(1) The general assembly finds and declares that: (a) Recycling has a positive impact on the environment and public health by saving energy, conserving natural resources, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions; (b) Recycling has a positive benefit on Colorado's economy, with the recycling, remanufacturing, and reuse industries affecting eighty-six thousand jobs in Colorado and contributing over eight billion dollars in economic benefits annually; (c) In 2020, Colorado only recycled fifteen percent of its waste, which is less than half of the national average; (d) Colorado is not on track to meet the statewide recycling and waste diversion goals that the pollution prevention advisory board assistance committee adopted in 2016 and set forth in an integrated solid waste and materials management plan; (e) There can be negative environmental, social, economic, and health impacts in the production, consumption, and end-of-use management of consumer products and packaging across their life cycles; (f) All parties have the obligation to share in the responsibility to reduce negative impacts of end-of-use management for covered materials by building a system designed to minimize waste and to increase reuse and recycling of products and packaging; and (g) A producer responsibility program in Colorado would: (I) Establish a centralized system for managing recycling in the state that is funded through annual producer responsibility dues paid by the producers of covered materials; (II) Establish a clear and uniform statewide list of readily recyclable materials; (III) Provide a sustainable funding mechanism for recycling services and recycling infrastructure across all areas of Colorado; (IV) Promote the increased use of readily recyclable materials in new products and packaging; (V) Encourage producers to design and manage covered materials to prevent or minimize their negative environmental, social, economic, and health impacts; (VI) Be managed by an independent nonprofit organization that consults with an advisory board of recycling experts and would be overseen by the department; (VII) Invest in recycling end-market development and innovations that could attract new businesses to Colorado and create a more resilient domestic supply chain; and (VIII) Leverage existing recycling systems and infrastructure by working with both public and private service providers. (2) The general assembly therefore declares that it is in the public interest of Colorado to require producers to finance a producer responsibility program that provides statewide recycling services for covered materials.
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