; 21 (3) Submit invoices to the producer responsibility organization 22 for reimbursement for services rendered; 23 (4) Meet performance standards established in an approved plan;24 (5) Ensure that covered materials are sent to responsible 25 markets; 26 (6) Provide documentation to the producer responsibility 27 organization of the amounts, covered material types, and volumes of 28 covered materials by covered service method; 29 (7) Display the service provider's price, minus the reimbursement 30 from the producer responsibility organization, when invoicing 31 customers and, in delivering curbside collection services, pass on 32 the applicable portion of the reimbursement, through solid waste rate 33 reductions or credits, to all customers receiving curbside collection 34 services eligible for reimbursement; and 35 (8) Comply with all other applicable requirements of this 36 chapter. 37 p. 28 E2SSB 5284.SL NEW SECTION. Sec. 109. STATEWIDE COLLECTION LISTS. (1)(a) The 1 department must develop lists of covered materials determined to be 2 recyclable or compostable statewide. By October 1, 2026, the 3 department must develop initial lists for use and evaluation in the 4 needs assessment described in section 111 of this act. The department 5 must also publish lists no later than 30 days after approving a plan, 6 taking into account proposed changes in the plan. In the development 7 of the lists, the department must distinguish between:8 (i) Materials determined to be suitable for residential recycling 9 collection, whether in a commingled or in a separate container;10 (ii) Materials determined to be suitable for residential 11 composting collection; 12 (iii) Materials suitable for public place collection; and13 (iv) Materials suitable for alternative collection.14 (b) In determining whether a material is suitable for 15 residential, public place, or alternative collection, the department 16 may consider any combination of the following criteria:17 (i) The stability, maturity, accessibility, and viability of 18 responsible markets; 19 (ii) Environmental health and safety considerations;20 (iii) The anticipated yield loss for the material during the 21 recycling or composting process; 22 (iv) The material's compatibility with existing recycling 23 infrastructure; 24 (v) Whether the material adheres to published design guidelines 25 for recyclability or compostability; 26 (vi) The amount of the material available; 27 (vii) The practicalities of sorting and storing the material;28 (viii) The potential to cause or be impacted by contamination;29 (ix) The ability for waste generators to easily identify and 30 properly prepare the material; 31 (x) Economic factors; 32 (xi) Environmental factors from a life-cycle perspective;33 (xii) The policy expressed in RCW 70A.205.010; or34 (xiii) Other criteria or factors, as determined by the 35 department. 36 (2) A producer responsibility organization may propose a covered 37 material for addition to or removal from the lists under this section 38 as part of a plan or as a plan amendment. In considering the 39 p. 29 E2SSB 5284.SL proposal, the department may consider the same criteria as those 1 established under subsection (1)(b) of this section.2 (3) In developing lists under this section, the department must 3 consult with the advisory council, producer responsibility 4 organizations, service providers, government entities, and other 5 interested parties. The department must consider any requests 6 received for the inclusion or removal of a covered material or 7 covered material type on a list under this section. The department 8 may select a third-party consultant to assist with the development of 9 the lists. 10 (4)(a) Except as described in (b) of this subsection and 11 subsection (5) of this section, a material that is not identified as 12 suitable for residential collection may not be collected as part of a 13 residential recycling program. 14 (b) A covered material that is not identified as suitable for 15 residential collection may be temporarily collected as part of a 16 residential recycling program and qualify for reimbursement if:17 (i) The covered material is collected as part of a pilot program 18 agreed to by the service provider, the government entity under whose 19 authority the service is provided, and the producer responsibility 20 organization; 21 (ii) The pilot program is of limited duration; and22 (iii) The pilot program is conducted in a limited area.23 (5) For purposes of the first plan implementation period, a group 24 of producers representing a majority of a distinct covered material 25 type or distinct packaging type may petition the department, prior to 26 the department finalizing a list under this section, to consider 27 designating that material or packaging as suitable for multiple modes 28 of collection other than commingled residential, depending on 29 location. The department may grant a petition that is submitted at 30 least six months prior to the publication of the lists and that 31 justifies why different methods are appropriate in different 32 jurisdictions based on the factors specified in subsection (1)(b) of 33 this section. 34 NEW SECTION. Sec. 110. CONVENIENCE STANDARDS —ALTERNATIVE 35 COLLECTION. (1) Collection services for covered materials determined 36 to be suitable for residential recycling collection under section 109 37 of this act must be available wherever residential garbage collection 38 p. 30 E2SSB 5284.SL services are available, except in areas subject to a county ordinance 1 as specified in RCW 70A.205.045(7)(b)(i)(C). 2 (2) An alternative collection program or programs for each 3 covered material included on the alternative collection list must be 4 provided under a plan. For purposes of the first plan implementation 5 period, an alternative collection program may be proposed by a 6 producer responsibility organization, a group of producers with a 7 petition granted by the department under section 109 (5) of this act, 8 or a majority of producers of a unique product type whose packaging 9 is designated for alternative collection. A proposal under this 10 subsection must be submitted at the same time as the plan, and is 11 subject to the same approval process as the plan. An alternative 12 collection program must: 13 (a) Provide year-round, convenient, statewide collection 14 opportunities, including at least one drop-off collection site 15 located in each county; 16 (b) Provide tiers of service for collection, convenience, number 17 of drop-off collection sites, and additional collection systems based 18 on: 19 (i) County population size; 20 (ii) County population density; and 21 (iii) Each class of city or town under chapter 35.01 RCW ;22 (c) Ensure materials are sent to responsible markets;23 (d) Use education and outreach strategies that can be expected to 24 significantly increase consumer awareness of the program throughout 25 the state; and 26 (e) Accurately measure the amount of each covered material 27 collected and the applicable performance target and statewide 28 requirement. 29 (3) A plan for an alternative collection program must include:30 (a) The number, type, and location of each collection 31 opportunity; 32 (b) A description of how each of the program requirements in (a) 33 of this subsection will be met; and 34 (c) Performance targets for each covered material, as applicable, 35 to be managed through an alternative collection program.36 (4) Every subsequent needs assessment after the first needs 37 assessment must include a review of alternative collection programs 38 for each covered material on the statewide alternative collection 39 p. 31 E2SSB 5284.SL list to determine if the program is meeting the criteria established 1 in subsection (2) of this section. 2 (5) A retail establishment may choose to serve as a drop-off 3 location or collection event as part of an alternative collection 4 program, through mutual agreement with a producer responsibility 5 organization or group of producers implementing an alternative 6 collection program. 7 (6) Any group of producers, other than the producer 8 responsibility organization registered with the department, that 9 manages an approved alternative collection plan during the first plan 10 implementation period must: 11 (a) Be exclusively responsible for management of the distinct 12 material, packaging, or product type covered by that plan and may 13 thereby wholly or partially offset the producers' payment obligations 14 under this chapter with respect to the distinct material, packaging, 15 or product type only; and 16 (b) Comply with all requirements applicable to a producer 17 responsibility organization under this chapter, other than 18 requirements determined by the department not to be relevant to the 19 group of producers as a result of the producers' need to only manage 20 a distinct material, packaging, or product type rather than multiple 21 types of materials, packaging, or product types. 22 NEW SECTION. Sec. 111. STATEWIDE NEEDS ASSESSMENTS. (1)(a) By 23 December 31, 2026, the department must complete a preliminary 24 assessment consistent with subsection (3) of this section.25 (b) By December 31, 2027, and every five years thereafter, the 26 department must complete a needs assessment consistent with 27 subsection (4) of this section. The department may adjust the 28 required content in a specific needs assessment to inform the next 29 plan. 30 (2) In conducting a needs assessment, the department must:31 (a) Initiate a consultation process to obtain recommendations 32 from the advisory council, government entities, service providers, 33 producer responsibility organizations, the utilities and 34 transportation commission, and other interested parties, regarding 35 the type and scope of information that should be collected and 36 analyzed in the needs assessments required by this section;37 p. 32 E2SSB 5284.SL (b) Contract with a third party who is not a producer, a producer 1 responsibility organization, or a member of the advisory council to 2 conduct the needs assessment; 3 (c) At least 90 days prior to finalizing the needs assessment, 4 make the draft needs assessment available for comment by the advisory 5 council, producer responsibility organizations, the utilities and 6 transportation commission, jurisdictions planning under chapter 7 70A.205 RCW, and the public. The advisory council must have the 8 opportunity to review drafts of the needs assessment and accompanying 9 data used in the needs assessment. The department must respond in 10 writing to the comments and recommendations of the advisory council 11 and producer responsibility organizations; and 12 (d)(i) Consider information from studies related to recycling 13 conducted by the department after 2019; and 14 (ii) Use the department's statewide collection lists for covered 15 materials as established under section 109 of this act.16 (3) A preliminary needs assessment must be completed for a 17 preceding period of no less than 12 months and no more than 36 months 18 that includes: 19 (a) Identification of currently or recently introduced covered 20 materials and covered material types; 21 (b) Tons of collected covered materials; 22 (c) An evaluation of what services related to the requirements of 23 this chapter are currently being delivered in each county and city 24 planning under chapter 70A.205 RCW and what the costs are for those 25 existing services, including: 26 (i) The availability and types of recycling services for covered 27 materials for residents in single-family and multifamily residences, 28 including whether current services are considered residential or 29 commercial and whether any gaps, costs, or needs are specific to 30 either commercial or residential customer service;31 (ii) The current methods and infrastructure for servicing 32 residents, including curbside recycling service areas and material 33 drop-off locations; 34 (iii) Any densely populated areas within each jurisdiction in 35 which curbside recycling services for covered materials identified by 36 the department on the list developed and published under section 109 37 of this act are not available or are only partially available;38 (iv) Any areas within each jurisdiction where curbside garbage 39 collection services are offered to residents in single-family and 40 p. 33 E2SSB 5284.SL multifamily residences but curbside recycling services are not 1 offered; 2 (d) Processing capacity at material recovery facilities, 3 including total tons processed and sold, composition of tons 4 processed and sold, current technologies utilized, and facility 5 processing fees charged to collectors delivering covered materials 6 for recycling; 7 (e) Capacity of compost facilities, including total tons 8 processed and sold, technology used by, and characteristics of 9 compost facilities to process and recover compostable covered 10 materials, and facility processing fees charged to collectors 11 delivering covered materials for composting; 12 (f) Capacity and number of drop-off collection sites, and the 13 materials collected at those drop-off collection sites;14 (g) Capacity and number of transfer stations and transfer 15 locations; 16 (h) Average term length and variability of residential recycling 17 and composting collection contracts issued by government entities and 18 an assessment of contract cost structures; 19 (i) An estimate of the total annual collection and processing 20 service costs based on registered service provider costs;21 (j) Available markets in Washington for covered materials and the 22 capacity of those markets; and 23 (k) Covered materials introduced by volume, weight, and covered 24 material types introduced by producers. 25 (4) Each needs assessment after the preliminary needs assessment 26 must include at least the following: 27 (a) An evaluation of: 28 (i) Existing waste reduction, refill, reuse, recycling, and 29 composting outcomes, as applicable, for each covered material type, 30 including collection rates, recycling rates, composting rates, reuse 31 rates, and return rates, as applicable, for each covered material 32 type; 33 (ii) The overall recycling rate, composting rate, reuse rate, and 34 return rate for all covered material types; and 35 (iii) The extent to which postconsumer recycled content, by the 36 best estimate, is or could be incorporated into each covered 37 materials type, as applicable, including a review of North American 38 sources and markets and technical barriers to incorporating 39 postconsumer materials into covered materials. For plastic covered 40 p. 34 E2SSB 5284.SL materials, postconsumer recycled content must be measured by rigid 1 plastic resin type and by film or flexible plastic;2 (b) An evaluation of covered materials in the disposal, 3 recycling, and composting streams to determine the covered materials 4 types and amounts within each stream, using new studies conducted by 5 the department or publicly available and applicable studies;6 (c) Proposals for a range of outcomes for each covered materials 7 type to be accomplished within a five-year time frame in multiple 8 units of measurement including, but not limited to, unit-based, 9 weight-based, and volume-based, for each of the following:10 (i) Plastic source reduction rates; 11 (ii) Reuse rates and return rates; 12 (iii) Recycling rates; 13 (iv) Composting rates; and 14 (v) Postconsumer recycled content, if applicable;15 (d) Proposals for a range of outcomes for the categories 16 established in section 115 (10) of this act that consider:17 (i) Information contained in or used to prepare a needs 18 assessment under this section; 19 (ii) Goals and requirements of chapters 70A.205 and 70A.245 RCW ;20 (iii) The statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits of chapter 21 70A.45 RCW ; 22 (iv) The need for continuous progress toward: 23 (A) Overall reduction in the generation of covered material 24 waste; 25 (B) The reuse, recycling, or composting of covered materials to 26 reduce environmental impacts and human health impacts; and27 (C) Progress to incorporate postconsumer content to replace 28 virgin materials and to support more regional markets;29 (v) A preference for statewide requirements that accomplish and 30 further the goals and requirements in (d)(ii), (iii), and (iv) of 31 this subsection as soon as practicable and to the maximum extent 32 achievable; and 33 (vi) Information from paper and packaging producer responsibility 34 programs operating in other jurisdictions; 35 (e) An evaluation of the criteria used for developing the lists 36 of covered materials determined to be recyclable or compostable 37 statewide as established in section 109 of this act;38 (f) Recommended collection methods by covered materials type to 39 maximize collection efficiency, maximize feedstock quality, and 40 p. 35 E2SSB 5284.SL optimize service and convenience for collection of covered materials 1 to be considered or that are included on lists established in section 2 109 of this act, or for which a group of producers has been granted a 3 petition by the department under section 109 (5) of this act;4 (g) Proposed plans and metrics for how to measure progress in 5 achieving performance targets and statewide requirements;6 (h) An evaluation of options for third-party certification of 7 activities to meet obligations of this chapter; 8 (i) An inventory of the current system, including:9 (i) Infrastructure, capacity, performance, funding level, and 10 method and source of financing for the existing covered services for 11 covered materials operating in the state; 12 (ii) An estimate of total annual costs of covered services based 13 on registered service provider costs; and 14 (iii) Availability and cost of covered services for covered 15 materials to covered entities and any other location where covered 16 materials are introduced, including identification of disparities in 17 the availability of these services in overburdened communities 18 compared with other areas and to socially vulnerable populations as 19 compared to other populations and proposals for reducing or 20 eliminating those disparities; 21 (j) An evaluation of investments needed to increase waste 22 reduction, refill, reuse, recycling, and composting rates of covered 23 materials according to the range of proposed performance targets and 24 statewide requirements, including what new or expanded services and 25 infrastructure are needed in each county and city planning under 26 chapter 70A.205 RCW, and the estimated total costs of investments 27 needed, that would also: 28 (i) Maintain or improve operations of existing infrastructure and 29 account for waste reduction, refill, reuse, recycling, and composting 30 of covered materials statewide; 31 (ii) Expand the availability and accessibility of recycling 32 collection services for covered materials to all places required 33 under this chapter and expand the availability and accessibility of 34 composting collection services where feasible; and35 (iii) Establish and expand the availability and accessibility of 36 reuse services for reusable covered materials; 37 (k) A recommended methodology for applying criteria and formulas 38 to establish reimbursement rates as described in section 117 of this 39 act; 40 p. 36 E2SSB 5284.SL (l) An assessment of the viability and robustness of markets for 1 recyclable and compostable covered materials and the degree to which 2 these markets can be considered responsible markets;3 (m) An assessment of the level and causes of contamination of 4 source separated recyclable materials, source separated compostable 5 materials, and collected reusables, and the impacts of contamination 6 on service providers and on commodity values of covered material 7 types, including the cost to manage this contamination;8 (n) An assessment of toxic substances intentionally added to or 9 residual from manufacturing in covered materials, whether this limits 10 one or more covered material types from being used as a marketable 11 feedstock, and best practices producers can implement to reduce 12 intentionally added or residual toxic substances in covered materials 13 that could be verified through suppliers' certificates of compliance, 14 testing, or other analytical and scientifically demonstrated 15 technology; 16 (o) An assessment and evaluation of current best practices and 17 efforts on: 18 (i) Public awareness, education, and outreach activities 19 accounting for culturally responsive materials and methods and an 20 evaluation of the efficacy of those efforts; 21 (ii) Using product or packaging labels as a means of informing 22 consumers about environmentally sound use and management of covered 23 materials; 24 (iii) Increasing public awareness of how to use and manage 25 covered materials in an environmentally sound manner and how to 26 access waste reduction, refill, reuse, recycling, and composting 27 services; and 28 (iv) Encouraging behavior change to increase participation in 29 waste reduction, refill, reuse, recycling, and composting programs;30 (p) Identification of the covered materials with the most 31 significant environmental impacts, including assessing each covered 32 material's generation of hazardous waste, generation of greenhouse 33 gases, environmental justice impacts, public health impacts, and 34 other impacts; 35 (q) Recommendations for meeting the criteria for an alternative 36 collection program; and 37 (r) Other items identified by the department that would aid the 38 creation of the plan, the implementation of the plan, and the 39 enforcement of this chapter. 40 p. 37 E2SSB 5284.SL (5) The department or its contracted third party may conduct 1 voluntary interviews with service providers of curbside recycling or 2 composting services or recycling or composting processing services 3 within a jurisdiction on costs for additional infrastructure, 4 vehicles, staff, equipment, and other investments to achieve the 5 range of outcomes proposed under subsection (4)(c) and (d) of this 6 section. 7 (6) When determining the extent to which any statewide 8 requirement or performance target under this chapter has been 9 achieved, information contained in a needs assessment must serve as 10 the baseline for that determination, when applicable.11 (7)(a) A service provider or other person with data or 12 information necessary to complete a needs assessment must provide the 13 data or information to the department upon request.14 (b) A service provider or other person providing the data or 15 information may submit a request to the department consistent with 16 section 122 of this act that the data or information be considered 17 confidential and not made public. 18 (c) The contractor conducting the needs assessment must aggregate 19 and anonymize the nonpublic data or information, excluding location 20 data as necessary to assess needs, received from all parties under 21 this section and must then include the aggregated anonymized data in 22 the needs assessment. 23 NEW SECTION. Sec. 112. EQUITY STUDY. (1) By January 31, 2032, 24 the department must complete a study, conducted by a contracted third 25 party that is not a producer or producer responsibility organization, 26 of facilities operating in the state that manage covered materials 27 and at facilities operating in the state that receive covered 28 materials as recycled feedstock. The study must analyze, at a 29 minimum, information about:30 (a) Working conditions, wage and benefit levels, workforce 31 development effects, and employment levels of minorities and women at 32 those facilities; 33 (b) Barriers to ownership of recycling, composting, and reuse 34 operations faced by women and minorities; 35 (c) The degree to which residents of multifamily buildings have 36 less convenient access to recycling, composting, and reuse 37 opportunities than those living in single-family homes;38 p. 38 E2SSB 5284.SL (d) The degree to which individuals living in overburdened 1 communities have access to fewer recycling, composting, and reuse 2 opportunities compared to other parts of the state;3 (e) The degree to which programs to increase access, convenience, 4 and education are successful in raising reuse, recycling, and 5 composting rates in areas where participation in these activities is 6 low. This must include an evaluation of the efficacy of activities 7 under section 119 of this act that are conceptually, linguistically, 8 and culturally tailored to effectively reach diverse residents, and 9 which such activities could be adjusted or improved to achieve 10 improved outcomes for specific areas or sectors where participation 11 is low; 12 (f) Strategies to increase participation in reuse, recycling, and 13 composting; and 14 (g) The degree to which residents and workers in overburdened 15 communities are impacted by emissions, toxic substances, and other 16 pollutants from solid waste facilities in comparison to other areas 17 of the state and recommendations to mitigate those impacts.18 (2) Producer responsibility organizations registered under this 19 chapter must cover the cost of conducting the study through the fees 20 charged by the department to the producer responsibility 21 organizations, and recommended actions identified in the study must 22 be considered for inclusion as part of future plans required under 23 this chapter, including adjustments to service provider 24 reimbursements under section 117 of this act. 25 NEW SECTION. Sec. 113. PLAN. (1) By October 1, 2028, and every 26 five years thereafter, each registered producer responsibility 27 organization must submit a plan to the department that describes the 28 proposed operation by the organization of programs to fulfill the 29 requirements of this chapter and that incorporates the findings and 30 results of needs assessments.31 (2) A producer responsibility organization must submit a draft 32 plan or draft amendment to the advisory council at least 60 days 33 prior to submitting to the department to allow the advisory council 34 to submit comments and must address advisory council comments and 35 recommendations prior to the submission of the draft plan or draft 36 plan amendment to the department. 37 (3) A draft plan must include at a minimum: 38 p. 39 E2SSB 5284.SL (a) Performance targets established under section 115 of this act 1 as applicable to each covered materials type to be accomplished 2 within a five-year period; 3 (b) Any proposals for additions or removals of covered materials 4 to the lists established under section 109 of this act;5 (c) A description of the methods of collection, how collection 6 service convenience metrics in section 110 of this act will be met, 7 and a description of processing infrastructure and covered services 8 to be used for each covered materials type for persons and locations 9 receiving services, at a minimum, and how these will meet the 10 performance targets established in section 115 of this act for 11 covered materials that are: 12 (i) Included or proposed to be included on lists established in 13 section 109 of this act; 14 (ii) Reusable covered materials managed through a reuse system; 15 and 16 (iii) Capable of refill and managed through a refill system;17 (d) A description of how, for each covered materials type, the 18 producer responsibility organization will measure recycling, plastic 19 source reduction, reuse, composting, and the inclusion of 20 postconsumer recycled content, in accordance with the methodology 21 established in section 115 of this act; 22 (e) Third-party certifications as required by the department or 23 voluntarily undertaken; 24 (f) A budget identifying funding needs for each of the plan's 25 five calendar years, producer fees, a description of the process used 26 to calculate the fees, and an explanation of how the fees meet the 27 requirements of section 116 of this act; 28 (g) A description of infrastructure investments, including:29 (i) Goals and outcomes and a description of how the process to 30 offer and select investments will be conducted in an open, 31 competitive, and fair manner; 32 (ii) How the infrastructure investments will address gaps in the 33 system not met by service providers; and 34 (iii) Potential financial and legal instruments to be used;35 (h) An explanation of how the plan will be paid for by the 36 producer responsibility organization solely through fees from 37 producers. This restriction does not apply to refundable deposits 38 made in connection with a product's refill, reuse, or recycling that 39 can be redeemed by a consumer; 40 p. 40 E2SSB 5284.SL (i) A description of activities to be undertaken by the producer 1 responsibility organization during each year to: 2 (i) Minimize the environmental impacts and human health impacts 3 of covered materials, including assessing each covered material 4 type's generation of hazardous waste, generation of greenhouse gases, 5 environmental justice impacts, public health impacts, and other 6 impacts; 7 (ii) Foster the improved design of covered materials, as 8 identified under section 116 (2)(c) of this act; 9 (iii) Provide funding to expand and increase the convenience of 10 waste reduction, refill, reuse, collection, recycling, and composting 11 services to covered entities, at a minimum, according to the order of 12 the state's solid waste management hierarchy established in RCW 13 70A.205.005; 14 (iv) Provide for reimbursement rates to service providers for 15 statewide coverage of covered services on the lists established in 16 section 109 of this act; and 17 (v) Monitor to ensure that postconsumer materials are delivered 18 to responsible markets; 19 (j) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 20 will promote the opportunity for all service providers to register 21 with the department and to submit invoices for reimbursement with the 22 producer responsibility organization; 23 (k) A description of how the program will reimburse service 24 providers under an approved plan including, but not limited to, a 25 description of how the program will establish: 26 (i) A methodology to calculate differentiated reimbursement rates 27 as provided in sections 116 and 117 of this act; 28 (ii) A process for service providers to submit invoices and be 29 reimbursed for covered services provided to covered entities;30 (iii) Clear and reasonable timelines for reimbursement, at 31 intervals no longer than monthly unless agreed to by a service 32 provider and a producer responsibility organization; and33 (iv) A process that utilizes a third-party mediator to resolve 34 disputes that arise between the producer responsibility organization 35 and a service provider regarding the determination of reimbursement 36 rates and payment of reimbursements; 37 (l) Performance standards for service providers as applicable to 38 the service provided including, but not limited to:39 p. 41 E2SSB 5284.SL (i) Requirements that service providers must accept all covered 1 materials on the applicable list established by the department under 2 section 109 (1)(a) of this act; 3 (ii) Requirements that service providers must offer residential 4 recycling collection for materials on the applicable list established 5 by the department under section 109 (1)(a) of this act to covered 6 entities wherever they offer residential garbage collection services, 7 except in areas subject to a county ordinance as specified in RCW 8 70A.205.045(7)(b)(i)(C); 9 (iii) Requirements that service must be provided in a manner 10 consistent with the requirements of: (A) Chapter 70A.205 RCW for 11 curbside collection services of source separated recyclable materials 12 from residences; and (B) chapter 81.77 RCW ; 13 (iv) Requirements that service providers must manage covered 14 materials in a manner consistent with the state's solid waste 15 management hierarchy established in RCW 70A.205.005; and16 (v) Requirements that service providers comply with all 17 applicable federal, state, and local laws governing health and 18 safety; 19 (m) A requirement that owners or operators of a material recovery 20 facility that manages over 25,000 tons annually of covered materials 21 under this chapter must comply with the compensation requirements 22 specified in section 304 of this act; 23 (n) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 24 will treat and protect nonpublic data submitted by service providers;25 (o) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 26 will provide technical assistance to: 27 (i) Service providers in order to assist them in delivering 28 covered materials to responsible markets; 29 (ii)(A) Producers regarding intentionally added toxic substances 30 and residual toxic substances from manufacturing in covered 31 materials; (B) best practices identified in the needs assessment that 32 producers can take to reduce intentionally added or residual toxic 33 substances in covered materials; and (C) best practices for verifying 34 reduction through suppliers' certificates of compliance, testing, or 35 other analytical and scientifically demonstrated methodology; and36 (iii) Producers to make changes in product design that reduce the 37 environmental impact of covered materials or that increase the 38 recoverability or marketability of covered materials for reuse, 39 recycling, or composting; 40 p. 42 E2SSB 5284.SL (p) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 1 will increase public awareness, educate, and complete outreach 2 activities that meet the requirements of section 119 of this act and 3 will evaluate the efficacy of these efforts; 4 (q) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 5 will reduce or eliminate disparities in the availability to socially 6 vulnerable populations of covered services for covered materials;7 (r) Proposed alternative collection programs as required under 8 section 110 of this act; 9 (s) A description of how producers can purchase postconsumer 10 materials from service providers at market prices if the producer is 11 interested in obtaining recycled feedstock to achieve minimum 12 postconsumer recycled content performance targets and statewide 13 requirements; 14 (t) A summary of consultations held with the advisory council and 15 other interested parties to provide input to the plan, a list of 16 recommendations that were incorporated into the plan as a result, and 17 a list of rejected recommendations and the reasons for rejection;18 (u) Strategies to incorporate findings from any relevant studies 19 required by the legislature; and 20 (v) Any other information required by the department by rule.21 (4) Consistent with the process established in section 106 (5) of 22 this act, the department may only approve a draft plan submitted by a 23 producer responsibility organization that meets the requirements of 24 this section. The department shall not approve a draft plan that does 25 not satisfy each criteria required of a plan under this section, 26 including, but not limited to, a plan that does not reduce or 27 eliminate disparities in the availability to socially vulnerable 28 populations of covered services for covered materials.29 NEW SECTION. Sec. 114. CONTINGENCY PLAN. (1) A producer 30 responsibility organization must submit to the department a 31 contingency plan demonstrating how the activities in the plan will 32 continue to be carried out by some other entity, such as an escrow 33 company, if needed:34 (a) Until such time as a new or updated plan is submitted and 35 approved by the department; 36 (b) Upon the expiration of an approved plan; 37 (c) If the producer responsibility organization notifies the 38 department that it will cease to implement an approved plan; or39 p. 43 E2SSB 5284.SL (d) In any other event that the producer responsibility 1 organization can no longer carry out plan implementation.2 (2) The contingency plan must be submitted to the department as a 3 component of the producer responsibility organization's initial plan. 4 The department may require a producer responsibility organization to 5 revise the contingency plan coincident with any plan submittal.6 (3) The requirements of this section do not require a producer 7 responsibility organization to hold funds in a dedicated account 8 until such time as the contingency plan must be implemented.9 (4) The department must follow the same process and timelines for 10 reviewing and approving the contingency plan as it follows for the 11 plan. 12 NEW SECTION. Sec. 115. PERFORMANCE TARGETS. (1) Each producer 13 responsibility organization must propose performance targets based on 14 the needs assessment that meet the statewide requirements in 15 subsection (10) of this section that must be included in an approved 16 plan. Performance targets must include reuse rates, return rates, 17 recycling rates for materials delivered to responsible markets, 18 composting rates, and targets for plastic source reduction and 19 postconsumer recycled content by covered materials type, as 20 applicable. For products for which postconsumer recycled content 21 rates are established in RCW 70A.245.010 through 70A.245.050 and 22 70A.245.090 (1), (2), and (4), those rates must be included in an 23 approved plan. The producer responsibility organization must propose 24 the unit or units that are most appropriate to measure each 25 performance target as informed by the needs assessment.26 (2) The department may require that a producer responsibility 27 organization obtain third-party certification of any activity or 28 achievement of any performance target required by this chapter if a 29 third-party certification is readily available, deemed applicable, 30 and of reasonable cost. The department must provide the producer 31 responsibility organization with notice of at least one year prior to 32 requiring use of third-party certification under this subsection.33 (3) Proposed targets must demonstrate continuous improvement in 34 reducing environmental impacts and human health impacts of covered 35 materials over time. 36 (4) For purposes of determining whether recycling performance 37 targets are being met, except as modified by the department, a plan 38 must provide a methodology for measuring the amount of covered 39 p. 44 E2SSB 5284.SL material sent for recycling at the point at which material leaves a 1 material recovery facility or other processing facility and must 2 account for: 3 (a) Levels and types of estimated contamination documented by the 4 facility; 5 (b) Any exclusions for fuel or energy capture; and6 (c) Compliance with all state laws pertaining to toxic substances 7 in covered materials. 8 (5)(a) The department must, in consultation with representatives 9 from overburdened communities, the advisory council, service 10 providers, municipalities, state agencies, alternative recycling 11 technology providers, and others, approve or deny a proposal by a 12 producer responsibility organization to count towards recycling 13 performance targets the materials sent to facilities that use an 14 alternative recycling process for conversion of plastic covered 15 materials for the purpose of producing recycled material.16 (b) The department must establish a process by which a producer 17 responsibility organization may annually propose to count towards 18 recycling performance targets the materials sent to a facility that 19 uses an alternative recycling process. 20 (c) The department may only approve the producer responsibility 21 organization's proposal to count towards recycling performance 22 targets the materials sent to a facility that uses an alternative 23 recycling process if the department determines that the alternative 24 recycling process: 25 (i) Does not include combustion, fuel production, and other forms 26 of energy recovery of plastic covered materials in processing or 27 disposal; 28 (ii) Provides protection for the environment and human health 29 with consideration of inputs and outputs, including as measured 30 against all of the following criteria: 31 (A) Environmental release of air and water pollutants or any 32 hazardous pollutants; 33 (B) Generation of hazardous waste; 34 (C) Energy use and generation of greenhouse gases;35 (D) Environmental impacts on overburdened communities and 36 socially vulnerable populations; 37 (E) Water usage including, but not limited to, impacts to local 38 water resources and sewage infrastructure; 39 (F) Public health impacts; and 40 p. 45 E2SSB 5284.SL (G) Capture and recycling rates; 1 (iii) Reduces gaps in collection, recycling, and composting 2 services at covered entities; 3 (iv) Meets an unmet need in the state that will result in meeting 4 recycling performance targets, including creating new recycling 5 markets for materials currently disposed of in landfills or 6 incinerated; 7 (v) Provides third-party certification of recycled content; and8 (vi) Addresses those other environmental impacts as determined by 9 the department. 10 (d)(i) In making its determination under (c) of this subsection, 11 the department must take into consideration any local, state, or 12 federal environmental permitting requirements that govern the 13 operation of an alternative recycling process that reduces air and 14 water pollutants or the generation of hazardous waste or pollutants. 15 The department must also take into consideration whether the 16 alternative process produces food-grade or pharmaceutical-grade 17 recycled content. 18 (ii) The department must publish a determination on the producer 19 responsibility organization's proposal, detailing why it was approved 20 or denied and how it measured against the criteria listed in (c) of 21 this subsection. The department must also conduct a public review 22 process for at least 60 days. 23 (e) A person may appeal a decision by the department under (d) of 24 this subsection to the pollution control hearings board.25 (f) The department must, no more frequently than every five 26 years, require the producer responsibility organization to provide 27 any updated information deemed necessary that demonstrates that an 28 approved alternative recycling process is continuing to meet the 29 requirements of this section. If the facility fails to meet the 30 requirements of this section, the department shall prohibit the 31 producer responsibility organization from counting material sent to 32 the alternative recycling facility towards recycling performance 33 targets. 34 (g) Nothing in this chapter prohibits or affects the use of any 35 alternative recycling process for products or packaging that are not 36 covered materials under this chapter. 37 (6) For purposes of determining whether plastic source reduction 38 performance targets are being met, a plan must provide a methodology 39 for measuring the amount of plastic source reduction of covered 40 p. 46 E2SSB 5284.SL materials in a manner that can be used to determine the extent to 1 which the amount of material used for a covered material can be 2 reduced to what is necessary to efficiently deliver a product without 3 damage or spoilage, or other means of covered material redesign to 4 reduce overall use and environmental impacts and maintain 5 recyclability, compostability, or reusability. No more than eight 6 percent of a producer responsibility organization's plastic source 7 reduction performance target may be met by switching from virgin 8 covered material to postconsumer recycled content through a sliding 9 scale alternative compliance formula developed by the department 10 based on the ratio of virgin plastic to postconsumer recycled 11 plastic. For producers subject to the postconsumer recycled content 12 requirements of chapter 70A.245 RCW, the postconsumer recycled 13 content used to comply with those requirements may be credited 14 towards the plastic source reduction performance target, subject to 15 the eight percent limit. 16 (7) For purposes of determining whether reuse performance targets 17 are being met, a plan must provide a methodology for measuring the 18 amount of reusable covered materials at the point at which reusable 19 covered materials meet the following criteria as demonstrated by the 20 producer and approved by the department whether the:21 (a) Average minimum number of cycles of reuses within a 22 recognized reuse system has been met based on the number of times an 23 item must be reused for it to have lower environmental impacts than 24 the single-use versions of those items based on accepted industry 25 standards; and 26 (b) Demonstrated or research-based anticipated return rate of the 27 covered material to the reuse system has been met.28 (8) For purposes of determining whether postconsumer recycled 29 content performance targets are being met under this chapter, a plan 30 must provide a methodology for measuring postconsumer recycled 31 content across all producers for a covered materials type where 32 producers may determine their postconsumer recycled content based on 33 their United States market territory if state-specific postconsumer 34 recycled content is impractical to determine. 35 (9) For other performance targets, the producer responsibility 36 organization must propose methodologies for review and approval as 37 part of the plan based on findings from the needs assessment.38 p. 47 E2SSB 5284.SL (10)(a) The department must establish statewide requirements and 1 a date by which those requirements must be met for each of the 2 following categories: 3 (i) Recycling rate; 4 (ii) Composting rate; 5 (iii) Reuse rate; 6 (iv) Return rate; 7 (v) The percentage of covered materials introduced that must be 8 plastic source reduced; and 9 (vi) The percentage of postconsumer recycled content that covered 10 materials must contain, including an overall percentage for all 11 covered materials, as applicable, excluding compostable materials 12 that cannot include postconsumer recycled content due to unique 13 chemical or physical properties or health or safety requirements that 14 prohibit introduction of postconsumer recycled content.15 (b) The department may use the following information and criteria 16 when establishing statewide requirements under (a) of this 17 subsection: 18 (i) The needs assessment; 19 (ii) The goals and requirements of chapter 70A.205 RCW ;20 (iii) The greenhouse gas emissions limits of chapter 70A.45 RCW ;21 (iv) The need for continuous progress towards overall reduction 22 in the generation of covered materials waste, the reuse, recycling, 23 or composting of covered materials to reduce environmental impacts 24 and human health impacts, and progress to incorporate postconsumer 25 recycled content to replace virgin materials and support more 26 regional markets; 27 (v) A preference for statewide requirements that accomplish and 28 further the goals and requirements in (b)(ii) through (iv) of this 29 subsection as soon as practicable and to the maximum extent 30 achievable; and 31 (vi) Information from packaging and paper product producer 32 responsibility programs operating in other jurisdictions.33 (c) The department must consult with producer responsibility 34 organizations on establishing statewide requirements, submit proposed 35 statewide requirements for review by the advisory council, and 36 consider the advisory council's recommendations before finalizing the 37 statewide requirements. 38 (d) Every five years, the department must review the statewide 39 requirements established under this subsection. If the department 40 p. 48 E2SSB 5284.SL decides an update is not warranted at that time, the department must 1 submit the reasoning to the advisory council and consider the 2 advisory council's recommendations before making a final decision. If 3 the department decides an update is warranted, the department must 4 follow the process specified in (b) and (c) of this subsection.5 (e) Producer responsibility organizations must ensure the 6 statewide requirements are met. 7 NEW SECTION. Sec. 116. PRODUCER FEES. (1) A registered producer 8 responsibility organization may charge each member producer a fee 9 according to each producer's unit-based, weight-based, volume-based, 10 or sales-based market share or by another method it determines to be 11 an equitable determination of each producer's payment obligation, so 12 that the aggregate fees charged to member producers are sufficient to 13 pay the producer responsibility organization's costs in full until 14 the producer responsibility organization has an approved plan.15 (2) A producer responsibility organization with an approved plan 16 must annually collect a fee from each member producer that must:17 (a) Vary based on the total amount of covered materials each 18 producer introduces in the prior year calculated on a per unit basis, 19 such as per ton, per item, or another unit of measurement;20 (b) Reflect program costs for each covered materials type, net of 21 commodity value for that covered materials type when used as a 22 recycled material, as well as allocated fixed costs that do not vary 23 based on covered materials type. Any membership fees charged for 24 different covered material types, materials, and formats must:25 (i) For covered materials that are on the statewide lists 26 established under section 109 of this act, be proportional to the 27 costs to the producer responsibility organization for that covered 28 material type, covered material, or format; and 29 (ii) Discourage the use of covered materials that are not on the 30 statewide lists established under section 109 of this act;31 (c) Incentivize using materials and design attributes that reduce 32 the environmental impacts and human health impacts of covered 33 materials by: 34 (i) Eliminating intentionally added toxic substances or residual 35 toxic substances from manufacturing in covered materials;36 (ii) Reducing the amount of: 37 p. 49 E2SSB 5284.SL (A) Packaging per individual covered material that is necessary 1 to efficiently deliver a product without damage or spoilage and 2 without reducing its ability to be recycled or composted; and3 (B) Paper used to manufacture individual paper products;4 (iii) Increasing the amount of covered materials managed in a 5 reuse system; 6 (iv) Increasing the proportion of postconsumer material in 7 covered materials; 8 (v) Enhancing the recyclability or compostability of a covered 9 material; 10 (vi) Increasing the amounts of inputs derived from renewable and 11 sustainable sources without reducing its ability to be recycled; and12 (vii) Other means, as approved by the department;13 (d) Discourage using materials and design attributes in covered 14 materials whose environmental impacts and human health impacts can be 15 reduced by the methods listed in (c) of this subsection;16 (e) Prioritize reuse by charging covered materials that are 17 managed through a reuse system only once, upon initial entry into the 18 marketplace; and 19 (f) Generate revenue sufficient to pay in full:20 (i) The fee to the department required under section 106 of this 21 act; 22 (ii) The financial obligations to complete activities described 23 in an approved plan and to reimburse service providers under section 24 117 of this act; 25 (iii) The funding required under section 104 of this act for the 26 reuse financial assistance program; 27 (iv) The operating costs of the producer responsibility 28 organization; and 29 (v) For establishment and maintenance of a financial reserve that 30 is sufficient to operate the program in a fiscally prudent and 31 responsible manner. 32 (3) Revenues collected under this section that exceed the amount 33 needed to pay the costs described in subsection (2)(f) of this 34 section must be used to improve or enhance program outcomes or to 35 reduce producer fees according to provisions of an approved plan.36 (4) Fees collected from producers under this chapter may not be 37 used for lobbying or political advocacy activities that would require 38 reporting under chapter 42.17A RCW or under the federal election 39 campaign act, 2 U.S.C. chapter 14. 40 p. 50 E2SSB 5284.SL NEW SECTION. Sec. 117. SERVICE PROVIDER REIMBURSEMENT. (1) The 1 reimbursements provided for covered services to covered entities 2 under an approved plan must only be provided to service providers 3 that, at a minimum, meet the performance standards established under 4 an approved plan.5 (2)(a) A plan must provide a methodology for reimbursement rates 6 for covered services for covered materials, exclusive of exempt 7 materials. The methodology for reimbursement rates must consider 8 estimated revenue received by service providers from the sale of 9 covered materials based on relevant material indices and incorporate 10 relevant cost information identified by the needs assessment. 11 Reimbursement rates must be annually updated and reflect the net 12 costs for covered services for covered materials from entities 13 receiving services under this chapter, at a minimum. Reimbursement 14 rates must be established equivalent to net costs, using a 15 methodology in an approved plan as follows: 16 (i) No less than 50 percent of the net costs by February 15, 17 2030; 18 (ii) No less than 75 percent of the net costs by February 15, 19 2031; and 20 (iii) No less than 90 percent of the net costs by February 15, 21 2032, and each year thereafter. 22 (b) Reimbursement rates must be based on the following, as 23 applicable by the service provided: 24 (i) The cost to collect covered material for recycling, a 25 proportional share of composting, or reuse adjusted to reflect 26 conditions that affect those costs, varied by region or jurisdiction 27 in which the covered services are provided including, but not limited 28 to: 29 (A) The number and type of covered entities; 30 (B) Population density; 31 (C) Collection methods employed; 32 (D) Distance traveled by collection vehicles to consolidation or 33 transfer facilities, to reuse, recycling, or composting facilities, 34 and to responsible markets; 35 (E) Other factors that may contribute to regional or 36 jurisdictional cost differences; 37 (F) The proportion of covered compostable materials within all 38 source separated compostable materials collected or managed through 39 composting; and 40 p. 51 E2SSB 5284.SL (G) The general quality of covered materials collected by service 1 providers; 2 (ii) The cost to transfer collected covered materials from 3 consolidation or transfer facilities to reuse, processing, recycling, 4 or composting facilities or to responsible markets;5 (iii) The cost to: 6 (A) Sort and process covered materials for sale or use and remove 7 contamination from covered materials by a recycling or composting 8 facility, minus the average fair market value for that covered 9 material based on market indices for the region; and10 (B) Manage contamination removed from collected covered material;11 (iv) The administrative costs of service providers, including 12 education, public awareness campaigns, and outreach program costs as 13 applicable; and 14 (v) The costs of covered services for a refill system or covered 15 services provided for reusable covered materials and management of 16 contamination. 17 (c) A service provider retains all revenue from the sale of 18 covered materials unless otherwise agreed upon by the service 19 provider. Nothing in this chapter may restrict a service provider 20 from charging a fee for covered services for covered materials to the 21 extent that reimbursement from a producer responsibility organization 22 does not cover all costs of services, including continued investment 23 and innovation in operations, operating profits, and returns on 24 investments required by a service provider to provide sustainability 25 of the services. 26 (d) Reimbursement rates may be calculated per ton, by household, 27 or by another unit of measurement. 28 (3)(a) Nothing in this section may be construed to require a 29 government entity to agree to operate under a plan. Any government 30 entity that is also a service provider is eligible to be registered 31 with the department and reimbursed per the rates and schedule 32 established in accordance with this section. 33 (b) Nothing in this chapter restricts the authority of a 34 political subdivision of the state to provide waste management 35 services to residents, to contract with any entity to provide waste 36 management services, or to exercise its authority granted under RCW 37 35.21.120, 35.21.130, 35.21.152, or 36.58.040. A producer 38 responsibility organization may not restrict or otherwise interfere 39 with a government entity exercising its authority under RCW 40 p. 52 E2SSB 5284.SL 35.21.120, 35.21.130, 35.21.152, or 36.58.040 to organize collection 1 of solid waste, including materials collected for recycling or 2 composting, or to extend, renew, or otherwise manage any contracts 3 entered into as a result of exercising such authority or otherwise 4 resulting from a competitive procurement process. 5 (4) A producer responsibility organization must establish a 6 dispute resolution process utilizing third-party mediators for 7 disputes related to reimbursements. 8 NEW SECTION. Sec. 118. INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS. (1) For 9 infrastructure investments, a producer responsibility organization 10 must use a competitive bidding process and publicly post bid 11 opportunities, except that preference must be given to existing 12 facilities and providers of services in the state for waste 13 reduction, refill, reuse, collection, recycling, and composting of 14 covered materials.15 (2) A producer or producer responsibility organization may not 16 own or partially own infrastructure that is used to fulfill 17 obligations under this chapter, except in the following 18 circumstances: 19 (a) A producer may hold an ownership stake in infrastructure used 20 to fulfill obligations under this chapter as long as the stake was 21 held before the effective date of this section and the ownership 22 stake is fully disclosed by the producer to the producer 23 responsibility organization; 24 (b) After a bidding process described in subsection (1) of this 25 section under which no service provider bids on the contract, the 26 producer responsibility organization may make infrastructure 27 investments to implement the requirements of this chapter; or28 (c) A producer or producer responsibility organization may own or 29 partially own infrastructure that is used solely for purposes of the 30 reuse financial assistance program or as needed to fulfill an 31 individual plan or alternative collection program.32 (3) The direct or indirect receipt of funds from a producer 33 responsibility organization under this chapter does not confer any 34 inherent ownership or interest in any asset or company to which funds 35 are directed and does not confer any inherent right to control use of 36 any asset or company operations. 37 p. 53 E2SSB 5284.SL NEW SECTION. Sec. 119. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. (1) A producer 1 responsibility organization must develop and maintain a public 2 website that uses best practices for accessibility and contains, at a 3 minimum:4 (a) Information regarding a process that members of the public 5 may use to contact the producer responsibility organization with 6 questions; 7 (b) A directory of all service providers operating under the plan 8 administered by the producer responsibility organization, grouped by 9 location or government entity; 10 (c) Registration materials submitted to the department;11 (d) The draft and approved plan and any draft and approved 12 amendments; 13 (e) The list of exempt materials under this chapter;14 (f) Current and all past needs assessments; 15 (g) Annual reports submitted to the department by the producer 16 responsibility organization; 17 (h) A link to administrative rules implementing this chapter;18 (i) Comments of the advisory council on the documents listed in 19 (d) and (f) of this subsection and the responses of the producer 20 responsibility organization to those comments; 21 (j) A list, updated at least monthly, of all member producers 22 that will operate under the plan administered by the producer 23 responsibility organization and, for each producer, a list of all 24 brands of the producer's covered materials; and 25 (k) Education materials on waste reduction, refill, reuse, 26 recycling, and composting for producers and the general public.27 (2) A producer responsibility organization must implement 28 education and outreach activities that are conceptually, 29 linguistically, and culturally tailored to effectively reach diverse 30 residents and include culturally responsive materials and methods 31 that rely on evidence-based practices, are accessible, clear, and 32 support the achievement of the performance targets, including by 33 developing and providing educational materials, resources, and 34 campaigns that encourage and support recycling, composting, and reuse 35 behaviors by residents and visitors. Activities must:36 (a) Assist producers in improving product labels as a means of 37 informing consumers about refill, reuse, recycling, composting, and 38 other environmentally sound methods of managing covered materials;39 p. 54 E2SSB 5284.SL (b) Increase public awareness of how to use and manage covered 1 materials in an environmentally sound manner and how to access waste 2 reduction, refill, reuse, recycling, and composting services;3 (c) Encourage behavior change to increase participation in waste 4 reduction, refill, reuse, recycling, and composting programs 5 including by considering motivational structures for recycling and 6 reuse by engaging local communities in the design and implementation 7 of programs and developing community-led solutions that are tailored 8 to their specific cultural practices and waste generation patterns;9 (d) Reduce resident confusion regarding the appropriate solid 10 waste collection container or end-of-life management option for each 11 type of covered material; and 12 (e) Develop and provide education and outreach materials that are 13 able to be used by retail establishments, collectors, government 14 entities, service providers, schools, institutions, youth 15 organizations, and nonprofit organizations. Outreach materials must 16 be accessible in multiple languages and culturally appropriate 17 formats including by reaching non-English-speaking communities and by 18 using a variety of tailored media and behavior change strategies.19 (3) A producer responsibility organization must coordinate with 20 registered service providers and any government entities that choose 21 to participate in carrying out education and outreach consistent with 22 the plan. 23 NEW SECTION. Sec. 120. ANNUAL REPORT. (1) By July 1, 2031, and 24 each July 1st thereafter, a producer responsibility organization must 25 submit an annual report to the department that contains, at a 26 minimum, the following information for the previous calendar year:27 (a) The amount of covered materials introduced, by covered 28 materials type, reported in the same units used to establish producer 29 fees under this chapter; 30 (b) Progress made toward the performance targets reported in the 31 same units used to establish producer fees under this chapter, and 32 reported statewide and for each county, including:33 (i) The amount of covered materials successfully source reduced, 34 reused, recycled, and composted by covered materials type and the 35 strategies or collection methods used; and 36 (ii) Information about third-party certifications obtained;37 (c) The total cost to implement the program and a detailed 38 description of program expenditures by category, including:39 p. 55 E2SSB 5284.SL (i) The total amount of producer fees collected;1 (ii) A description of infrastructure investments made; and2 (iii) A breakdown of reimbursements by covered services, entities 3 receiving covered services, and regions of the state;4 (d) A copy of a financial audit of program operations conducted 5 by an independent auditor approved by the department that meets the 6 requirements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Accounting 7 Standards update 2016-14, not-for-profit entities (Topic 958), as it 8 existed as of January 1, 2025, or an updated standard as required by 9 the department by rule; 10 (e) A description of the program performance problems that 11 emerged in specific locations and efforts taken or proposed by the 12 producer responsibility organization to address them;13 (f) A discussion of technical assistance provided to producers 14 regarding toxic substances in covered materials and actions taken by 15 producers to reduce intentionally added toxic substances and residual 16 toxic substances from manufacturing in covered materials beyond 17 compliance with prohibitions already established in law;18 (g) A description of public awareness, education, and outreach 19 activities undertaken, including any evaluations conducted of their 20 efficacy, plans for next calendar year's activities, and an 21 evaluation of the process established by the producer responsibility 22 organization to answer questions from consumers regarding collection, 23 recycling, composting, waste reduction, and reuse activities;24 (h) A description, which includes quantitative measurements, of 25 changes in levels of access to covered services for covered materials 26 by socially vulnerable populations relative to levels of access to 27 and participation in covered services for covered materials by 28 socially vulnerable populations prior to the implementation of the 29 first plan under this chapter; 30 (i) A summary of consultations held with the advisory council and 31 how any feedback was incorporated into the report as a result, 32 together with a list of rejected recommendations and the reasons for 33 rejection; 34 (j) A list of producers found to be out of compliance with this 35 chapter and actions taken by the producer responsibility organization 36 to return producers to compliance, and notification of any producers 37 that are no longer participating in the producer responsibility 38 organization or who have been expelled due to their lack of 39 compliance; 40 p. 56 E2SSB 5284.SL (k) Proposed amendments to the plan to improve program 1 performance or reduce costs, including changes to producer fees, 2 infrastructure investments, or reimbursement rates;3 (l) Recommendations for additions or removals of covered 4 materials to or from the recyclable or compostable covered materials 5 lists established under section 109 of this act; and6 (m) Information requested by the department to evaluate the 7 effectiveness of the program as it is described in the plan and to 8 assist with determining compliance with this chapter.9 (2) A producer responsibility organization that fails to meet a 10 performance target approved in a plan must, within 90 days of filing 11 an annual report under this section, file with the department an 12 explanation of the factors contributing to the failure and propose an 13 amendment to the plan specifying changes in operations, including 14 education and outreach, that the producer responsibility organization 15 will make that are designed to achieve the performance targets. If a 16 performance target is unmet due to the lack of government entity 17 participation in the program, the department may revise the statewide 18 requirements. If a revision to the statewide requirements is 19 completed by the department, the producer responsibility organization 20 may revise the performance targets at the same time. An amendment 21 filed under this subsection must be reviewed by the advisory council 22 and approved by the department in the manner specified in section 106 23 of this act. 24 NEW SECTION. Sec. 121. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF PROGRAM. (1)(a) By 25 January 1, 2028, the department must contract with an independent 26 consultant to carry out a one-time ex-ante analysis of each draft 27 plan submitted to the department by October 1, 2028, that addresses:28 (i) The impact of the proposed program on the consumer prices of 29 covered materials and items sold with covered materials;30 (ii) The impacts of the proposed program on environmental 31 justice, as defined in RCW 70A.02.010, and on the availability and 32 convenience of recycling, composting, and reuse services, including 33 specific analysis of the availability and convenience of recycling, 34 composting, and reuse services used by socially vulnerable 35 populations and in overburdened communities; and 36 (iii) Whether and how a beverage container deposit return program 37 could be established as a complement to the proposed plan, and 38 designed in a manner that would improve on the performance targets 39 p. 57 E2SSB 5284.SL and program outcomes proposed in the plan and in a manner that would 1 improve accessibility and convenience to recycling options for 2 beverage containers. 3 (b) The analysis must be informed by input from stakeholders and 4 informed by experience from other jurisdictions. 5 (c) The analysis must be completed and submitted to the 6 department by January 15, 2029. 7 (d) The department's contract with the independent consultant 8 must allow the consultant to begin its analysis prior to the 9 submission of the draft plan on October 1, 2028. The department must 10 require a producer responsibility organization to cooperate and share 11 information with the independent consultant hired by the department 12 to facilitate the consultant being able to complete its analysis in 13 time to allow for consideration by the 2029 legislature.14 (e) The department must notify the appropriate committees of the 15 legislature upon the completion of the analysis under this subsection 16 (1). 17 (2) By September 1, 2038, the department must contract with an 18 independent consultant to analyze the impacts of the initial seven 19 years of program implementation and must submit a report summarizing 20 the analysis to the appropriate committees of the legislature. The 21 analysis must include the effects of the program on:22 (a) Solid waste, composting, or recycling costs;23 (b) Recycling rates, reuse rates, postconsumer recycled content 24 rates, source reduction rates, and composting rates; and25 (c) The availability and convenience of recycling, composting, 26 and reuse services, including specific analysis of the availability 27 and convenience of recycling, composting, and reuse services used by 28 socially vulnerable populations. 29 (3)(a) The independent consultant, for purposes of the 30 independent review of the program carried out under this section, may 31 review: 32 (i) Information submitted to the department under section 120 of 33 this act; and 34 (ii) Producer or producer responsibility organization data or 35 information pertinent to the program. 36 (b) The independent consultant must treat confidential records in 37 a manner consistent with the department's policy under section 122 of 38 this act. 39 p. 58 E2SSB 5284.SL (4) To the extent that sufficient state-level data is not 1 available to complete the analyses required in subsection (2) of this 2 section, the independent consultant may review data or studies from 3 states with similar programs. 4 NEW SECTION. Sec. 122. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION SUBMISSION. A 5 producer responsibility organization, service provider, material 6 recovery facility, organic material management facility, responsible 7 market, or other entity that submits information or records to the 8 department under this chapter may request that the information or 9 records, including data related to business profits, service rates, 10 fees, or business expenses or private data on individuals, be made 11 available only for the confidential use of the department, the 12 director of the department, the appropriate division of the 13 department, or the independent consultant carrying out the 14 independent review of the program in section 121 of this act. The 15 director of the department must consider the request and if this 16 action is not detrimental to the public interest and is otherwise in 17 accordance with the policies and purposes of chapter 43.21A RCW, the 18 director must grant the request for the information to remain 19 confidential as authorized in RCW 43.21A.160.20 NEW SECTION. Sec. 123. ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY. (1)(a) The 21 department may administratively impose a civil penalty of up to 22 $1,000 per violation per day on any producer who violates this 23 chapter and up to $10,000 per violation per day for the second and 24 each subsequent violation.25 (b) For a producer out of compliance with the requirements of 26 this chapter, the department shall provide written notification and 27 offer information. For the purposes of this subsection, written 28 notification serves as notice of the violation. The department must 29 issue at least one notice of violation by certified mail prior to 30 assessing a penalty and the department may only impose a penalty on a 31 producer that has not met the requirements of this chapter 60 days 32 following the date the written notification of the violation was 33 sent. 34 (2)(a) The department may administratively impose a civil penalty 35 of up to $1,000 per violation per day on any producer responsibility 36 organization that violates this chapter and up to $10,000 per 37 violation per day for the second and each subsequent violation.38 p. 59 E2SSB 5284.SL (b) The department may, in addition to assessing the penalties 1 provided in (a) of this subsection, take any combination of the 2 following actions: 3 (i) Issue a corrective action order to a producer responsibility 4 organization; 5 (ii) Issue an order to a producer responsibility organization to 6 provide for the continued implementation of the program in the 7 absence of an approved plan; 8 (iii) Revoke the producer responsibility organization's plan 9 approval and require implementation of the contingency plan;10 (iv) Require a producer responsibility organization to revise or 11 resubmit a plan within a specified time frame; or 12 (v) Require additional reporting related to the area of 13 noncompliance. 14 (c) Prior to taking an action described in this subsection, the 15 department must provide the producer responsibility organization an 16 opportunity to respond to or rebut the written finding upon which the 17 action is predicated. 18 (3) A person may not sell or distribute in or into the state a 19 covered material of a producer that is not participating in a 20 producer responsibility organization or that is not in compliance 21 with the requirements of this chapter or rules adopted under this 22 chapter. 23 (a) The department shall serve, or send with delivery 24 confirmation, a written warning explaining the violation to a person 25 distributing or selling covered materials of a producer that is not 26 in compliance with this chapter. 27 (b) The department may assess a penalty on a person that 28 continues to sell or distribute covered materials of a producer that 29 is in violation of this chapter 60 days after receipt of the written 30 warning under this subsection. The amount of the penalty that the 31 department may assess under this subsection is twice the value of the 32 covered materials sold in violation of this chapter or $500, 33 whichever is greater. The department must waive the penalty upon 34 verification that the person has discontinued distribution or sales 35 of the covered material within 30 days of the date the penalty is 36 assessed. 37 (4) Any person who incurs a penalty or receives an order may 38 appeal the penalty or order to the pollution control hearings board 39 established in chapter 43.21B RCW . 40 p. 60 E2SSB 5284.SL (5) Penalties levied under this section must be deposited in the 1 recycling enhancement account created in RCW 70A.245.100.2 (6) Upon receipt of a request from the advisory council, the 3 department must consider the appropriateness of the use of 4 enforcement authority authorized in this section. 5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 124. STUDY OF DEPOSIT RETURN SYSTEM. (1) The 6 department shall contract with an independent consultant to conduct 7 two studies on the potential statewide impacts of a recycling refunds 8 program, also known as a beverage container deposit return system, in 9 Washington state. The studies must prioritize equity, accessibility, 10 and community perspectives.11 (2) The consultant, in coordination with the department, shall 12 lead a community engagement process in at least three geographically 13 diverse areas of the state with a high concentration of socially 14 vulnerable or overburdened populations, as identified by the 15 department consistent with RCW 70A.02.010. The results of this 16 engagement process must be submitted to the legislature by January 1, 17 2027. The engagement process must: 18 (a) Solicit input on access to recycling and redemption services, 19 local infrastructure needs, and community priorities related to 20 convenience and equity; 21 (b) Assess consumer sentiment, awareness, and perceptions of a 22 recycling refunds program, including perceived benefits, barriers to 23 participation, and potential economic impacts, particularly for low-24 income households; 25 (c) Include: 26 (i) Community input sessions in overburdened communities;27 (ii) Outreach to local governments, tribal governments, 28 environmental justice and equity organizations, producers, recycling 29 system operators, and other relevant stakeholders; and30 (iii) Engagement with individuals and organizations concerned 31 about the economic impacts of a recycling refunds program, 32 particularly on low-income consumers; and 33 (d) Develop recommendations to ensure that a recycling refunds 34 program is equitably accessible, convenient, and responsive to 35 community needs across all regions of the state. 36 (3) In the same three regions required to be identified under 37 subsection (2) of this section, the consultant shall evaluate and 38 model what convenient access to redemption services would look like, 39 p. 61 E2SSB 5284.SL with respect to the types of express and full-service redemption 1 sites. The results of this engagement process must be submitted to 2 the legislature by January 1, 2026. This analysis must at a minimum 3 consider: 4 (a) The availability of suitable infrastructure for redemption 5 services that include reusable packaging; 6 (b) Accessibility via public transportation; 7 (c) Colocation opportunities with existing waste or recycling 8 facilities; and 9 (d) Strategies to reduce transportation burdens on residents in 10 rural, remote, and underserved communities. 11 (4) The department shall submit the consultant's findings and 12 recommendations to the appropriate committees of the house of 13 representatives and the senate by January 1, 2026, for the study 14 completed in subsection (3) of this section and January 1, 2027, for 15 the study completed in subsection (2) of this section.16 (5) Registered producer responsibility organizations under 17 section 103 of this act are responsible for payment of the 18 department's cost to complete these studies as part of the one-time 19 payment due to the department on September 1, 2026, under section 20 103(4) of this act. 21 NEW SECTION. Sec. 125. DEPOSIT RETURN SYSTEM. (1) It is the 22 intent of the legislature that if a bottle deposit return system is 23 enacted in the future, it will be harmonized with this chapter in a 24 manner that ensures that:25 (a) Materials covered in that system are exempt from this chapter 26 or related financial obligations are reduced; 27 (b) Colocation of drop-off collection sites is maximized;28 (c) Education and outreach are integrated between the two 29 programs; and 30 (d) Waste reduction and reuse strategies are prioritized between 31 the two programs. 32 (2) Any implementation of a bottle deposit return system must 33 include a two-year transition period before the expiration of the 34 currently approved plan and be conducted in a manner that does not 35 create sudden and significant operational or financial disruption to 36 the implementation of a plan under this chapter, including provisions 37 of recycling or reuse services contained in the plan.38 p. 62 E2SSB 5284.SL NEW SECTION. Sec. 126. PETITION FOR THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN 1 PRODUCTS. (1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, 2 one year prior to the submission of a plan, a producer, group of 3 producers, or a producer responsibility organization may submit a 4 petition to the department to request for reasons of public health or 5 safety the temporary exclusion of packaging used to contain the 6 following categories of products, subcategories of the following 7 categories of products, or individual products:8 (a) Raw meat products that are demonstrated to transfer pathogens 9 to direct contact packaging; 10 (b) Products regulated under the poison prevention packaging act 11 of 1970; and 12 (c) Products subject to requirements under federal laws that make 13 their inclusion in the requirements of this chapter infeasible or 14 inadvisable. 15 (2) A petition must provide information that is necessary and 16 sufficient for the department to make a determination including, at a 17 minimum, the following: 18 (a) The technical feasibility of including the category of 19 product, subcategory of product, or individual product in the program 20 created by this chapter, and in recycling the packaging of the 21 product or products; 22 (b) An analysis of any potential risks to public health and 23 safety associated with the inclusion of a category of product, 24 subcategory of product, or individual product in the program created 25 by this chapter, and in recycling the packaging of the product or 26 products; and 27 (c) The progress made by producers in achieving the goals of this 28 chapter, including by reducing the amount of packaging used with the 29 products, increasing the recycled content of the product packaging, 30 and increasing the ability of the products' packaging to be reused, 31 composted, or recycled if appropriate. 32 (3) The department must make a determination and notify the 33 petitioner within 90 days of receipt of the petition.34 (4) The producer of a product that is temporarily excluded from 35 the requirements of this chapter under this section must report, 36 directly to the department in a form created by the department, the 37 information related to the temporarily excluded product that is 38 required to be reported to the department by producer responsibility 39 organizations under sections 103 and 120 of this act.40 p. 63 E2SSB 5284.SL NEW SECTION. Sec. 127. IDENTIFICATION OF SOCIALLY VULNERABLE 1 POPULATIONS. (1) The department must periodically assess the 2 availability of, and methodology used by, the United States centers 3 for disease control and the agency for toxic substances and disease 4 registry's social vulnerability index, as compared to how it existed 5 as of January 1, 2025.6 (2) If the department determines that the social vulnerability 7 index is no longer available in substantially the same form as it 8 existed on January 1, 2025, the department must notify each 9 registered producer responsibility organization that for purposes of 10 the identification of socially vulnerable populations under this 11 chapter, the department and producer responsibility organizations are 12 no longer required to reference the United States centers for disease 13 control and the agency for toxic substances and disease registry's 14 social vulnerability index. Instead, the department and registered 15 producer responsibility organizations must reference the alternative 16 populations specified in subsection (3) of this section.17 (3)(a) Until such time as a rule is adopted under (b) of this 18 subsection, the department and registered producer responsibility 19 organizations must, for purposes of identifying socially vulnerable 20 populations, identify as socially vulnerable populations those 21 communities ranked as an eight or higher on the environmental health 22 disparities map developed under RCW 43.70.815. 23 (b) After making a determination under subsection (2) of this 24 section, by rule the department may, but is not required to, adopt an 25 alternative methodology for the identification of socially vulnerable 26 populations to replace the reference to the United States centers for 27 disease control and the agency for toxic substances and disease 28 registry's social vulnerability index. A rule adopted under this 29 subsection may, but is not required to, rely in whole or in part on 30 the environmental health disparities map developed by the department 31 of health under RCW 43.70.815. 32 NEW SECTION. Sec. 128. OTHER. (1) Nothing in this act impacts 33 an entity's eligibility for any state or local incentive or 34 assistance program to which they are otherwise eligible. Nothing in 35 this act limits the authority of private parties or government 36 entities to enter into contracts.37 (2) Nothing in this chapter authorizes the department or a 38 producer responsibility organization to impose any requirement, in 39 p. 64 E2SSB 5284.SL direct conflict with a federal law or regulation including, but not 1 limited to: 2 (a) Laws or regulations covering tamper-evident packaging 3 pursuant to 21 C.F.R. Sec. 211.132; 4 (b) Laws or regulations covering child-resistant packaging 5 pursuant to 16 C.F.R. Sec. 1700.1, et seq.; 6 (c) Regulations, rules, or guidelines issued by the United States 7 department of agriculture or the United States food and drug 8 administration related to packaging agricultural commodities; and9 (d) Requirements for microbial contamination, structural 10 integrity, or safety of packaging, where no viable recyclable or 11 compostable packaging that can meet the requirements exists, pursuant 12 to: 13 (i) The federal food, drug, and cosmetic act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301, 14 et seq.); 15 (ii) 21 U.S.C. Sec. 2101, et seq.; 16 (iii) The federal food and drug administration food safety 17 modernization act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 2201, et seq.); 18 (iv) The federal poultry products inspection act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 19 451, et seq.); 20 (v) The federal meat inspection act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 601, et 21 seq.); or 22 (vi) The federal egg products inspection act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 23 1031, et seq.). 24 (3) No penalty may be assessed under this chapter on an 25 individual or resident for the improper disposal of covered materials 26 in a noncommercial or residential setting. 27 (4) Nothing in this chapter limits the authority of the utilities 28 and transportation commission to regulate collection of solid waste, 29 including curbside collection of residential recyclable materials, in 30 accordance with chapter 81.77 RCW . 31 (5) Nothing in this chapter affects the authority or duties of 32 the department of agriculture related to pest and noxious weed 33 control and quarantine measures under chapter 17.24 RCW .34 NEW SECTION. Sec. 129. ACCOUNT. The responsible recycling 35 management account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. 36 All receipts received by the department under this chapter must be 37 deposited in the account. Only the director of the department or the 38 director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The 39 p. 65 E2SSB 5284.SL account is subject to the allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 1 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures. 2 Expenditures from the account may be used by the department only for 3 implementing, administering, and enforcing the requirements of this 4 chapter, and by the department of labor and industries necessary to 5 cover the cost for the implementation and enforcement of section 304 6 of this act. It is the intent of the legislature that the portion of 7 the producer responsibility organization fee received in 2026 for the 8 costs of the department be transferred to whichever state account was 9 used to cover the costs of the department prior to the payment of the 10 producer responsibility organization fee in 2026. 11 Part Two12 Amendments to Existing Solid Waste Management Laws13 Sec. 201. RCW 70A.205.045 and 2020 c 20 s 1163 are each amended 14 to read as follows: 15 Each county and city comprehensive solid waste management plan 16 shall include the following: 17 (1) A detailed inventory and description of all existing solid 18 waste handling facilities including an inventory of any deficiencies 19 in meeting current solid waste handling needs. 20 (2) The estimated long-range needs for solid waste handling 21 facilities projected ((twenty)) 20 years into the future.22 (3) A program for the orderly development of solid waste handling 23 facilities in a manner consistent with the plans for the entire 24 county which shall: 25 (a) Meet the minimum functional standards for solid waste 26 handling adopted by the department and all laws and regulations 27 relating to air and water pollution, fire prevention, flood control, 28 and protection of public health; 29 (b) Take into account the comprehensive land use plan of each 30 jurisdiction; 31 (c) Contain a six year construction and capital acquisition 32 program for solid waste handling facilities; and 33 (d) Contain a plan for financing both capital costs and 34 operational expenditures of the proposed solid waste management 35 system. 36 (4) A program for surveillance and control. 37 p. 66 E2SSB 5284.SL (5) A current inventory and description of solid waste collection 1 needs and operations within each respective jurisdiction which shall 2 include: 3 (a) Any franchise for solid waste collection granted by the 4 utilities and transportation commission in the respective 5 jurisdictions including the name of the holder of the franchise and 6 the address of his or her place of business and the area covered by 7 the franchise; 8 (b) Any city solid waste operation within the county and the 9 boundaries of such operation; 10 (c) The population density of each area serviced by a city 11 operation or by a franchised operation within the respective 12 jurisdictions; 13 (d) The projected solid waste collection needs for the respective 14 jurisdictions for the next six years. 15 (6) A comprehensive waste reduction and recycling element that, 16 in accordance with the priorities established in RCW 70A.205.005, 17 provides programs that (a) reduce the amount of waste generated, (b) 18 provide incentives and mechanisms for source separation, and (c) 19 establish recycling opportunities for the source separated waste.20 (7) The waste reduction and recycling element shall include the 21 following: 22 (a) Waste reduction strategies, which may include strategies to 23 reduce wasted food and food waste that are designed to achieve the 24 goals established in RCW 70A.205.715(1) and that are consistent with 25 the plan developed in RCW 70A.205.715(3); 26 (b) Source separation strategies, including: 27 (i) Programs for the collection of source separated materials 28 from residences ((in urban and rural areas. In urban areas, these )).29 (A) Until January 1, 2030, these programs shall include 30 collection of source separated recyclable materials from single and 31 multiple-family residences, in urban areas, unless the department 32 approves an alternative program, according to the criteria in the 33 planning guidelines. Such criteria shall include: Anticipated 34 recovery rates and levels of public participation, availability of 35 environmentally sound disposal capacity, access to markets for 36 recyclable materials, unreasonable cost impacts on the ratepayer over 37 the six-year planning period, utilization of environmentally sound 38 waste reduction and recycling technologies, and other factors as 39 appropriate. In rural areas, these programs shall include but not be 40 p. 67 E2SSB 5284.SL limited to drop-off boxes, buy-back centers, or a combination of 1 both, at each solid waste transfer, processing, or disposal site, or 2 at locations convenient to the residents of the county. The drop-off 3 boxes and buy-back centers may be owned or operated by public, 4 nonprofit, or private persons; 5 (B) Except as provided in (b)(i)(C) of this subsection, beginning 6 January 1, 2030, these programs shall:7 (I) Provide curbside collection of source separated recyclable 8 materials from single-family and multiple-family residences wherever 9 curbside garbage collection services are provided to these entities;10 (II) Include materials on the statewide collection list 11 designated for residential collection established by the department; 12 and13 (III) Include service standards for curbside collection 14 frequency, container size, and method of collection, established 15 under plans approved by the department under chapter 70A.--- RCW (the 16 new chapter created in section 401 of this act);17 (C) A county may, by ordinance, direct that the full list of 18 materials on the statewide collection list identified as suitable for 19 residential collection be collected exclusively through drop-off 20 locations in areas regulated by the utilities and transportation 21 commission under the provisions of chapter 81.77 RCW if the areas 22 were designated as rural in the county solid waste management plan 23 and no curbside recycling collection service was offered within those 24 areas as of January 1, 2025. Where a county has adopted such an 25 ordinance, the provisions of (b)(i)(B) of this subsection do not 26 apply;27 (D) Comprehensive solid waste management plans may incorporate by 28 reference programs described in an approved producer responsibility 29 organization plan under chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created 30 in section 401 of this act) to fulfill the requirements of this 31 subsection (7)(b)(i) in whole or in part;32 (E) Before January 1, 2030, each comprehensive solid waste 33 management plan must be amended, revised, or updated by a 34 jurisdiction consistent with the requirements of this subsection 35 (7)(b)(i). If a comprehensive solid waste management plan has not 36 been amended, revised, or updated before January 1, 2030, to be 37 consistent with the requirements of this subsection (7)(b)(i), 38 beginning January 1, 2030, the model comprehensive solid waste plan 39 p. 68 E2SSB 5284.SL amendment provided by the department under section 106 of this act 1 applies in the jurisdiction; 2 (ii) Programs to monitor the collection of source separated waste 3 at nonresidential sites where there is sufficient density to sustain 4 a program; 5 (iii) Programs to collect yard waste and food waste, if the 6 county or city submitting the plan finds that there are adequate 7 markets or capacity for composted yard waste and food waste within or 8 near the service area to consume the majority of the material 9 collected; and 10 (iv) Programs to educate and promote the concepts of waste 11 reduction, refill, reuse, and recycling; 12 (c) Recycling strategies for materials not covered under chapter 13 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 401 of this act) , 14 including a description of markets for recyclables, a review of waste 15 generation trends, a description of waste composition, a discussion 16 and description of existing programs and any additional programs 17 needed to assist public and private sector recycling, and an 18 implementation schedule for the designation of specific materials to 19 be collected for recycling, and for the provision of recycling 20 collection services; 21 (d) Other information the county or city submitting the plan 22 determines is necessary. 23 (8) An assessment of the plan's impact on the costs of solid 24 waste collection. The assessment shall be prepared in conformance 25 with guidelines established by the utilities and transportation 26 commission. The commission shall cooperate with the Washington state 27 association of counties and the association of Washington cities in 28 establishing such guidelines. 29 (9) A review of potential areas that meet the criteria as 30 outlined in RCW 70A.205.110. 31 (10) A contamination reduction and outreach plan. The 32 contamination reduction and outreach plan must address reducing 33 contamination in recycling. Except for counties with a population of 34 ((twenty-five thousand )) 25,000 or fewer, by July 1, 2021, a 35 contamination reduction and outreach plan must be included in each 36 solid waste management plan by a plan amendment or included when 37 revising or updating a solid waste management plan developed under 38 this chapter. Jurisdictions may adopt the state's contamination 39 reduction and outreach plan as developed under RCW 70A.205.070 or 40 p. 69 E2SSB 5284.SL participate in a producer responsibility organization's plan under 1 chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 401 of this 2 act) in lieu of creating their own plan. A recycling contamination 3 reduction and outreach plan must include the following:4 (a) A list of actions for reducing contamination in recycling 5 programs for single-family and multiple-family residences, commercial 6 locations, and drop boxes depending on the jurisdictions system 7 components; 8 (b) A list of key contaminants identified by the jurisdiction or 9 identified by the department; 10 (c) A discussion of problem contaminants and the contaminants' 11 impact on the collection system; 12 (d) An analysis of the costs and other impacts associated with 13 contaminants to the recycling system; and 14 (e) An implementation schedule and details of how outreach is to 15 be conducted. Contamination reduction education methods may include 16 sharing community-wide messaging through newsletters, articles, 17 mailers, social media, websites, or community events, informing 18 recycling drop box customers about contamination, and improving 19 signage. 20 Sec. 202. RCW 70A.205.500 and 1988 c 175 s 3 are each amended to 21 read as follows: 22 ((The department of ecology, at )) At the request of a local 23 government jurisdiction, the department or a producer responsibility 24 organization implementing a plan under chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new 25 chapter created in section 401 of this act) may periodically provide 26 educational material promoting household waste reduction and 27 recycling to public and private refuse haulers. The educational 28 material shall be distributed to households receiving refuse 29 collection service by local governments or the refuse hauler 30 providing service. The refuse hauler may distribute the educational 31 material by any means that assures timely delivery.32 Reasonable expenses incurred in the distribution of this material 33 shall be considered, for rate-making purposes, as legitimate 34 operating expenses of garbage and refuse haulers regulated under 35 chapter 81.77 RCW . 36 Sec. 203. RCW 81.77.030 and 2020 c 20 s 1467 are each amended to 37 read as follows: 38 p. 70 E2SSB 5284.SL (1) The commission shall supervise and regulate every solid waste 1 collection company in this state, 2 (((1))) (a) By fixing and altering its rates, charges, 3 classifications, rules and regulations; 4 (((2))) (b) By regulating the accounts, service, and safety of 5 operations; 6 (((3))) (c) By requiring the filing of annual and other reports 7 and data; 8 (((4))) (d) By supervising and regulating such persons or 9 companies in all other matters affecting the relationship between 10 them and the public which they serve; 11 (((5))) (e) By requiring compliance with local solid waste 12 management plans and related implementation ordinances;13 (((6))) (f) By reviewing producer responsibility organization 14 reimbursement of regulated service providers consistent with the 15 requirements of chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in 16 section 401 of this act);17 (g) By requiring certificate holders under this chapter ((81.77 18 RCW)) to use rate structures and billing systems consistent with the 19 solid waste management priorities set forth under RCW 70A.205.005 and 20 the minimum levels of solid waste collection and recycling services 21 pursuant to local comprehensive solid waste management plans. The 22 commission may order consolidated billing and provide for reasonable 23 and necessary expenses to be paid to the administering company if 24 more than one certificate is granted in an area ; and25 (h) By requiring certificate holders under this chapter to 26 deliver covered materials only to responsible markets, as those terms 27 are defined in section 102 of this act . 28 (2) The commission, on complaint made on its own motion or by an 29 aggrieved party, at any time, after providing the holder of any 30 certificate with notice and an opportunity for a hearing at which it 31 shall be proven that the holder has willfully violated or refused to 32 observe any of the commission's orders, rules, or regulations, or has 33 failed to operate as a solid waste collection company for a period of 34 at least one year preceding the filing of the complaint, may suspend, 35 revoke, alter, or amend any certificate issued under the provisions 36 of this chapter. 37 Sec. 204. RCW 81.77.160 and 1997 c 434 s 1 are each amended to 38 read as follows: 39 p. 71 E2SSB 5284.SL (1) The commission, in fixing and altering collection rates 1 charged by every solid waste collection company under this section, 2 shall include in the base for the collection rates:3 (a) All charges for the disposal of solid waste at the facility 4 or facilities designated by a local jurisdiction under a local 5 comprehensive solid waste management plan or ordinance; ((and))6 (b) All known and measurable costs related to implementation of 7 the approved county or city comprehensive solid waste management 8 plan; and9 (c) All costs related to the implementation of curbside recycling 10 collection services performed by a solid waste collection company 11 consistent with chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in 12 section 401 of this act) . 13 (2) If a solid waste collection company files a tariff to recover 14 the costs specified under this section, and the commission suspends 15 the tariff, the portion of the tariff covering costs specified in 16 this section shall be placed in effect by the commission at the 17 request of the company on an interim basis as of the originally filed 18 effective date, subject to refund, pending the commission's final 19 order. The commission may adopt rules to implement this section.20 (3) This section applies to a solid waste collection company that 21 has an affiliated interest under chapter 81.16 RCW with a facility, 22 if the total cost of disposal, including waste transfer, transport, 23 and disposal charges, at the facility is equal to or lower than any 24 other reasonable and currently available option. 25 Sec. 205. RCW 81.77.185 and 2010 c 154 s 3 are each amended to 26 read as follows: 27 (1) The commission shall allow solid waste collection companies 28 collecting recyclable materials other than covered materials 29 collected under an approved plan in chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new 30 chapter created in section 401 of this act) to retain up to ((fifty)) 31 50 percent of the revenue paid to the companies for the material if 32 the companies submit a plan to the commission that is certified by 33 the appropriate local government authority as being consistent with 34 the local government solid waste plan and that demonstrates how the 35 revenues will be used to increase recycling. The remaining revenue 36 shall be passed to residential customers. 37 (2) By December 2, 2005, the commission shall provide a report to 38 the legislature that evaluates: 39 p. 72 E2SSB 5284.SL (a) The effectiveness of revenue sharing as an incentive to 1 increase recycling in the state; and 2 (b) The effect of revenue sharing on costs to customers.3 Part Three4 Other Conforming Amendments and Miscellaneous Provisions5 Sec. 301. RCW 43.21B.110 and 2024 c 347 s 5, 2024 c 340 s 4, and 6 2024 c 339 s 16 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:7 (1) The hearings board shall only have jurisdiction to hear and 8 decide appeals from the following decisions of the department, the 9 director, local conservation districts, the air pollution control 10 boards or authorities as established pursuant to chapter 70A.15 RCW, 11 local health departments, the department of natural resources, the 12 department of fish and wildlife, the parks and recreation commission, 13 and authorized public entities described in chapter 79.100 RCW :14 (a) Civil penalties imposed pursuant to chapter 70A.230 RCW and 15 RCW 18.104.155, 70A.15.3160, 70A.300.090, 70A.20.050, 70A.230.020, 16 70A.205.280, 70A.355.070, 70A.430.070, 70A.500.260, 70A.505.100, 17 70A.505.110, 70A.530.040, 70A.350.070, 70A.515.060, 70A.245.040, 18 70A.245.050, 70A.245.070, 70A.245.080, 70A.245.130, 70A.245.140, 19 70A.65.200, 70A.455.090, 70A.550.030, 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 20 section 123 of this act, 70A.565.030, 76.09.170, 77.55.440, 21 78.44.250, 88.46.090, 90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310, 22 90.56.330, and 90.64.102. 23 (b) Orders issued pursuant to RCW 18.104.043, 18.104.060, 24 18.104.130, 43.27A.190, 70A.15.2520, 70A.15.3010, 70A.15.4530, 25 70A.15.6010, 70A.205.280, 70A.214.140, 70A.300.120, 70A.350.070, 26 70A.245.020, 70A.65.200, 70A.505.100, 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 27 section 123 of this act, 70A.565.030, 86.16.020, 88.46.070, 28 90.03.665, 90.14.130, 90.46.250, 90.48.120, 90.48.240, 90.56.330, and 29 90.64.040. 30 (c) Except as provided in RCW 90.03.210(2), the issuance, 31 modification, or termination of any permit, certificate, or license 32 by the department or any air authority in the exercise of its 33 jurisdiction, including the issuance or termination of a waste 34 disposal permit, the denial of an application for a waste disposal 35 permit, the modification of the conditions or the terms of a waste 36 disposal permit, a decision to approve or deny a solid waste 37 management plan under RCW 70A.205.055, approval or denial of an 38 p. 73 E2SSB 5284.SL application for a beneficial use determination under RCW 70A.205.260, 1 an application for a change under RCW 90.03.383, or a permit to 2 distribute reclaimed water under RCW 90.46.220. 3 (d) Decisions of local health departments regarding the granting 4 or denial of solid waste permits pursuant to chapter 70A.205 RCW, 5 including appeals by the department as provided in RCW 70A.205.130.6 (e) Decisions of local health departments regarding the issuance 7 and enforcement of permits to use or dispose of biosolids under RCW 8 70A.226.090. 9 (f) Decisions of the department regarding waste-derived 10 fertilizer or micronutrient fertilizer under RCW 15.54.820.11 (g) Decisions of local conservation districts related to the 12 denial of approval or denial of certification of a dairy nutrient 13 management plan; conditions contained in a plan; application of any 14 dairy nutrient management practices, standards, methods, and 15 technologies to a particular dairy farm; and failure to adhere to the 16 plan review and approval timelines in RCW 90.64.026 as provided in 17 RCW 90.64.028. 18 (h) Any other decision by the department or an air authority 19 which pursuant to law must be decided as an adjudicative proceeding 20 under chapter 34.05 RCW . 21 (i) Decisions of the department of natural resources, the 22 department of fish and wildlife, and the department that are 23 reviewable under chapter 76.09 RCW, and the department of natural 24 resources' appeals of county, city, or town objections under RCW 25 76.09.050(7). 26 (j) Forest health hazard orders issued by the commissioner of 27 public lands under RCW 76.06.180. 28 (k) Decisions of the department of fish and wildlife to issue, 29 deny, condition, or modify a hydraulic project approval permit under 30 chapter 77.55 RCW, to issue a stop work order, to issue a notice to 31 comply, to issue a civil penalty, or to issue a notice of intent to 32 disapprove applications. 33 (l) Decisions of the department of natural resources that are 34 reviewable under RCW 78.44.270. 35 (m) Decisions of an authorized public entity under RCW 79.100.010 36 to take temporary possession or custody of a vessel or to contest the 37 amount of reimbursement owed that are reviewable by the hearings 38 board under RCW 79.100.120. 39 p. 74 E2SSB 5284.SL (n) Decisions of the department of ecology that are appealable 1 under RCW 70A.245.020 to set recycled minimum postconsumer content 2 for ((covered)) products or to temporarily exclude types of 3 ((covered)) products in plastic containers from minimum postconsumer 4 recycled content requirements. 5 (o) Orders by the department of ecology under RCW 70A.455.080.6 (p) Decisions by the department of ecology under section 115 (5) 7 of this act regarding a proposal by a producer responsibility 8 organization to count materials sent to an alternative recycling 9 facility towards recycling performance targets.10 (2) The following hearings shall not be conducted by the hearings 11 board: 12 (a) Hearings required by law to be conducted by the shorelines 13 hearings board pursuant to chapter 90.58 RCW, except where appeals to 14 the pollution control hearings board and appeals to the shorelines 15 hearings board have been consolidated pursuant to RCW 43.21B.340.16 (b) Hearings conducted by the department pursuant to RCW 17 70A.15.3010, 70A.15.3070, 70A.15.3080, 70A.15.3090, 70A.15.3100, 18 70A.15.3110, and 90.44.180. 19 (c) Appeals of decisions by the department under RCW 90.03.110 20 and 90.44.220. 21 (d) Hearings conducted by the department to adopt, modify, or 22 repeal rules. 23 (3) Review of rules and regulations adopted by the hearings board 24 shall be subject to review in accordance with the provisions of the 25 administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW . 26 Sec. 302. RCW 43.21B.300 and 2024 c 347 s 6 and 2024 c 340 s 5 27 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:28 (1) Any civil penalty provided in RCW 18.104.155, 70A.15.3160, 29 70A.205.280, 70A.230.080, 70A.300.090, 70A.20.050, 70A.245.040, 30 70A.245.050, 70A.245.070, 70A.245.080, 70A.245.130, 70A.245.140, 31 70A.65.200, 70A.430.070, 70A.455.090, 70A.500.260, 70A.505.110, 32 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, section 123 of this act, 70A.565.030, 33 86.16.081, 88.46.090, 90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310, 34 90.56.330, and 90.64.102 and chapter 70A.355 RCW shall be imposed by 35 a notice in writing, either by certified mail with return receipt 36 requested or by personal service, to the person incurring the penalty 37 from the department or the local air authority, describing the 38 violation with reasonable particularity. For penalties issued by 39 p. 75 E2SSB 5284.SL local air authorities, within 30 days after the notice is received, 1 the person incurring the penalty may apply in writing to the 2 authority for the remission or mitigation of the penalty. Upon 3 receipt of the application, the authority may remit or mitigate the 4 penalty upon whatever terms the authority in its discretion deems 5 proper. The authority may ascertain the facts regarding all such 6 applications in such reasonable manner and under such rules as it may 7 deem proper and shall remit or mitigate the penalty only upon a 8 demonstration of extraordinary circumstances such as the presence of 9 information or factors not considered in setting the original 10 penalty. 11 (2) Any penalty imposed under this section may be appealed to the 12 pollution control hearings board in accordance with this chapter if 13 the appeal is filed with the hearings board and served on the 14 department or authority 30 days after the date of receipt by the 15 person penalized of the notice imposing the penalty or 30 days after 16 the date of receipt of the notice of disposition by a local air 17 authority of the application for relief from penalty.18 (3) A penalty shall become due and payable on the later of:19 (a) 30 days after receipt of the notice imposing the penalty;20 (b) 30 days after receipt of the notice of disposition by a local 21 air authority on application for relief from penalty, if such an 22 application is made; or 23 (c) 30 days after receipt of the notice of decision of the 24 hearings board if the penalty is appealed. 25 (4) If the amount of any penalty is not paid to the department 26 within 30 days after it becomes due and payable, the attorney 27 general, upon request of the department, shall bring an action in the 28 name of the state of Washington in the superior court of Thurston 29 county, or of any county in which the violator does business, to 30 recover the penalty. If the amount of the penalty is not paid to the 31 authority within 30 days after it becomes due and payable, the 32 authority may bring an action to recover the penalty in the superior 33 court of the county of the authority's main office or of any county 34 in which the violator does business. In these actions, the procedures 35 and rules of evidence shall be the same as in an ordinary civil 36 action. 37 (5) All penalties recovered shall be paid into the state treasury 38 and credited to the general fund except the following:39 p. 76 E2SSB 5284.SL (a) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 18.104.155 must be credited 1 to the reclamation account as provided in RCW 18.104.155(7);2 (b) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.15.3160 must be 3 disposed of pursuant to RCW 70A.15.3160; 4 (c) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.230.080, 70A.300.090, 5 70A.430.070, 70A.555.110, ((and)) 70A.560.020, and 70A.565.030 must 6 be credited to the model toxics control operating account created in 7 RCW 70A.305.180; 8 (d) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.245.040 ((and)), 9 70A.245.050, and chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in 10 section 401 of this act) must be credited to the recycling 11 enhancement account created in RCW 70A.245.100; 12 (e) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.500.260 must be 13 deposited into the electronic products recycling account created in 14 RCW 70A.500.130; 15 (f) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.65.200 must be credited 16 to the climate investment account created in RCW 70A.65.250;17 (g) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 90.56.330 must be credited 18 to the coastal protection fund established in RCW 90.48.390; and19 (h) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.355.070 must be 20 credited to the underground storage tank account created in RCW 21 70A.355.090. 22 NEW SECTION. Sec. 303. LITTER TAX STUDY. (1) In consultation 23 with producer responsibility organizations registered with the 24 department of ecology under chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter 25 created in section 401 of this act), the department of ecology and, 26 for the purposes of (c) of this subsection, the department of revenue 27 must study:28 (a) The impacts of producer requirements under chapter 70A. --- 29 RCW (the new chapter created in section 401 of this act) on the 30 litter rates of covered materials under that chapter;31 (b) The extent to which covered materials contribute to litter 32 and marine debris for the purpose of informing how a producer 33 responsibility organization implementing a plan can support litter 34 and marine debris prevention as it relates to activities required 35 under chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 401 of 36 this act). The assessment should draw on available data, assess gaps, 37 and identify strategies for improving prevention and cleanup of 38 litter and marine debris from covered materials; and39 p. 77 E2SSB 5284.SL (c) Possible improvements to the structure of the litter tax 1 under chapter 82.19 RCW including administration, compliance, and 2 distribution of the tax and application of the tax to certain 3 products, for achieving the purpose of chapter 82.19 RCW. The 4 improvements to the structure of the litter tax to be studied under 5 this section may not include an increase in the rate of the litter 6 tax under chapter 82.19 RCW or an expansion of the types of covered 7 materials under chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in 8 section 401 of this act) that are subject to the litter tax.9 (2) By January 1, 2030, the department of ecology, in 10 consultation with the department of revenue, must provide 11 recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature on:12 (a) Applicability of the litter tax to covered materials, based 13 on whether the purpose of the litter tax under chapter 82.19 RCW is 14 being achieved for those materials by the requirements of producers 15 under chapter 70A. --- RCW (the new chapter created in section 401 of 16 this act); and 17 (b) Improvements to the structure of the litter tax for meeting 18 the purposes of chapter 82.19 RCW . 19 (3) This section expires July 1, 2030. 20 NEW SECTION. Sec. 304. A new section is added to chapter 49.46 21 RCW to read as follows: 22 (1) Employers associated with a material recovery facility that 23 annually manages 25,000 tons or more of covered materials under 24 chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 401 of this 25 act) must ensure that workers at the facility receive minimum 26 industry standard compensation, beginning October 1, 2028.27 (2) Employers are not required to establish "usual benefit" 28 programs. However, if an employer chooses not to provide such 29 benefits, wages paid must be at the full minimum industry standard 30 rate. 31 (3)(a) If more than one collective bargaining agreement exists 32 that covers similar or equivalent work in the same county, the higher 33 rate applies. 34 (b) If no collective bargaining agreement exists that covers 35 similar or equivalent work in the same county, the rate in the county 36 with a collective bargaining agreement that is closest geographically 37 applies. 38 p. 78 E2SSB 5284.SL (4) The minimum industry standard compensation requirements of 1 this section constitute a wage payment requirement as defined in RCW 2 49.48.082. The department of labor and industries may otherwise 3 enforce this provision as a wage under RCW 49.48.040 through 4 49.48.080 and the applicable provisions of chapter 49.52 RCW .5 (5)(a) The director may initiate an investigation without an 6 employee's complaint to ensure compliance with this section. The 7 department of labor and industries may also initiate an investigation 8 on behalf of one or more employees when the director has reason to 9 believe that a violation has occurred or will occur.10 (b) The department of labor and industries may conduct a 11 consolidated investigation for any alleged violation identified under 12 this section, or associated rules, when there are common questions of 13 law or fact. If the department of labor and industries consolidates 14 such matters into a single investigation, the department of labor and 15 industries must provide notice to the employer. 16 (c) The department of labor and industries may request that an 17 employer perform a self-audit of any records relating to this 18 section, which must be provided within a reasonable time. Reasonable 19 timelines will be specified in the self-audit request. The department 20 of labor and industries must determine reasonable time based on the 21 number of affected employees and the period of time covered by the 22 self-audit. The records examined by the employer in order to perform 23 the self-audit must be made available to the department of labor and 24 industries upon request. 25 (d) Upon request of the department of labor and industries, an 26 employer must notify affected employees in writing that the 27 department is conducting an investigation. The department of labor 28 and industries may require the employer to include a general 29 description of each investigation as part of the notification, 30 including the allegations and whether the notified employee may be 31 affected. The employer may consult with the department of labor and 32 industries to provide the information for the description of the 33 notification of investigation. 34 (e) Upon receiving a complaint, the department of labor and 35 industries may request or subpoena the records of the material 36 recovery facility. 37 (f) In addition to any enforcement authority provided in this 38 section or applicable rules, the department of labor and industries 39 may enforce any violation under this section or applicable rules by 40 p. 79 E2SSB 5284.SL filing an action in the superior court for the county in which the 1 violation is alleged to have occurred. If the department of labor and 2 industries prevails, the department is entitled to reasonable 3 attorneys' fees and costs, in the amount to be determined by the 4 court. 5 (6) The department of labor and industries may adopt rules to 6 implement this section. 7 (7) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 8 section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.9 (a) "Minimum industry standard compensation" means a wage and 10 usual benefits package equal to or greater than the combined hourly 11 wage and usual benefits package set by a collective bargaining 12 agreement that covers similar or equivalent work in a county.13 (b) "Rate of contribution" means the effective annual rate of 14 usual benefit contributions for all hours, public and private, worked 15 during the year by an employee (commonly referred to as 16 "annualization" of benefits). The only exemption to the annualization 17 requirements is for defined contribution pension plans that have 18 immediate participation and vesting. 19 (c)(i) "Usual benefits" includes the amount of:20 (A) The rate of contribution irrevocably made by an employer to a 21 trustee or to a third person pursuant to a fund, plan, or program; 22 and 23 (B) The rate of costs to the employer, which may be reasonably 24 anticipated in providing benefits to workers pursuant to an 25 enforceable commitment to carry out a financially responsible plan or 26 program that was communicated in writing to the workers affected, for 27 medical or hospital care, pensions on retirement or death, 28 compensation for all injuries or illness resulting from occupational 29 activity, or insurance to provide any of the foregoing, for 30 unemployment benefits, life insurance, disability and sickness 31 insurance, or accident insurance, for vacation and holiday pay, for 32 defraying costs of apprenticeship or other similar programs, or for 33 other bona fide fringe benefits, but only where the employer is not 34 required by other federal, state, or local law to provide any of 35 these benefits. 36 (ii) To be deemed a "usual benefit," both of the following 37 requirements must be satisfied: 38 (A) Employer payments for the usual benefit are made only in 39 conformance with all applicable federal and state laws, including the 40 p. 80 E2SSB 5284.SL requirements of the employment retirement income security act of 1 1974, as amended, and of the internal revenue service; and2 (B) Employee payments toward the usual benefit, through self-3 contribution, payroll deduction, or otherwise, do not constitute a 4 credit to the employer for minimum industry standard compensation 5 purposes. 6 Sec. 305. RCW 49.48.082 and 2010 c 42 s 1 are each reenacted and 7 amended to read as follows: 8 The definitions in this section apply throughout this section and 9 RCW 49.48.083 through 49.48.086: 10 (1) "Citation" means a written determination by the department 11 that a wage payment requirement has been violated.12 (2) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.13 (3) "Determination of compliance" means a written determination 14 by the department that wage payment requirements have not been 15 violated. 16 (4) "Director" means the director of the department of labor and 17 industries, or the director's authorized representative.18 (5) "Employee" has the meaning provided in: (a) RCW 49.46.010 for 19 purposes of a wage payment requirement set forth in RCW 49.46.020 or 20 49.46.130; and (b) RCW 49.12.005 for purposes of a wage payment 21 requirement set forth in RCW 49.48.010, 49.52.050, or 49.52.060.22 (6) "Employer" has the meaning provided in RCW 49.46.010 for 23 purposes of a wage payment requirement set forth in RCW 49.46.020, 24 49.46.130, 49.48.010, 49.52.050, or 49.52.060. 25 (7) "Notice of assessment" means a written notice by the 26 department that, based on a citation, the employer shall pay the 27 amounts assessed under RCW 49.48.083. 28 (8) "Repeat willful violator" means any employer that has been 29 the subject of a final and binding citation and notice of assessment 30 for a willful violation of a wage payment requirement within three 31 years of the date of issue of the most recent citation and notice of 32 assessment for a willful violation of a wage payment requirement.33 (9) "Successor" means any person to whom an employer quitting, 34 selling out, exchanging, or disposing of a business sells or 35 otherwise conveys in bulk and not in the ordinary course of the 36 employer's business, more than ((fifty)) 50 percent of the property, 37 whether real or personal, tangible or intangible, of the employer's 38 business. 39 p. 81 E2SSB 5284.SL (10) "Wage" has the meaning provided in RCW 49.46.010.1 (11) "Wage complaint" means a complaint from an employee to the 2 department that asserts that an employer has violated one or more 3 wage payment requirements and that is reduced to writing.4 (12) "Wage payment requirement" means a wage payment requirement 5 set forth in RCW 49.46.020, 49.46.130, 49.48.010, 49.52.050, ((or)) 6 49.52.060, or section 304 of this act , and any related rules adopted 7 by the department. 8 (13) "Willful" means a knowing and intentional action that is 9 neither accidental nor the result of a bona fide dispute, as 10 evaluated under the standards applicable to wage payment violations 11 under RCW 49.52.050(2). 12 Sec. 306. RCW 70A.245.100 and 2021 c 313 s 13 are each amended 13 to read as follows: 14 The recycling enhancement account is created in the custody of 15 the state treasurer. All penalties collected by the department 16 pursuant to RCW 70A.245.040 ((and)), 70A.245.050, and section 123 of 17 this act must be deposited in the account. Only the director of the 18 department or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from 19 the account. The account is subject to the allotment procedures under 20 chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for 21 expenditures. Expenditures from the account may be used by the 22 department only for providing grants to local governments for the 23 purpose of supporting local solid waste and financial assistance 24 programs. 25 NEW SECTION. Sec. 307. If any provision of this act or its 26 application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 27 remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 28 persons or circumstances is not affected.29 NEW SECTION. Sec. 308. If specific funding for the purposes of 30 this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not 31 provided by June 30, 2025, in the omnibus appropriations act, this 32 act is null and void.33 Part Four34 Codification Directives35 p. 82 E2SSB 5284.SL NEW SECTION. Sec. 401. Sections 101 through 129 of this act 1 constitute a new chapter in Title 70A RCW.2 Passed by the Senate April 23, 2025. Passed by the House April 14, 2025. Approved by the Governor May 17, 2025. Filed in Office of Secretary of State May 19, 2025. --- END --- p. 83 E2SSB 5284.SL