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May 11, 2022
Press Release

AF&PA Urges Colorado Governor Polis to Veto EPR Scheme

CONTACT: Tim Ebner
(202) 463-2436, comm@afandpa.org 

WASHINGTON – The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) Vice President of Industry Affairs Terry Webber issued the following statement in response to the Colorado General Assembly passing HB22-1355, which would create an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for paper and packaging products:

“Colorado’s ‘Producer Responsibility Program for Recycling’ ignores the fact that paper recycling is a success. More paper by weight gets recycled from municipal waste streams each year than aluminum, glass, steel and plastic combined.

“EPR could shift the economic burden of new recycling regulations from municipalities to Coloradans. These added costs would especially hurt small businesses and low-income households. 

“We urge Governor Polis to veto HB22-1355. An EPR scheme is not the right policy approach for sustainable paper products. Colorado should instead focus on addressing underfunded and underdeveloped recycling programs.”

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) serves to advance public policies that foster economic growth, job creation and global competitiveness for a vital sector that makes the essential paper and packaging products Americans use every day. The U.S. forest products industry employs more than 925,000 people, largely in rural America, and is among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 44 states. Our industry accounts for approximately 4.7% of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP, manufacturing more than $435 billion in products annually. AF&PA member companies are significant producers and users of renewable biomass energy and are committed to making sustainable products for a sustainable future through the industry’s decades-long initiative — Better Practices, Better Planet 2030. 

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