|
Here are some highlights from the testimony:
"We’ve audited over 4,000 beverage containers: plastic, glass, and metal alike to determine the companies selling or producing them. These beverage containers were recovered from parks and waterways abutting the Anacostia River and its tributaries. There’s so much trash that ARK, e.g., was able to collect more than 1600 plastic and glass bottles in under 3 hours at Pope Branch Park this January...The disproportionate impacts of waste and litter in the focus areas of these cleanups, and along the Anacostia, underscore that litter and illegal dumping are not only a solid waste crisis but also an environmental justice crisis."
"Reuse enterprises are invaluable for disposing of many items without sending them to landfill or incineration. But it's also very important for the local economy. People save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by buying good products at pennies on the dollar. Reuse enterprises and programs pay sales tax, such as Community Forklift in Prince George’s County, which pays $12,000 in monthly sales tax as well as wage taxes for 40 workers. Employment in reuse jobs are proven to reduce recidivism and provide opportunities for hard to employ residents to make economic progress"
- Anacostia Watershed Society:
"Now, returning to the issue of single use plastics and plastic bottles, the single most common piece of trash found in the Anacostia River. As part of its development of Zero Waste DC, the District should consider whether it is practicable to develop legislation to ban, limit, establish a deposit/return program, and/or mandate greater producer responsibility for such containers. This would be a big and scary step for the District, no question, but the District would not be alone in considering such solutions..."
- Audubon Naturalist Society:
"Our Conservation priorities are human health & access to nature; biodiversity & habitat; fighting the climate crisis; and sustainable land use. The urgency of the climate crisis and its impacts right now and continuing in the future on people and wildlife, and the challenges of legislation, underscore the importance of plans like this one...I recommend that an environmental justice and equity lens is placed on every action with the intent and follow through that each goal will be reached in every Ward, street, and community in the District."
"Create bottle redemption program for beverage containers. The most common type of litter is beverage containers: tin cans, glass bottles, and especially plastic bottles. These mar the natural beauty of our city and pollute our streams and rivers. Bottle redemptions programs have operated successfully in ten states, including New York and California, for decades. But DC remains covered in litter because members of the DC Council have shown political cowardice in the face of pressure from the beverage industry. We deserve better. A strong bottle law needs to be the centerpiece of bold Zero Waste plan."
- Anacostia Parks & Community Collaborative:
"Second recommendation is public housing is an important part of the district community, and I would like to recommend that DPW consider doing a recycling demonstration model in public housing to ensure that these citizens are meaningfully and actively engaged in the process."
- Potomac Riverkeeper Network:
"While we support many of the provisions included, we urge DPW to add measurable standards for improvement and deadlines for those standards to be met. One essential addition to the framework would be a bottle deposit system, which is proven to increase capture, refill, and recycling in many other places in the US and abroad. Michigan and Oregon, states which have had bottle deposit laws for decades, boast a nearly 90% recycling rate for beverage containers, compared to DC's 16% overall recycling rate."
- DC Environmental Network:
"DPW should expand its vision to encompass more than small programs that are primarily low-hanging fruit or that are primarily focused on residential recycling. Shifting the zero-waste frame to solve problems city-wide can start with making hard choices about the role hundreds of waste haulers play in DC. Looking at ideas in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles are helpful. San Francisco has an exclusive partnership with one waste management company that eases administrative burden and makes it possible to collaborate on long term goals. New York and Los Angeles are struggling with complicated zone systems for haulers that took a decade to implement. DC needs to speak to this in its zero-waste framework."
"Okay. So, let's start with why we're here. And from one of my favorite movies, let me tell you why you're here. So, there are negative impacts to waste disposal. And that's why we're focusing on zero waste, not just to feel good or other reasons. And so, the question of landfilling versus incineration is an integrally related piece to what we're working on here. Are landfilling and incineration equally bad? Well, in DC policy, they are; in DPW’s policy, incineration is seen as preferable; but in reality, and in the Zero Waste Hierarchy and Zero Waste definition, incineration is worse and good science backs that up."
"And of course, Riverkeeper would be open to extended producer responsibility for some items, but not on bottle deposits. We really need the beverage containers to be dealt with separately, and a deposit fee is known to work. It works domestically, it works internationally, and other things can be done around that. Things like reverse vending machines. There's a lot of really cool work that's being done in other countries that we should bring here. Save As You Throw is highly supported by Anacostia Riverkeeper. "
| 
