The bills — put forward by Dels. Betsy Carr, D-Richmond; Mark Keam, D-Fairfax; and Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington — would have set up a Packaging Stewardship Program and fund that starting on Jan. 1, 2023 would have required larger manufacturers to pay an annual fee to the Department of Environmental Quality based on the amount of packaging they use. All included exemptions for smaller producers and fee offsets for companies with alternative collection programs.
“At this point, consumers are responsible for recycling,” Carr told the subcommittee Wednesday. “What this bill does is try to equalize [the cost] between the manufacturers and the consumers so that both have some responsibility.”