Opening Lines
Sustainability
By Marie Redding, Senior EditorSenate Bill 556 is the Plastic Container Recycling Enhancement Act pending in New Jersey. It would add new, state-specific recycled-content requirements for personal care product packaging. If SB 556 is passed, it would require that “every rigid plastic container designed, manufactured, or sold in the state of New Jersey, by both product manufacturers and packaging suppliers for personal care products, contain at least 10% recycled content by January 2007.” State penalties would be issued for noncompliance.
This bill is being sponsored by Senator Bob Smith (D–Piscataway) and chairman of the New Jersey Senate Environment Committee. (Smith also introduced several other plastic container recycling bills this year.) Senate Bill 556 recently failed to receive enough votes to be released from the Senate Environment Committee, but Smith plans to propose it again at the next committee meeting (which was scheduled to take place March 6, after this issue went to print.)
It would be extremely difficult—and even close to impossible—for every cosmetic and personal care manufacturer to meet the strict requirements within the scheduled time frame. The Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA) has encouraged all of its member companies to write a letter of opposition to the Senate Environment Committee.
Many beauty companies told us, off the record, that environmental and recycling efforts should be the individual responsibility of each company and not be dictated by law. Also, what happens when the sources of recycled materials runs out? Current recycling efforts do not always result in material that is clean enough or sustainable enough to be used for beauty products. For this reason, there is a limited supply of recycled materials available that are high-quality enough to be used for cosmetic and personal care packaging.
Our whole system of recycling needs some improvement before our industry would be ready to follow such strict legislation.
Unfortunately, however, not enough beauty companies seem to be addressing these issues and voluntarily investing in the resources to create more sustainable packaging options. An admirable minority of companies has made it a priority to work with suppliers to find more ways of using recycled materials. (To read more about how one major beauty company is working toward developing more sustainable packages, read this issue’s Inside Design column starting on page 36.)
Would Senate Bill 556 accomplish what it intends to do—to force our industry to take a closer look at sustainable packaging? Or would such a harsh, statewide law only serve to drive New Jersey companies to take their business to other, unregulated, states?