The Product Stewardship Institute is a policy expert and consulting nonprofit that powers the emerging circular economy to ensure products are responsibly managed from design to end of life. PSI pioneered product stewardship in the United States and has led the movement for over two decades by convening diverse stakeholders to build extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies, programs, and laws.

PSI was founded by Scott Cassel, our CEO, who previously served as the director of waste policy and planning for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. In 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) appointed Scott to its Marine Debris Foundation board of directors, where he works on policy, infrastructure development, and innovative technologies to clean up and prevent pollution of our waterways and oceans.

Scott developed the proprietary consensus-building process that makes our organization unique; in 2000, he launched PSI by convening the first U.S. Product Stewardship Forum. By 2001, Scott had guided development of the nation’s first Principles of Product Stewardship, which also defined EPR.

Under Scott’s leadership, PSI forged agreements with government, academia, nonprofits, and businesses to establish EPR programs across more than 20 product categories. Today, most producer responsibility programs, policies, and laws in the United States are connected to our work.

PSI brings together key stakeholders to identify the highest priority materials management challenges and solve them through consensus-based techniques that are rooted in producer responsibility, sustainable materials management, and equitable stakeholder inclusion. Our work is informed by rigorous research, objective technical analysis, and best practices gleaned from EPR programs in the United States and around the world.

Now is the moment for producer responsibility. In 2022 alone, legislators in 18 states considered 62 unique EPR bills covering 15 different product categories – and five of them became law. Visit our EPR Laws Map to learn more.

MEMBERSHIP AND PARTNERSHIP

PSI members include state, local, and tribal governments in 48 states, and we partner with businesses, academic institutions, environmental nonprofits, and international governments. Together, we reduce and prevent pollution, incentivize environmentally conscious design, stimulate sustainable supply chains for manufacturers, reduce government and taxpayer costs, and create green recycling jobs. Click here to learn more!

EPR AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, EPR is the “only proven and likely way to provide funding that is dedicated, ongoing, and sufficient” to develop a circular economy, which is defined as an economic system designed to “eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature.”

The global manufacture and use of consumer products produces 20% of greenhouse gas emissions annually, but the circular economy is projected to reduce 45% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. EPR is the bedrock of the circular economy.

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

PSI implements stewardship programs that continue to impact the national EPR landscape. In the early 2000s, PSI conceived of and facilitated the multi-stakeholder dialogue process that resulted in PaintCare, the first industry-run, government-mandated paint recycling program in the country. Since the program launched in Oregon in 2010, PaintCare has collected over 51 million gallons of paint from 10 participating states and the District of Columbia, reused or recycled more than 72% of all latex paint collected, established 2,000 voluntary collection sites, and saved local governments and taxpayers nearly $300 million.

Today, packaging is in the spotlight, but PSI has spent over 15 years highlighting the need for a comprehensive system for managing packaging and paper products in the United States, including developing a legislative model for packaging EPR. In response to China’s recycled material import restrictions, we accelerated those efforts in 2018; within two years, PSI had mediated an agreement with the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) on key elements of effective EPR for that industry. With stakeholder input, we continuously refine our legislative model; our technical support paved the way for the passage of packaging EPR laws in Maine and Oregon in 2021, and Colorado and California in 2022.

SOURCES

“Each year, the global manufacture and use of consumer products creates more than a billion tons of waste.” From the World Bank: 51% of 2.01 billion tons of waste is plastic, paper, cardboard, metal, or glass. https://datatopics.worldbank.org/what-a-waste/trends_in_solid_waste_management.html

“Each year, the global manufacture and use of consumer products produces 20% of greenhouse gas emissions.” From the EPA: Greenhouse gas emissions from industry primarily involve fossil fuels burned on site at facilities for energy. This sector also includes emissions from chemical, metallurgical, and mineral transformation processes not associated with energy consumption and emissions from waste management activities. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-dat

“[The circular economy is poised to] reduce 45% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.” From the Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Circular economy can reduce emissions associated with industry, agriculture, and land use by 45%. https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/climate/overview