Dialogue on Sustainable Financing of Recycling: Consumer Packaging

The Dialogue on Sustainable Financing of Recycling of Packaging at the Municipal Level was a multi-stakeholder, cross-sector dialogue convened by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the request of several state government agencies and other organizations North Carolina Request, New York Request, Iowa Request, PSI Request.

In convening this dialogue, EPA provided a unique opportunity for these key stakeholders to collaborate on addressing the challenges presented by the recovery of packaging materials in the municipal waste stream. This has opened the door for future progress among diverse stakeholders who had not previously worked collectively together to address these important issues.

Scope and Objectives

The dialogue focused on packaging and printed materials found in the municipal waste stream from households, businesses, institutions, and locations away from home. Long-term goals included:

• Optimization of existing components of the recycling system.
• Identification of mechanisms to address shortfalls in the current recycling system — including the need for long-term financing — and opportunities for fully utilizing the existing value chain.
• Maximization of the source reduction, collection, reuse, and recycling of packaging and printed materials