Textile producers

AN ACT Relating to establishing producer responsibility for 1
textiles; amending RCW 36.70.330, 36.70A.142, 35.63.290, 35A.63.310, 2
and 70A.208.270; reenacting and amending RCW 43.21B.110 and 3
43.21B.300; adding a new chapter to Title 70A RCW; and prescribing 4
penalties. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. INTENT. The intent of this chapter is to 7
establish a statewide extended producer responsibility program for 8
apparel and textile articles that emphasizes repair and reuse, and 9
minimizes hazardous waste, greenhouse gases, environmental impacts, 10
negative environmental justice impacts, and negative public health 11
impacts.12
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this 13
section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly 14
requires otherwise.15
(1)(a) "Apparel" means clothing and accessory items intended for 16
regular wear or formal occasions and indoor and outdoor activities.17
(b) "Apparel" includes, but is not limited to, undergarments, 18
shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, overalls, bodysuits, costumes, vests, 19
dancewear, suits, saris, scarves, tops, leggings, school uniforms, 20
S-3853.2
SENATE BILL 6174
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Lovelett, Slatter, Saldaña, Shewmake, Bateman, Alvarado,
Trudeau, Hunt, Frame, and Nobles
Read first time 01/15/26. Referred to Committee on Environment,
Energy & Technology.
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leisurewear, athletic wear, sports uniforms, swimwear, formal wear, 1
onesies, bibs, footwear, handbags, backpacks, knitted and woven 2
accessories, jackets, coats, snow pants, ski pants, uniforms, and 3
workwear. 4
(c) "Apparel" does not include the following: 5
(i) Personal protective equipment worn to protect the wearer from 6
health or environmental hazards; 7
(ii) Personal protective equipment or clothing items for use by 8
the United States military; or 9
(iii) Disposable or reusable products designed to collect and 10
absorb urine and feces, or disposable or reusable products regulated 11
by the United States food and drug administration that are designed 12
to collect and absorb menstruation or vaginal discharge.13
(2) "Authorized collector" means a person or entity that has 14
entered into an agreement with a producer responsibility organization 15
to collect covered products. 16
(3) "Authorized sorter" means a person or entity that has entered 17
into an agreement with a producer responsibility organization to sort 18
covered products collected by authorized collectors.19
(4) "Brand" means a trademark, including both a registered 20
trademark and an unregistered trademark, a logo, a name, a symbol, a 21
word, an identifier, or a traceable mark that identifies a covered 22
product and identifies the owner or licensee of the brand.23
(5) "Collection site" means a permanent or temporary location 24
operated by an authorized collector at which covered products are 25
collected and prepared for transport in accordance with the 26
requirements of this chapter. 27
(6) "Consumer" means an owner of a covered product, including a 28
person, business, corporation, limited partnership, nonprofit 29
organization, or governmental entity, and includes the ultimate 30
purchaser, owner, renter, or lessee of a covered product who is not, 31
as to that covered product, the distributor, importer, producer, 32
recycler, retailer, or producer responsibility organization.33
(7)(a) "Covered product" means an apparel or textile article 34
introduced into the state. 35
(b) "Covered product" does not include a secondhand or reused 36
covered product. 37
(8) "Department" means the department of ecology.38
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(9) "Distributor" means a company that has a contractual 1
relationship with one or more producers to market and sell covered 2
products to a retailer. 3
(10) "Government entity" has the same meaning as in RCW 4
70A.208.020. 5
(11) "Importer" means either: 6
(a) A person qualifying as an importer of record for purposes of 7
19 U.S.C. Sec. 1484 (a)(2)(B), as it existed as of January 1, 2025, 8
with regard to the import of a covered product that is sold, 9
distributed for sale, or offered for sale in or into the state that 10
was manufactured or assembled by a company outside of the United 11
States; or 12
(b) A person importing into the state for sale, distributing for 13
sale, or offering for sale in the state a covered product for use in 14
the state that was manufactured or assembled by a company physically 15
located outside of the state. 16
(12) "Introduce" means to sell, rent, offer for sale, distribute, 17
or ship a product within or into this state. 18
(13) "Mail-back program" means a method of collecting covered 19
products through a prepaid, preaddressed postage container that is 20
transported by the United States postal service or a common carrier.21
(14) "Online marketplace" means a consumer-directed, 22
electronically accessed platform for which all of the following are 23
true: 24
(a) The platform includes features that allow for, facilitate, or 25
enable third-party sellers to engage in the sale, rental, purchase, 26
payment, storage, shipping, or delivery of a covered product in this 27
state; 28
(b) The features described in (a) of this subsection are used by 29
third-party sellers; and 30
(c) The platform has a contractual relationship with consumers 31
governing their use of the platform to purchase consumer products.32
(15)(a) "Producer" means: 33
(i) A person who manufactures a covered product and owns or is 34
the licensee of the brand or trademark under which that covered 35
product is introduced in or into the state; 36
(ii) If there is no person in Washington who is the producer for 37
purposes of (a)(i) of this subsection, the producer of the covered 38
product is the owner of a brand or trademark or, if the owner is not 39
in the state, the exclusive licensee of a brand or trademark under 40
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which the covered product is sold, imported for sale, offered for 1
sale, or distributed for sale in or into the state, regardless of 2
whether the trademark is registered. For purposes of this subsection, 3
an exclusive licensee is a person holding the exclusive right to use 4
a trademark or brand in the state in connection with the manufacture, 5
sale, or distribution for sale in or into the state of the covered 6
product; 7
(iii) If there is no person in the state who is the producer for 8
purposes of (a)(i) or (ii) of this subsection, then the producer of 9
the covered product is the person that imports the covered product 10
into the state for sale or distribution; 11
(iv) If there is no other person in the state who is the producer 12
for purposes of (a)(i), (ii), or (iii) of this subsection, the 13
producer of the covered product is the distributor, retailer, or 14
wholesaler who introduces the product in or into the state; or15
(v) A person is the producer of a covered material introduced in 16
or into this state, as defined in (a)(i) through (iv) of this 17
subsection, except where another person has mutually signed an 18
agreement with a producer as defined in (a)(i) through (iv) of this 19
subsection that contractually assigns responsibility to the person as 20
the producer, and the person has joined a registered producer 21
responsibility organization as the responsible producer for that 22
covered material under this chapter. If another person is assigned 23
responsibility as the producer under this subsection, the producer 24
under (a)(i) through (v) of this subsection must provide written 25
certification of that contractual agreement to the producer 26
responsibility organization; 27
(b) For purposes of this chapter, the sale of a covered product 28
must be deemed to occur in the state if the covered product is 29
delivered to the customer in the state; 30
(c) "Producer" does not include: 31
(i) A seller that sells only secondhand covered products;32
(ii)(A) A seller with less than $1,000,000 in annual aggregate 33
global turnover as annually adjusted for inflation. The department 34
must use the consumer price index for urban wage earners to calculate 35
the annual rate of inflation adjustment effective January 1st of each 36
year. 37
(B) The aggregate global turnover of a producer must be 38
calculated by adding together the respective turnovers of all of the 39
following: 40
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(I) The producer concerned; 1
(II) Those entities in which the producer is concerned directly 2
or indirectly, through ownership of more than one-half of the capital 3
or business assets, through the power to exercise more than one-half 4
of the voting rights, through the power to appoint more than one-half 5
of the members of the supervisory board, the administrative board, or 6
bodies legally representing the undertakings, or through the right to 7
manage the entities' affairs; 8
(III) Those entities that have the rights or powers identified in 9
(c)(ii)(B)(II) of this subsection; 10
(IV) Those entities in which an entity referred to in 11
(c)(ii)(B)(III) of this subsection has the rights or powers listed in 12
(c)(ii)(B)(II) of this subsection; or 13
(V) Those entities in which two or more entities referred to in 14
(c)(ii)(B)(I) through (IV) of this subsection jointly have the rights 15
or powers listed in (c)(ii)(B) of this subsection.16
(16) "Producer responsibility organization" means:17
(a) A nonprofit organization that qualifies for a tax exemption 18
under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 501 (c)(3) of the federal internal revenue code 19
and is designated by a producer or group of producers to fulfill the 20
requirements of this chapter; or 21
(b) A producer that registers with the department as a producer 22
responsibility organization and implements an individual plan 23
addressing the covered products of the producer. 24
(17) "Repair" means any alteration or improvement of damaged 25
covered product including, but not limited to: 26
(a) Redesigning and repurposing; 27
(b) Mending rips, holes, seams, or hems or other tailoring;28
(c) Removing and repairing surface damage, such as pilling, stain 29
removal, or abrasion; 30
(d) Securing and reattaching buttons and other fastenings;31
(e) Dyeing, redyeing, overdyeing, or printing of images on 32
covered products; or 33
(f) Preparation for reuse, rental, and resale.34
(18) "Responsible market" means an entity that:35
(a) Prepares for reuse, resale, rental or repurpose, or first 36
produces and sells, transfers, or uses recycled, reused, or repaired 37
product or recycled content feedstock that meets the quality 38
standards necessary to be used in the creation of new or 39
reconstituted products; 40
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(b) Complies with all applicable federal, state, and local 1
statutes, rules, ordinances, and other laws governing environmental, 2
health, safety, and financial responsibility; 3
(c) If the market operates in the state, manages waste according 4
to the state's solid waste management hierarchy established in RCW 5
70A.205.005(8); and 6
(d) Meets the minimum operational standards adopted under a 7
producer responsibility organization plan to protect the environment, 8
public health, worker health and safety, and minimize adverse impacts 9
to socially vulnerable populations. 10
(19) "Responsible producer" means a producer that is not excluded 11
under subsection (15)(c) of this section. 12
(20) "Retailer" means a person who introduces a covered product 13
in or into the state to a person through any means including, but not 14
limited to, sales or rental outlets, catalogs, the telephone, the 15
internet, or any electronic means. 16
(21) "Reuse" means the resale or rental of a covered product to a 17
consumer for its original intended use with or without repair.18
(22) "Secondhand covered product" means any covered product that 19
has previously been owned. 20
(23) "Secondhand markets" means a retailer who sells or rents 21
secondhand covered products including, but not limited to, thrift 22
stores, collection site operators, online resale platforms, 23
consignment shops, and flea markets. 24
(24) "Socially vulnerable population" includes:25
(a) Any person residing in: 26
(i) A census tract that contains a high overall social 27
vulnerability index as measured using the United States centers for 28
disease control and prevention's and the agency for toxic substances 29
and disease registry's social vulnerability index, as it existed as 30
of January 1, 2025, for the most recent year such data are available; 31
or 32
(ii) As applicable, an alternative population specified 33
consistent with RCW 70A.208.270; or 34
(b) Any person who has an income below the minimum necessary for 35
a household based on family composition in a given geography to 36
adequately meet their basic needs without public or private 37
assistance, as measured by the University of Washington's center for 38
women's welfare, for the most recent year such data are available.39
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(25)(a) "Textile" or "textile article" means an item customarily 1
used in households or businesses that are made entirely or primarily 2
from a natural, artificial, or synthetic fiber, yarn, or fabric. For 3
purposes of this chapter, "textile article" includes, but is not 4
limited to, blankets, curtains, fabric window coverings, accessories, 5
towels, tapestries, bedding, tablecloths, napkins, linens, signage, 6
and pillows. 7
(b) "Textile article" does not include single-use products 8
including paper towels, paper napkins, toilet paper, facial tissue, 9
or wet or dry wipes. 10
(26) "Third-party seller" means a person or entity, independent 11
of an online marketplace, who sells or rents, offers to sell or rent, 12
or contracts with an online marketplace to sell or rent a consumer 13
product in the state by or through an online marketplace.14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY ORGANIZATION 15
REGISTRATION. (1)(a) By January 31, 2027, each producer of a covered 16
product must appoint a producer responsibility organization or 17
producer responsibility organizations to address its covered 18
products.19
(b) By March 1, 2027, each producer responsibility organization 20
must register with the department on behalf of its producers.21
(c) The registration of a producer responsibility organization 22
must describe how the producer responsibility organization meets the 23
registration requirements of this section. If registration 24
applications for more than one producer responsibility organization, 25
other than individual producers registering as producer 26
responsibility organizations, are submitted to the department, the 27
department must determine and register the proposed producer 28
responsibility organization that can most effectively implement this 29
chapter. The department may not allow registration of more than one 30
producer responsibility organization, other than an individual 31
producer registered as a producer responsibility organization, for 32
purposes of the first five-year plan implementation period.33
(2) The department must, by March 31, 2027, approve a producer 34
responsibility organization that meets the requirements of this 35
chapter and: 36
(a) The producer responsibility organization has a governing 37
board consisting of producers that are diverse in size and type and 38
that represent the diversity of covered products placed in the market 39
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by those entities. The governing board must include ex officio 1
members involved in the collection, sorting, repair, reuse, 2
recycling, or management of covered products; and 3
(b) The producer responsibility organization demonstrates that it 4
has adequate financial responsibility and financial controls in 5
place, including fraud prevention measures and an audit schedule, to 6
ensure proper management of funds. 7
(3) After January 31, 2036, the department may determine that an 8
additional producer responsibility organization would be beneficial 9
in satisfying the requirements of this chapter, and may approve the 10
registration of additional producer responsibility organizations that 11
meet the requirements of this chapter and that: 12
(a) Submits to the department, and agrees to cover the 13
department's reasonable costs to review, a petition to establish a 14
new producer responsibility organization; 15
(b) Is composed of a sufficient number of producers to jointly 16
comply with the requirements of this chapter; and 17
(c) The proposed producer responsibility organization covers the 18
costs of all of the provisions of this chapter applicable to the 19
proposed producer responsibility organization and its participant 20
producers. 21
(4) The requirements of subsections (2)(a) and (b) and (3)(a), 22
(b), and (c) of this subsection do not apply to individual producers 23
registering with the department as a producer responsibility 24
organization. The department may require an individual producer 25
registering with the department as a producer responsibility 26
organization to pay incremental costs to the department under this 27
chapter associated with the registration of the individual producer 28
as a producer responsibility organization. 29
(5) Each producer covered under a producer responsibility 30
organization must register with that producer responsibility 31
organization in accordance with the procedures and requirements 32
established by that producer responsibility organization and must 33
comply with those procedures and requirements. 34
(6) Upon the approval of a plan under this chapter or by July 1, 35
2031, whichever is sooner, a producer is subject to penalties under 36
this chapter unless: 37
(a) The producer is a participant of a producer responsibility 38
organization whose registration has been approved by the department 39
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or the producer has received registration approval from the 1
department as a producer responsibility organization; and2
(b)(i) For producers that have joined a producer responsibility 3
organization, all covered products are accounted for in the plan; or4
(ii) For producers that are registered as a producer 5
responsibility organization, all covered products of the producer are 6
accounted for in the plan; and 7
(c) If an entity does not meet the definition of a producer and 8
is not subject to this chapter before January 1, 2031, but at any 9
point, after January 1, 2031, meets the definition of a producer, the 10
producer must, within 90 days, become a participant of the producer 11
responsibility organization or register with the department as a 12
producer responsibility organization, and comply with the 13
requirements of this chapter. 14
(7) A producer is not in compliance with this chapter and is 15
subject to penalties under section 15 of this act if a covered 16
product sold or offered for sale by the producer is not subject to an 17
approved producer responsibility organization plan.18
(8)(a) Beginning March 1, 2028, and every March 1st thereafter 19
until annual reporting, each producer or the producer responsibility 20
organization must provide the department, in a form and manner 21
established by the department, a list of brands of covered products 22
that each producer sells, distributes for sale, imports for sale, or 23
offers for sale in or into the state. 24
(b) A producer or producer responsibility organization must 25
update the list described in (a) of this subsection and provide the 26
updated list to the department on or before January 15th of each 27
year, or upon request of the department. 28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY ORGANIZATION 29
RESPONSIBILITIES. (1) Each producer responsibility organization whose 30
registration has been approved by the department under section 3 of 31
this act must, individually or collaboratively, prepare and cover the 32
costs of the needs assessments described in section 5 of this act.33
(2) Each producer responsibility organization must manage 34
collection sites consistent with section 9 of this act.35
(3) Each participant of a producer responsibility organization 36
with an approved plan must comply with the requirements of this 37
chapter. The producer responsibility organization must notify the 38
department within 30 calendar days of any of the following:39
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(a) The end of any three-month period in which the producer 1
responsibility organization unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a fee, 2
records, or other information from a participant producer, or 3
received incomplete or incorrect records or information;4
(b) The date a producer no longer participates in a producer 5
responsibility organization's plan; or 6
(c) Any instance of noncompliance by a producer.7
(4)(a) Producers and a producer responsibility organization, 8
acting on behalf of producers that prepare, submit, and implement a 9
plan pursuant to this chapter and who are thereby subject to 10
regulation by the department, are hereby granted immunity from state 11
laws relating to antitrust, restraint of trade, unfair trade 12
practices, and other regulation of trade and commerce, for the 13
limited purpose of planning, reporting, and operating the extended 14
producer responsibility organization program, including:15
(i) The creation, implementation, or management of the producer 16
responsibility organization and any plan regardless of whether it is 17
submitted, denied, or approved; 18
(ii) The cost and structure of a plan; and 19
(iii) The types or quantities of covered products being managed 20
pursuant to this chapter. 21
(b) The immunity granted in (a) of this subsection does not apply 22
to: 23
(i) Fixing a price of or for covered products, except for an 24
agreement related to costs or charges associated with participation 25
in a plan approved by the department; 26
(ii) Fixing the output or production of covered products; or27
(iii) Restricting the geographic area in which, or customers to 28
whom, covered products will be sold or rented. 29
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. NEEDS ASSESSMENT. (1)(a) Each statewide 30
needs assessment carried out by a producer responsibility 31
organization must be designed to determine the necessary steps and 32
investment needed for covered products to achieve the requirements of 33
this chapter.34
(b) An initial needs assessment for covered products must be 35
completed prior to the completion and approval of a plan for covered 36
products under this chapter. The initial needs assessment must be 37
submitted to the department by March 1, 2028. The department must 38
review and approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the needs 39
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assessment as meeting the requirements of this section within 90 days 1
of submission. 2
(c) Needs assessments must be updated, in whole or in part, at 3
least every five years, and as necessary to ensure the requirements 4
of this chapter are met. For each needs assessment completed after 5
the initial needs assessment submitted to the department by March 1, 6
2028, the producer responsibility organization must conduct:7
(i) A survey of public awareness of the program created under 8
this chapter, and its convenience; 9
(ii) An equity study that analyzes, at minimum, information 10
about: 11
(A) Working conditions, wage and benefit levels, workforce 12
development efforts, and employment levels of minorities and women 13
employed by service providers or responsible markets under this 14
chapter; 15
(B) The degree to which programs to increase access, convenience, 16
and education are successful in raising reuse, recycling, repair, 17
repurposing, and upcycling rates in areas where participation in 18
these activities is low. This must include an evaluation of the 19
efficacy of activities that are conceptually, linguistically, and 20
culturally tailored to effectively reach diverse residents, and which 21
such activities could be adjusted or improved to achieve improved 22
outcomes for specific areas or sectors where participation is low; 23
and 24
(C) Strategies to increase participation in reuse, repair, 25
repurposing, upcycling, and recycling of covered products; and26
(iii) A process to receive input from government entities, 27
community organizations, and Washington residents regarding the 28
program's accessibility and performance. 29
(d) A producer responsibility organization may select an 30
independent third-party contractor to complete the needs assessment.31
(e) A producer responsibility organization may prepare more than 32
one needs assessment, with each assessment specific to one or more 33
covered products under this chapter, or may prepare one comprehensive 34
needs assessment that includes all covered products under this 35
chapter. 36
(2) Each needs assessment must comply with all of the following:37
(a) Be designed to inform the program budget and plan; and38
(b) Include an evaluation of all of the following with respect to 39
covered products and covered product categories: 40
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(i) Existing scope and scale of annual covered products diverted 1
to landfill or incineration in the state by type of covered product, 2
material composition, and volume and annual covered product recovery 3
diverted to reuse, repair, or recycling in the state or from the 4
state by type of covered product, material composition, and volume;5
(ii) The current repair, reuse, recycling, collection, sorting, 6
and hauling system in the state and the expanded access and 7
additional repair, reuse, recycling, collection, sorting, 8
disassembly, and hauling options needed to meet the requirements of 9
this chapter; 10
(iii) Current market conditions, including rates of textile and 11
apparel export, and the need to create responsible and economically 12
viable end markets in the state, regionally, and globally;13
(iv) Existing state statutory provisions and funding sources 14
related to market development and financial incentives to help 15
achieve the state's goals related to repair, reuse, recycling, 16
collection, sorting, disassembly, and hauling; 17
(v) Consumer education needs and the methods by which the 18
producer responsibility organization can best reach customers with 19
educational messaging and assess the effectiveness of that messaging;20
(vi) Consumer behaviors to drive repair, reuse, and recycling and 21
to achieve the requirements of this chapter; 22
(vii) Funding needs and incentive mechanisms necessary to achieve 23
the requirements of this chapter, including coverage of the operation 24
of the extended producer responsibility organization program;25
(viii) Fee reduction or redistribution mechanism necessary to 26
achieve the requirements of this chapter, in a manner that equitably 27
distributes the costs among participating producers that reflects 28
production and sales and rental volumes relevant to the Washington 29
market. Fee reduction or redistribution mechanisms may consider 30
existing producer collection, repair, reuse, repurposing, and 31
recycling programs that help achieve the purpose of this chapter;32
(ix) Actions and investments necessary to provide equitable and 33
sufficient access to collection, repurposing, recycling, composting, 34
processing, and transportation to responsible and economically viable 35
end markets; 36
(x) An assessment of the availability of existing organizations 37
that repair, repurpose, and upcycle covered products;38
(xi) An evaluation of the availability or lack of availability of 39
responsible markets for repaired, reused, and recycled covered 40
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products, the need to incentivize reused, repurposed, repaired, and 1
upcycled products or recycled material market development, and the 2
associated investments or actions needed to ensure that the covered 3
products are reused, repaired, repurposed, upcycled, or recycled and 4
have responsible and economically viable and sufficient end markets;5
(xii) An evaluation of the factors contributing to the presence 6
of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and other chemicals 7
identified or regulated under chapters 70A.350 and 70A.430 RCW, and 8
the actions and investments needed to avoid contamination related to 9
recycling. This must include available end markets for recycled 10
material that cannot be remanufactured into apparel or textile 11
articles in Washington; and 12
(xiii) An evaluation of what factors will be important to 13
successfully implement the eco-modulated fee structure required by 14
section 10 of this act, and what associated data collection will be 15
necessary as part of the plan. 16
(3) The department must support and provide technical input on 17
the development of each needs assessment. A producer responsibility 18
organization must develop each needs assessment in consultation with 19
a broad diversity of government entities collection, brokering, 20
reuse, repair, and recycling service providers, and processors that 21
reflect the different needs and challenges presented by managing 22
different covered products through final disposition.23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. PLAN CONTENTS. (1) Plans must be 24
submitted, reviewed, and approved consistent with section 7 of this 25
act.26
(2) Plans for covered products must be designed to result in the 27
acceptance and management of all postconsumer covered products and 28
must include all of the following: 29
(a) The names and contact information, including email address, 30
phone number, and mailing and physical addresses, of producers and 31
brands of covered products under the plan; 32
(b) A description of the method to establish and administer a 33
means for fully funding the producer responsibility organization, 34
consistent with section 10 of this act, including a proposed five-35
year budget; 36
(c) Quantifiable five-year and annual performance standards and 37
metrics unless or until the department publishes performance 38
standards under section 8 of this act. The producer responsibility 39
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organization must amend its plan to meet or exceed the performance 1
standards published by the department. Performance targets 2
established in a plan after the initial plan implementation period 3
must demonstrate and achieve kaizen and other forms of continuous 4
improvement relative to performance targets for preceding plan 5
implementation periods; 6
(d) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 7
will provide for a free, equitable, and convenient drop-off or 8
collection system for covered products consistent with section 9 of 9
this act; 10
(e) A description of how the collection sites will be authorized 11
and managed, including: 12
(i) How government entities can request to be a collection site 13
under section 9 of this act; 14
(ii) How the producer responsibility organization will provide to 15
collection sites at no cost the appropriate containers for covered 16
products, training, signage, safety guidance, and educational 17
materials; 18
(iii) The process by which the producer responsibility 19
organization will provide, at no cost, for the transport of covered 20
products from collection sites to an authorized sorter or directly to 21
an authorized repair, reuse, repurposing, upcycling, or resale 22
organization, or recycling facility; 23
(iv) How collection sites will be facilitated to divert covered 24
products to secondhand markets for reuse, and to implement other best 25
practices for management of covered products consistent with the 26
waste management hierarchy established in RCW 70A.205.005(8);27
(v) A list of all proposed criteria, rules, conditions, and 28
requirements for authorized collectors, authorized sorters, and 29
authorized repair businesses, including a template proposed agreement 30
for each of those types of entities, as applicable;31
(vi) How the producer responsibility organization will prioritize 32
the use of secondhand markets of covered products, when establishing 33
collection sites to meet the minimum requirements in section 9 (2) of 34
this act; and 35
(vii) How collection sites will be instructed to identify and 36
reject counterfeit products that are not covered products under this 37
chapter; 38
(f) A description of how covered products will be sorted, 39
transported, processed, repaired, repurposed, upcycled, reused, and 40
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recycled following collection at collection sites, consistent with 1
section 9 of this act; 2
(g) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 3
will ensure that the program tracks and manages covered materials 4
collected through the program in a manner consistent with standards 5
that safeguard against the dumping of covered products abroad, which 6
may include, but are not limited to, corporate social responsibility 7
(CSR), SAI social accountability international (SA8000), worldwide 8
responsible accredited production (WRAP), SCS global services-9
certified responsible source textiles; 10
(h) A description of the comprehensive statewide education and 11
outreach program designed to educate consumers and promote 12
participation in the program offered by the producer responsibility 13
organization, consistent with section 11 of this act. This 14
description must include a description of the strategies, goals, and 15
metrics the producer responsibility organization will use to annually 16
assess and evaluate the efficacy of the comprehensive statewide 17
education and outreach program required by section 11 of this act, 18
and a description of how the producer responsibility organization 19
will address any deficits in the program identified during the annual 20
assessment and evaluation; 21
(i) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 22
will coordinate with other producer responsibility organizations 23
registered under this chapter to avoid confusion to the public 24
regarding program activities including, but not limited to, education 25
and outreach, including establishing point-of-sale messaging, a joint 26
website, and toll-free telephone number for purposes of providing 27
information on the program; 28
(j) Coordination with and compensation for, and description of 29
the efforts and methods used to coordinate activities with and 30
compensate for, entities who are responsive to a request from the 31
producer responsibility organization, including other producer 32
responsibility organizations, collection, repair, repurposing, 33
upcycling, reuse, and recycling programs, and community-based 34
organizations, including nonprofit retail establishments that sell 35
reused, repurposed, upcycled, and repaired covered products, and that 36
contact the producer responsibility organization and meet the 37
criteria to run or support collection events; 38
(k) A description of how the plan will address the presence of 39
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and other chemicals 40
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identified or regulated under chapters 70A.350 and 70A.430 RCW, 1
including but not limited to the actions and investments needed to 2
avoid contamination in the recycling or upcycling process and 3
available end markets for recycled material that cannot be 4
remanufactured into apparel or textile articles in Washington;5
(l) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 6
will minimize the negative environmental and human health impacts and 7
maximize the positive environmental and human health impacts of all 8
operations associated with the plan, including impacts from collected 9
covered products exported outside of Washington; 10
(m) A process by which the financial activities of the producer 11
responsibility organization or individual producers that are related 12
to implementation of the plan will be subject to an independent audit 13
consistent with generally accepted accounting principles; and14
(n) A description of the feedback received by the producer 15
responsibility organization from the advisory council established in 16
section 18 of this act in the development of the draft or updated 17
plan, and an explanation of how and why the producer responsibility 18
organization did or did not incorporate each item of feedback into 19
its plan. 20
(3) Under the plan, a producer responsibility organization must:21
(a) Develop a program to support laundries for laundering covered 22
products that includes funding for technology that reduces water 23
consumption and reduces microfiber and microplastic discharges in 24
wastewater; and 25
(b) Develop strategies to address preconsumer and postconsumer 26
design challenges for covered products including, but not limited to, 27
compostability, recyclability, reusability, repairability, reduction 28
and removal of harmful chemicals, microfiber and microplastic 29
shedding, and mixed material blends. 30
(4)(a) The plan submitted under this section must be accompanied 31
by a contingency plan demonstrating how the activities in the plan 32
will continue to be carried out by some other entity, if needed, such 33
as a trustee: 34
(i) Until such time as a new plan is submitted and approved by 35
the department; 36
(ii) Upon the expiration of an approved plan; 37
(iii) If the producer responsibility organization notifies the 38
department that it will cease to implement an approved plan; or39
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(iv) In any other event that the producer responsibility 1
organization can no longer carry out plan implementation.2
(b) The contingency plan must guarantee that the contracts, 3
financial data, and other necessary authority and assets to operate 4
the program will vest in a trustee or other entity approved by the 5
department. The trustee must operate the most recently approved plan, 6
subject to the direction of the department, until such time as a new 7
plan is approved. Upon plan expiration or revocation of the plan, the 8
balance of the producer responsibility organization's operating 9
reserves must be transferred to the control of the trustee within 10
five calendar days. All documents, digital records, contracts, and 11
files related to the operation of the plan must be transferred to the 12
control of the trustee within five calendar days. 13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. PLAN DEVELOPMENT, SUBMISSION, AND APPROVAL 14
PROCESS. (1)(a) By July 1, 2030, or no later than six months after 15
the adoption of rules by the department to implement this chapter, 16
whichever comes later, a producer responsibility organization must 17
develop and submit to the department a complete plan, in a form and 18
manner determined by the department, in accordance with the 19
requirements of this chapter, for the collection, transportation, 20
repair, sorting, upcycling, reuse, repurposing, recycling, and the 21
safe and proper management of covered products.22
(b) The department must post each submitted plan on the 23
department's website and allow advisory council established in 24
section 18 of this act and public comment for no less than 45 days 25
before approving, denying, or requesting additional information on 26
the submitted plan. 27
(c)(i) The department must review each submitted plan for 28
compliance with this chapter and must approve, disapprove, or 29
conditionally approve the plan within 120 days of receipt.30
(ii) If the department disapproves of a plan submitted by a 31
producer responsibility organization, the department must explain how 32
the plan does not comply with this chapter and provide written notice 33
to the producer responsibility organization within 60 days of 34
disapproval. The producer responsibility organization may resubmit to 35
the department a revised plan within 30 days of the date the written 36
notice was issued. 37
(iii) The department must review and approve or disapprove the 38
revised draft plan or amendment no later than 60 days after the 39
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department receives it. If the department disapproves the revised 1
plan or revised plan amendment, the department shall provide the 2
reason, in writing, and either: (A) Direct changes to the revised 3
plan or plan amendment; or (B) require the producer responsibility 4
organization to submit a second revision no later than 60 days from 5
the date of the rejection. 6
(iv) The department may approve the second revision submitted by 7
the producer responsibility organization with additional conditions 8
the producer responsibility organization must implement.9
(2) A producer responsibility organization comprised of more than 10
one member producer may not limit its plan for covered products to 11
the covered products of any producer or producers participating in 12
that plan. 13
(3)(a) By July 1, 2031, or within six months of plan approval, 14
whichever is later, each producer responsibility organization must 15
implement the plan approved by the department. 16
(b) A producer responsibility organization with an approved plan 17
must submit any proposed substantial change to the plan, as 18
determined by the department, to the department for approval 19
following the process in subsection (1) of this section.20
(4)(a) A producer responsibility organization must revise and 21
update its plan at least every five years after it is approved by the 22
department. 23
(b) The producer responsibility organization must submit to the 24
department a revised plan for review and approval consistent with 25
subsections (1) through (3) of this section. The producer 26
responsibility organization must submit the revised plan to the 27
department under this subsection at least 12 months prior to the 28
review deadline identified in (a) of this subsection. The revised 29
plan must include a cover letter that summarizes revisions to the 30
plan within 90 days of the review deadline outlined under this 31
subsection. 32
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. PERFORMANCE TARGETS. (1)(a) Each producer 33
of covered products and each producer responsibility organization 34
must achieve the quantifiable five-year and annual performance 35
standards and metrics performance standards established in its plan.36
(b) After March 1, 2033, each producer of covered products and 37
each producer responsibility organization must achieve the 38
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performance standards adopted by the department under subsection (2) 1
of this section. 2
(2) After March 1, 2035, based on information included in plans 3
and annual reports, other information provided by producer 4
responsibility organizations, department waste characterization 5
studies, needs assessments, and economic and any other relevant 6
information, as determined by the department, the department must 7
submit recommendations to the appropriate committees of the 8
legislature whether and how to: 9
(a) Establish statutory performance standards and the dates by 10
which they are required to be achieved; and 11
(b) Adjust requirements around collection site participation, in 12
order to ensure the performance standards are achieved.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. COLLECTION SITES. (1)(a) A producer 14
responsibility organization must approve collection sites under its 15
program that agree to comply with all applicable state, federal, or 16
municipal laws, regulations, and rules and conditions adopted by the 17
producer responsibility organization. A producer responsibility 18
organization must reimburse government entities that serve as 19
collection sites for demonstrable costs, as defined by rules adopted 20
by the department, associated with service as a collection site 21
including, but not limited to, associated labor costs and other costs 22
associated with accessibility and collection site standards such as 23
storage. 24
(b) A producer responsibility organization must include as a 25
collection site under its program any government entity that offers 26
in writing to participate in the program and agrees to comply with 27
any producer responsibility organization criteria that are consistent 28
with its approved plan, even if the minimum thresholds described in 29
subsection (2) of this section have been achieved. A producer 30
responsibility organization must include the government entity as a 31
collection site in the program within 90 days of receiving the 32
written offer to participate. The producer responsibility 33
organization is not required to respond to offers to participate 34
until a plan has been approved by the department. 35
(c) A producer responsibility organization may suspend or 36
terminate a collection site that does not comply with all applicable 37
state, federal, or municipal laws and regulations or adhere to the 38
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rules, criteria, and conditions imposed by the producer 1
responsibility organization. 2
(d) A collection site must be operated and managed to ensure that 3
covered products are collected safely and handled in accordance with 4
all applicable state, federal, and municipal laws and regulations and 5
the rules and conditions of the plan. A producer responsibility 6
organization must allow authorized collectors and authorized sorters 7
to divert reusable covered products for sale in secondhand markets, 8
repurpose, reuse, repair, or upcycling in a manner consistent with 9
standards established by the producer responsibility organization in 10
an approved plan. 11
(2) A producer responsibility organization must provide for a 12
free, equitable, and convenient drop-off or collection system for 13
covered products that may include temporary collection sites and 14
mail-back options, and that the collection standards must include 15
permanent collection sites in each county that: 16
(a) Provides for a minimum of 10 permanent collection sites or 17
one permanent collection site per 25,000 people, whichever is 18
greater, except that: 19
(i) A county with a population of 18,000 and under, as reported 20
annually by the office of financial management, must have a minimum 21
of three collection locations; 22
(ii) A county with a population of between 18,001 and 50,000, 23
inclusive, as reported annually by the office of financial 24
management, must have a minimum of four collection locations; and25
(iii) A county with a population of between 50,001 and 100,000, 26
inclusive, as reported annually by the office of financial 27
management, must have a minimum of eight collection locations;28
(b) Provides for a reasonable and equitable geographic spread of 29
permanent collection sites, as justified by a description in the 30
plan. 31
(3) Following collection at a collection site, covered products 32
must: 33
(a) Be handled and managed consistent with the waste management 34
hierarchy established in RCW 70A.205.005(8), including prioritization 35
of reuse, including repair, repurpose, upcycling, and recycling, in 36
descending order of priority, of collected covered products;37
(b) Include incentive payments, grants, and market development 38
investments, including nonprofit retail resellers of covered 39
products, to encourage reuse over recycling and other methods and to 40
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support the infrastructure necessary to implement the plan, which 1
must include incentive payments, grants, and market development 2
investments that prioritize infrastructure closer to the point of 3
generation under (e) of this subsection and ensure that covered 4
products are repaired, reused, repurposed, upcycled, or recycled and 5
have responsible end markets; 6
(c) Be sorted by authorized sorters and the flow of covered 7
products to and from authorized collectors, authorized sorters, 8
authorized repair businesses, and recyclers must be tracked through 9
final disposition; 10
(d) Be managed by the producer responsibility organization to 11
maximize the reuse, repair, repurposing, upcycling, and recycling of 12
all covered products, and to minimize disposal of covered products 13
collected by the producer responsibility organization; and14
(e) Be managed by the producer responsibility organization in a 15
manner that prioritizes, to the extent feasible, the use and 16
development of sorting, repair, and recycling facilities located 17
closer to the point of collection to minimize transportation-related 18
emissions and increase accountability for the ultimate disposition of 19
covered products. 20
(4) The producer responsibility organization must conduct an 21
annual assessment, using metrics described in its plan, to determine 22
how collection, sorting, and transportation outcomes aligned with 23
projections. 24
(5) Products designed by use for infants and children under 12 25
years of age with components that pose a risk of detachment, thus 26
creating choking hazards, or containing components subject to 16 27
C.F.R. Parts 1303 and 1307, including, but not limited to, metallic, 28
vinyl, or plastic snaps, zippers, grommets, closures, or appliques, 29
may be excluded from the reuse and repair under subsection (3)(a) of 30
this section by a producer responsibility organization.31
(6) Nothing in this chapter limits the authority of the utilities 32
and transportation commission to regulate collection of solid waste, 33
including curbside collection of residential recyclable materials, in 34
accordance with chapter 81.77 RCW. 35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY ORGANIZATION FEES 36
AND REIMBURSEMENT OF STATE COSTS. (1) Each producer responsibility 37
organization must pay all administrative and operational costs 38
associated with establishing and implementing the program including, 39
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but not limited to, the cost of collection, transportation, sorting, 1
repairing, reuse, repurposing, upcycling, recycling, and the safe and 2
proper management of covered products. 3
(2)(a) A producer responsibility organization must establish a 4
method for fully funding the producer responsibility organization in 5
a manner that equitably distributes the program's costs among 6
participating producers. Upon plan approval, the funding mechanism 7
approved in the plan must include a per-unit eco-modulated fee that 8
reflects Washington sales volume, existing producer collection, 9
repair, reuse, and recycling programs that help achieve the purposes 10
of this chapter, and the cost of reusing, repairing, repurposing, 11
upcycling, recycling, or otherwise managing covered products under 12
this chapter. The intent of the eco-modulated fee is to incentivize 13
design choices that facilitate the achievement of goals outlined in 14
the plan, including reuse, repair, repurposing, upcycling, and 15
recycling, and reduction and removal of harmful chemicals, microfiber 16
and microplastic shedding, and mixed material blends through reduced 17
fees, while using malus fees to disincentivize practices and 18
materials incongruent with the plan goals. The producer 19
responsibility organization must consider existing collection, 20
repair, reuse, repurposing, upcycling, and recycling programs in 21
developing the eco-modulated fee structure. 22
(b) The funding mechanism must demonstrate adequate funding for 23
all administrative and operational costs of the program, to be borne 24
by participating producers, and must distribute participating 25
producers' costs in consideration of the cost of managing their 26
specific covered products under the approved plan.27
(3)(a) A producer responsibility organization must propose in 28
each plan a five-year budget that establishes a funding level 29
sufficient to operate the producer responsibility organization in a 30
prudent and responsible manner. The budget must demonstrate how 31
estimated revenues will cover all budgeted costs for each cost 32
category, and the plan must describe the types of activities related 33
to each line item cost category. 34
(b) Budgeted costs categories must include, but are not limited 35
to: 36
(i) Administrative costs, which include the department's costs to 37
implement and enforce this chapter. Each producer responsibility 38
organization must submit an initial payment to the department by June 39
30, 2027, to cover actual and estimated costs of the department from 40
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the effective date of this section through June 30, 2028. Beginning 1
June 30, 2028, each producer responsibility organization must submit 2
an annual registration fee to the department to fund estimated costs 3
of the department to implement, administer, and enforce this chapter 4
for the coming fiscal year; 5
(ii) Education and outreach costs; 6
(iii) Operational costs; 7
(iv) Capital costs; and 8
(v) A reserve to operate the producer responsibility organization 9
should there be unexpected events, such as losses of income, and 10
large unbudgeted expenses in order to protect the collection, 11
sorting, reuse, repurposing, repair, upcycling, and recycling 12
infrastructure the producer responsibility organization relies upon 13
in its plan, during any lapse in a producer participating during the 14
life of the program. This cost category must include a reserve level 15
amount that is justified by a description in the plan. The producer 16
responsibility organization must maintain reserve funds sufficient to 17
operate the plan for no less than six months. Each new plan submitted 18
by a producer responsibility organization must establish its reserve 19
and maintain the required reserve fund balance by the end of the 20
second year of plan operation. 21
(4) Retailers, producers, or producer responsibility 22
organizations may not charge a point-of-sale fee to consumers to 23
cover the costs of the producer responsibility organization or the 24
program. 25
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. (1) A producer 26
responsibility organization must develop and implement a 27
comprehensive statewide education and outreach program that, at 28
minimum, includes:29
(a) An education and communications strategy to effectively 30
promote participation in the program and provide the information 31
necessary for effective participation by consumers, retailers, 32
distributors, wholesalers, government entities, nonprofit 33
organizations, and others; 34
(b) A joint internet website, in coordination with all other 35
producer responsibility organizations registered under this chapter 36
with the department, that publicizes the location of collection sites 37
and provides information to consumers on how to drop off covered 38
products at the free and convenient network of collection sites 39
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offered by the producer responsibility organization, including any 1
information reasonably necessary to safely and conveniently access 2
the collection, repair, and recycling services offered by the 3
producer responsibility organization; 4
(c) Signage that is prominently displayed and easily visible;5
(d) Signage and materials that are required by the producer 6
responsibility organization for collection sites, and a method for 7
collection sites to access replacement materials at no cost to the 8
collection site; 9
(e) Education and outreach activities that are conceptually, 10
linguistically, and culturally tailored to effectively reach diverse 11
residents and include culturally responsive materials and methods 12
that rely on evidence-based practices, are accessible, clear, and 13
support the achievement of the performance targets, including by 14
developing and providing educational materials, resources, and 15
campaigns that encourage and support reuse, repair, repurposing, 16
upcycling, and recycling behaviors by residents and visitors;17
(f) Promotional materials and activities, or both, that explain 18
the purpose of the producer responsibility organization and the means 19
by which the program is being carried out; 20
(g) A strategy to encourage consumers to separate products that 21
are not covered products from covered products, when appropriate, 22
before submitting the covered products to an authorized collection 23
site or mail-back program; 24
(h) Materials designed to inform third-party sellers or renters 25
on online platforms of their duty to comply with this chapter and how 26
to join the producer responsibility organization; and27
(i) Information for the public on secondhand markets and the 28
benefits of reuse, repair, repurpose, and upcycling.29
(2) The statewide education and outreach program must:30
(a) Promote the safe and proper management of covered products, 31
including information on where customers can purchase repaired, 32
repurposed, upcycled, recycled, and reused covered products. This 33
must include education and training for authorized collectors to 34
incentivize domestic resale of usable covered products;35
(b) Not promote the disposal of covered products in a manner 36
inconsistent with the services offered by the plan; and37
(c) Include information for consumers about how to avoid improper 38
disposal of covered products. 39
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(3) A producer responsibility organization must coordinate with 1
authorized collectors and authorized sorters and participating 2
government entities in carrying out education and outreach under this 3
section. 4
(4) Activities undertaken under this section must:5
(a) Assist producers in improving product labels as a means of 6
informing consumers about reuse, repair, repurposing, upcycling, 7
recycling, and other environmentally sound methods of managing 8
covered products; 9
(b) Increase public awareness of how to use and manage covered 10
products in an environmentally sound manner and how to access reuse, 11
repurposing, repair, upcycling, and recycling services;12
(c) Encourage behavior change to increase participation in waste 13
reduction, reuse, repair, repurposing, upcycling, and recycling 14
programs including by considering motivational structures for 15
recycling and reuse by engaging local communities in the design and 16
implementation of programs and developing community-led solutions 17
that are tailored to their specific cultural practices and waste 18
generation patterns; and 19
(d) Develop and provide education and outreach materials that are 20
able to be used by retail establishments, collectors, government 21
entities, service providers, schools, institutions, youth 22
organizations, and nonprofit organizations. Outreach materials must 23
be accessible in multiple languages and culturally appropriate 24
formats including by reaching non-English-speaking communities and by 25
using a variety of tailored media and behavior change strategies.26
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING. (1)(a) A 27
producer responsibility organization must keep board minutes, books, 28
and records that clearly reflect the activities and transactions of 29
the producer responsibility organization.30
(b) A producer responsibility organization must include in its 31
plan a process by which the financial activities of the organization 32
or individual producers that are related to implementation of the 33
plan will be subject to an independent audit consistent with 34
generally accepted accounting principles. 35
(c) The failure of a producer responsibility organization or 36
producer, or their respective agent who holds records, to produce 37
documents or data requested by the department, required to be 38
collected or generated to carry out operation of the plan in the form 39
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and manner determined by the department, as part of a department 1
audit, or review of a third-party audit, constitutes a violation of 2
this chapter. 3
(d) A producer responsibility organization must retain an 4
independent public accountant, certified in the United States, to 5
annually audit the accounting books of the producer responsibility 6
organization. The department must review the independent certified 7
public accountant audit for compliance with this chapter and 8
consistency with the producer responsibility organization's plan and 9
annual report. After the department conducts a review of the 10
independent third party's annual audit, the department must notify 11
the producer responsibility organization of any conduct or practice 12
that does not comply with this chapter or of any inconsistencies 13
identified in the audit. The items submitted to the department as 14
part of the independent audit must include: 15
(i) Financial statements audited in accordance with generally 16
accepted accounting principles; 17
(ii) An audit of the producer responsibility organization's 18
compliance with this chapter; and 19
(iii) An audit of the producer responsibility organization's 20
adherence to, execution of, and consistency with its plan.21
(2) A producer responsibility organization must annually submit 22
to the department, in the form and manner and by the date determined 23
by the department, an annual report and make that report publicly 24
available on the producer responsibility organization's website. The 25
report must include, at minimum, all of the following information for 26
the preceding calendar year unless otherwise specified:27
(a) The independent audit required under subsection (1)(d) of 28
this section; 29
(b) The producer responsibility organization's costs, according 30
to the cost categories established in the plan, and revenues;31
(c) A summary of any anticipated changes to allocations in cost 32
categories for the next calendar year; 33
(d) Any changes to the distribution of a participating producer's 34
costs; 35
(e) The amounts of the eco-modulated fees based on the criteria 36
established under section 10 (2) of this act and the producer 37
responsibility organization's evaluation of the effectiveness of the 38
eco-modulated fees; 39
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(f) An updated list of producers participating in the plan and an 1
updated list of the names and contact information, including email 2
address, telephone number, and physical and mailing addresses of each 3
producer and brands of covered products covered under the plan;4
(g) A list of the producer responsibility organization's 5
authorized collection sites by name, location, and type;6
(h)(i) The amount of covered products sold in or into the state 7
by the producers covered by the producer responsibility 8
organization's plan; 9
(ii) The amount described in (h)(i) of this subsection must be 10
broken down by material and fiber type category and harmonized tariff 11
schedule of the United States (HTS) number; 12
(i) The total weight of covered products, respectively, that were 13
collected, broken down by material and fiber type categories;14
(j) The total weight of covered products, by category, that were 15
collected and deemed reusable or recyclable by each respective 16
authorized collector and authorized sorter; 17
(k) A list of each authorized sorter, authorized repair, 18
repurpose, or upcycling business, and covered product recycling 19
facility used by the producer responsibility organization, including 20
name and location and the total weight of covered products handled by 21
each location; 22
(l) The total weight and number of introduced covered products 23
attributed to a producer, who is a registered participant of the 24
producer responsibility organization's plan, which are collected in 25
the state and reused, repurposed, upcycled, or recycled by the 26
producer responsibility organization, including a description of the 27
methodology and information used to determine and calculate these 28
values; 29
(m) A complete accounting of the ultimate disposition of all 30
covered products collected by the producer responsibility 31
organization, including the total weight of covered products that 32
were repaired, repurposed, upcycled, or recycled; 33
(n) Metrics and a description of the progress towards attaining 34
the performance standards included in the plan; 35
(o) A description of the methods used to collect, transport, 36
repair, repurpose, upcycle, and recycle covered products by the 37
producer responsibility organization, including a description of:38
p. 27 SB 6174
(i) How the producer responsibility organization handled and 1
managed covered products according to the waste hierarchy in RCW 2
70A.205.005(8); 3
(ii) How the producer responsibility organization maximized 4
reuse, repurpose, upcycling, and recycling of all covered products;5
(iii) How the producer responsibility organization minimized 6
disposal of all covered products collected by the producer 7
responsibility organization; and 8
(iv) Results of the producer responsibility organization's 9
assessment of the efficacy of the collection, sorting, and 10
transportation process; 11
(p) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 12
provided incentive payments, grants, and market development 13
investments to support the infrastructure necessary to effectively 14
implement the plan, including how incentive payments, grants, and 15
market development investments prioritized infrastructure closer to 16
the point of generation; 17
(q) A description of the outreach and education program 18
including, but not limited to, the producer responsibility 19
organization's evaluation of the efficacy of the comprehensive 20
statewide education and outreach program in section 11 of this act 21
and steps taken to improve the program; 22
(r) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 23
coordinated with other producer responsibility organizations 24
registered under this chapter; 25
(s) A report on activities the producer responsibility 26
organization has undertaken to prioritize the use of sorting, 27
repurposing, upcycling, and recycling facilities located closer to 28
the point of generation to minimize transportation emissions and 29
increase accountability for the ultimate disposition of collected 30
covered products; 31
(t) An analysis of whether the producer responsibility 32
organization met performance standards established by the producer 33
responsibility organization or by the department under section 8 of 34
this act; 35
(u) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 36
addressed the presence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl 37
substances and other chemicals identified or regulated under chapters 38
70A.350 and 70A.430 RCW, including but not limited to the actions 39
taken and investments made to avoid contamination in the repurposing, 40
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upcycling, or recycling process, and the availability of end markets 1
for recycled material that could not be remanufactured into apparel 2
or textile articles in Washington; 3
(v) Any other information deemed relevant by the producer 4
responsibility organization for the department to determine 5
compliance with the approved plan; and 6
(w) Other information required by rules adopted by the 7
department. 8
(3)(a) No later than 120 days after the date the department 9
receives the annual report submitted by a producer responsibility 10
organization under subsection (2) of this section, the department 11
must notify the producer responsibility organization if the annual 12
report is compliant or noncompliant. 13
(b) If the department determines that the annual report is 14
noncompliant due to failure to meet the requirements of this chapter, 15
the department may require the resubmittal of the annual report or 16
take enforcement action. 17
(4) Individual producer financial or sales data reported to the 18
department is not a public record consistent with RCW 42.56.270, and 19
is not subject to inspection or copying under chapter 42.56 RCW.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. APPAREL PRODUCER DISCLOSURE. (1) 21
Beginning January 31, 2027, each producer of apparel must annually 22
disclose the following to the department:23
(a) A notice consistent with RCW 70A.430.060 identifying each 24
covered product that contains a high priority chemical identified 25
under RCW 70A.430.040 or a priority chemical as defined in RCW 26
70A.350.010 or that is the subject of a rule adopted under chapter 27
70A.350 RCW; 28
(b) A description of any terms used in marketing, labels, or 29
public-facing communications by the producer to describe elements of 30
the environmental impact or sustainability of the producer's covered 31
products including, but not limited to, terms such as "sustainable," 32
"green," "low impact," or "environmentally friendly," and how the 33
producer defines or measures such terms; 34
(c) A description of how each producer sells, gifts, or otherwise 35
disposes of unwanted excess covered products that are not sold or 36
rented to consumers through retail, and the volume of such unwanted 37
excess covered products disposed of during the most recent calendar 38
year; and 39
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(d) A description of the producer's current activities, 1
initiatives, or targets related to reducing the apparel producer's 2
environmental impacts. 3
(2) In addition to the requirements of subsection (1) of this 4
section, beginning January 31, 2027, each apparel producer that has 5
an annual worldwide gross income of the business that exceeds 6
$100,000,000 must disclose the following to the department:7
(a) The environmental due diligence policies, processes, and 8
outcomes of the apparel producer, including: 9
(i) Significant real or potential adverse environmental impacts 10
associated with the apparel producer; 11
(ii) The contents of any environmental sustainability reports 12
related to the apparel producer's operations; 13
(iii) Measurements of the amount and type of recycled content in 14
each covered product produced by the manufacturer; and15
(iv) Measurements of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with 16
the apparel producer's covered products, including the methodology 17
associated with such measurements; and 18
(b) The working conditions of the apparel producer and direct 19
suppliers of products for or inputs to the apparel producer.20
(3)(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions 21
shall apply unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:22
(i) "Due diligence" means the process companies carry out to 23
identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for how they address actual 24
and potential adverse impacts in their own operations, their supply 25
chain, and other business relationships, in the manner recommended in 26
the organization for economic cooperation and development guidelines 27
for multinational enterprises, the organization for economic 28
cooperation and development due diligence guidance for responsible 29
business conduct, and United Nations guiding principles of business 30
and human rights, as those guidelines and guidance existed as of 31
January 1, 2024. 32
(ii) "Gross income of the business" means the value proceeding or 33
accruing by reason of the transaction of the business engaged in and 34
includes gross proceeds of sales, compensation for the rendition of 35
services, gains realized from trading in stocks, bonds, or other 36
evidences of indebtedness, interest, discount, rents, royalties, 37
fees, commissions, dividends, and other emoluments however 38
designated, all without any deduction on account of the cost of 39
tangible property sold, the cost of materials used, labor costs, 40
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interest, discount, delivery costs, taxes, or any other expense 1
whatsoever paid or accrued and without any deduction on account of 2
losses. 3
(iii) "Working conditions" means the: 4
(A) Average number of employees by employment type: Full time, 5
part time, and temporary; 6
(B) Average hourly wage, including all nondiscretionary wages and 7
bonuses, by hourly wage bands: $15 or below, $15.01 to $20, $20.01 to 8
$25, $25.01 to $30, $30.01 to $50, and $50.01 or greater;9
(C) Average total number of employees enrolled in medical plans 10
provided by the employer; 11
(D) Average total number of employees enrolled in dental plans 12
provided by the employer; 13
(E) Average total number of employees enrolled in retirement 14
plans provided by the employer; and 15
(F) Total case incident rate for the prior calendar year.16
(b) For the purpose of this subsection, "average" means the mean 17
value: 18
(i) For the two previous years; or 19
(ii) If the business has been operational for less than two 20
years, since the business has been operational. 21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY ADMINISTRATION AND 22
OVERSIGHT. (1)(a) The department must implement, administer, and 23
enforce this chapter. By December 31, 2029, the department shall 24
adopt rules as necessary to implement, administer, and enforce this 25
chapter.26
(b) To the extent feasible, registration, recordkeeping, 27
reporting, and other logistical requirements adopted by the 28
department under this chapter must be harmonized with similar 29
requirements applicable to producers in other jurisdictions.30
(c) The rules adopted by the department must establish program 31
requirements that have the effect of encouraging and incentivizing 32
repair, reuse, upcycling, or recycling that minimizes waste, 33
hazardous waste, greenhouse gases, environmental impacts, negative 34
environmental justice impacts, and negative public health impacts.35
(2)(a) By May 1, 2027, the department must determine an initial 36
annual payment that is adequate to cover the department's costs to 37
implement, administer, and enforce this chapter from the effective 38
date of this section until June 30, 2028. By May 1, 2028, and 39
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annually every May 1st thereafter, the department must determine a 1
producer responsibility organization payment due in June to cover the 2
department's estimated cost for the coming fiscal year.3
(b) The producer responsibility organization must annually pay 4
the department fees to cover the department's incurred costs. The 5
fees must not exceed the department's actual regulatory costs to 6
implement and enforce this chapter. 7
(c) The department must deposit all moneys received from a 8
producer responsibility organization under this subsection in the 9
textile extended producer responsibility account created in section 10
24 of this act. 11
(3) The department may audit the producer responsibility 12
organization or an individual producer annually with respect to the 13
requirements of this chapter. 14
(4)(a) Within 12 months of the effective date of the rules 15
adopted under this chapter, and on or before July 1st of each year 16
thereafter, the department must post on its internet website a list 17
of producers that are in compliance with this chapter. The department 18
must list, as appropriate, the reported brands of covered products 19
for each producer. 20
(b) A producer that is not listed on the department's internet 21
website under (a) of this subsection that demonstrates compliance 22
with this chapter before the next list is posted by the department 23
may either be added to the internet website or provided a 24
certification letter from the department stating that the producer of 25
a covered product is in compliance with this chapter. The 26
department's list of compliant entities must be available on the 27
department's website in a machine-readable format.28
(c) If the department determines that a producer is not in 29
compliance with this chapter, the department must remove the 30
producer, along with its brands and covered products, from the list 31
of compliant producers posted on the department's website. The 32
department must list on its internet website a producer, along with 33
its brands and covered products, if the department subsequently 34
determines that the producer is in compliance with this chapter.35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. ENFORCEMENT. (1)(a) The department may 36
administratively impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation 37
per day on any person who violates this chapter and up to $10,000 per 38
violation per day for the second and each subsequent violation.39
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(b) For a person out of compliance with the requirements of this 1
chapter, the department shall provide written notification and offer 2
information. For the purposes of this section, written notification 3
serves as notice of the violation. The department must issue at least 4
one notice of violation by certified mail prior to assessing a 5
penalty and the department may only impose a penalty on a person that 6
has not met the requirements of this chapter 60 days following the 7
date the written notification of the violation was sent.8
(2)(a) The department may administratively impose a civil penalty 9
of up to $10,000 per violation per day on any producer responsibility 10
organization that violates this chapter and up to $50,000 per 11
violation per day for the second and each subsequent violation.12
(b) The department may, in addition to assessing the penalties 13
provided in (a) of this subsection, take any combination of the 14
following actions: 15
(i) Issue a corrective action order to a producer responsibility 16
organization; 17
(ii) Issue an order to a producer responsibility organization to 18
provide for the continued implementation of the program in the 19
absence of an approved plan; 20
(iii) Revoke the producer responsibility organization's plan 21
approval and require implementation of the contingency plan; or22
(iv) Require a producer responsibility organization to revise or 23
resubmit a plan within a specified time frame. 24
(c) Prior to taking an action described in this subsection, the 25
department must provide the producer responsibility organization an 26
opportunity to respond to or rebut the written finding upon which the 27
action is predicated. 28
(3)(a) The department may require a producer, producer 29
responsibility organization, manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or 30
importer to: 31
(i) Provide the department with reasonable and timely access, as 32
determined by the department, to its facilities and operations, as 33
necessary to determine compliance with this chapter; or34
(ii) Report additional information to allow the department to 35
determine compliance with this chapter. 36
(b) Records required by this chapter must be maintained and 37
accessible for five years. All reports and records provided to the 38
department under this chapter must be provided under penalty of 39
perjury. 40
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(4) A person may not introduce a covered product of a producer 1
that is not participating in a producer responsibility organization 2
or that is not in compliance with the requirements of this chapter or 3
rules adopted under this chapter. 4
(a) The department shall serve, or send with delivery 5
confirmation, a written warning explaining the violation to a person 6
introducing covered products of a producer that is not in compliance 7
with this chapter. 8
(b) The department may assess a penalty on a person that 9
continues to introduce covered products of a producer that is in 10
violation of this chapter 60 days after receipt of the written 11
warning under this subsection. The amount of the penalty that the 12
department may assess under this subsection is twice the value of the 13
covered products sold in violation of this chapter or $500, whichever 14
is greater. The department must waive the penalty upon verification 15
that the person has discontinued distribution or sales of the covered 16
product within 30 days of the date the penalty is assessed.17
(5) Any person who incurs a penalty or receives an order may 18
appeal the penalty or order to the pollution control hearings board 19
created in chapter 43.21B RCW. 20
(6) Penalties levied under this section must be deposited in the 21
model toxics control operating account created in RCW 70A.305.180.22
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. MARKETPLACE PROVISIONS. (1) Retailers, 23
importers, distributors, and online marketplaces for covered products 24
must monitor the department's internet website where compliant 25
producers are posted under section 14 (4) of this act, to determine if 26
a producer, brand, or covered product is in compliance with this 27
chapter for that producer of covered products.28
(2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, on and after 29
the date a plan is approved by the department, a retailer, importer, 30
distributor, or online marketplace is prohibited from introducing a 31
covered product for use in the state unless the producer of the 32
covered product is listed as in compliance for that brand and covered 33
product. 34
(b) A retailer, importer, distributor, or online marketplace may 35
introduce a covered product: 36
(i) If the retailer, importer, distributor, or online marketplace 37
has fulfilled the obligations for those covered products which the 38
retailer, importer, distributor, or online marketplace introduces;39
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(ii) If, on the date the retailer or distributor introduces the 1
covered product in or into the state, the producer, brand, or covered 2
product was listed as compliant on the department's internet website; 3
and 4
(iii) Any existing stock of a retailer or distributor before the 5
initial list was posted by the department on the department's 6
internet website. 7
(c) This subsection does not apply to secondhand covered 8
products. 9
(3) An online marketplace must annually do the following 10
consistent with rules adopted by the department: 11
(a) Notify the department and the producer responsibility 12
organization of all third-party sellers with sales of covered 13
products over $1,000,000 sold on their online marketplace in the 14
preceding year and provide all required information. The amount of 15
the sales described in this subsection includes only those 16
transactions through the online marketplace for which payment is 17
processed by the online marketplace directly or through its payment 18
processor; 19
(b) Provide all third-party sellers described in (a) of this 20
subsection with the information requirements of law as provided by 21
the producer responsibility organization consistent with the 22
requirements of section 11 of this act. 23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN USES OF PRODUCER 24
RESPONSIBILITY ORGANIZATION FUNDS. A producer responsibility 25
organization may not use funds collected to implement a plan required 26
under this chapter for purposes associated with:27
(1) The payment of an administrative penalty levied;28
(2) Administrative appeals of orders or penalties;29
(3) Litigation between the producer responsibility organization 30
and the state; 31
(4) Compensation of a person whose position is primarily 32
representing the producer responsibility organization relative to the 33
passage, defeat, approval, or modification of legislation that is 34
being considered by a government entity; 35
(5) Paid advertisements related to encouraging the passage, 36
defeat, approval, or modification of legislation that is being 37
considered during an upcoming or current legislative session or was 38
considered during the previous legislative session; or39
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(6) For any other lobbying or political advocacy activities that 1
would require reporting under chapter 42.17A RCW or under the federal 2
election campaign act, 2 U.S.C. chapter 14. 3
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. ADVISORY COUNCIL. (1) The textiles and 4
apparel producer responsibility advisory council is established to 5
review all activities conducted by producer responsibility 6
organizations under this chapter and to advise the department and 7
producer responsibility organizations regarding the implementation of 8
this chapter.9
(2) By January 31, 2027, the department must establish and 10
appoint the initial membership of the advisory council. The 11
membership of the advisory council must consist of the following:12
(a) One member representing manufacturers of textiles or a 13
statewide or national trade association representing those 14
manufacturers; 15
(b) One member representing manufacturers of apparel or a 16
statewide or national trade association representing those 17
manufacturers; 18
(c) Two members representing recycling facilities that manage 19
textiles and apparel; 20
(d) One member representing a solid waste collection company or a 21
statewide association representing solid waste collection companies;22
(e) One member representing retailers of textiles and apparel or 23
a statewide trade association representing those retailers;24
(f) One member representing a statewide nonprofit environmental 25
organization with a focus on textile reuse, repurposing, upcycling, 26
and recycling; 27
(g) One member representing a community-based nonprofit 28
environmental justice organization with a focus on textile reuse, 29
repurposing, upcycling, and recycling; 30
(h) One member representing entities that own or operate clothing 31
drop-off collection locations in Washington; 32
(i) One member representing nonprofit thrift stores;33
(j) One member representing a covered product consignment 34
business; 35
(k) Two members representing individuals or organizations 36
representing overburdened, underrepresented, or historically 37
marginalized communities; 38
(l) One member representing an association of counties;39
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(m) One member representing an association of cities;1
(n) One member representing tribal or indigenous textile or 2
apparel management organizations; 3
(o) One nonvoting member representing each registered producer 4
responsibility organization; and 5
(p) One nonvoting member representing the department.6
(3) In appointing members, the department: 7
(a) Is prohibited from appointing members who are state 8
legislators or registered lobbyists; 9
(b) Is prohibited from appointing members who are employees of 10
producers required to be members of a producer responsibility 11
organization under this chapter; and 12
(c) Must endeavor to appoint members from all regions of the 13
state. 14
(4)(a) The member appointed to represent the department serves at 15
the pleasure of the department. All other members serve for a term of 16
four years, except that the initial term for nine of the initial 17
appointees must be two years so that membership terms are staggered. 18
Members may be reappointed but may not serve more than eight 19
consecutive years. 20
(b) A member may be removed by the department at any time. The 21
chair of the advisory council must inform the department of a member 22
missing three consecutive meetings. After the second consecutive 23
missed meeting, the chair of the advisory council must notify the 24
member in writing that the member may be removed for missing the next 25
meeting. If there is a vacancy on the advisory council for any 26
reason, the department shall make an appointment to become effective 27
immediately for the unexpired term. 28
(5) Advisory councilmembers that are representatives of tribes, 29
tribal or indigenous services organizations, community-based 30
organizations, or environmental nonprofit organizations must, if 31
requested, be compensated and reimbursed in accordance with 32
RCW 43.03.050, 43.03.060, and 43.03.220. 33
(6)(a) A majority of the voting members of the advisory council 34
constitutes a quorum. If there is a vacancy in the membership of the 35
advisory council, a majority of the remaining voting members of the 36
advisory council constitutes a quorum. 37
(b) Action by the advisory council requires a quorum and a 38
majority of those present and voting. All members of the advisory 39
council, except the member appointed to represent the department and 40
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the member appointed to represent the producer responsibility 1
organization, are voting members of the advisory council.2
(7)(a) The advisory council must meet at least two times per year 3
and may meet more frequently upon 10 days' written notice at the 4
request of the chair or a majority of its members. 5
(b) Meetings of the advisory council must comply with chapter 6
42.30 RCW, the open public meetings act. 7
(8) At its initial meeting, and every two years thereafter, the 8
advisory council must elect a chair and vice chair from among its 9
members. 10
(9) The department shall provide administrative and operating 11
support to the advisory council, including compensation in accordance 12
with subsection (5) of this section, and may contract with a third-13
party facilitator to assist in administering the activities of the 14
advisory council, including establishing a website or landing page on 15
the department website. 16
(10) The department must assist the advisory council in 17
developing policies and procedures governing the disclosure of actual 18
or perceived conflicts of interest that advisory councilmembers may 19
have as a result of their employment or financial holdings with 20
respect to themselves or family members. Each advisory councilmember 21
is responsible for reviewing the conflict-of-interest policies and 22
procedures. An advisory councilmember must disclose any instance of 23
actual or perceived conflicts of interest at each meeting of the 24
advisory council at which recommendations regarding plans, programs, 25
operations, or activities are made by the advisory council.26
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION SUBMISSION. A 27
producer responsibility organization, producer, or other entity that 28
submits information or records to the department under this chapter 29
may request that the information or records, including data related 30
to business profits, service rates, fees, or business expenses or 31
private data on individuals, be made available only for the 32
confidential use of the department, the director of the department, 33
the appropriate division of the department, or the independent 34
consultant carrying out the independent review of the program in RCW 35
70A.208.210. The director of the department must consider the request 36
and if this action is not detrimental to the public interest and is 37
otherwise in accordance with the policies and purposes of chapter 38
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43.21A RCW, the director must grant the request for the information 1
to remain confidential as authorized in RCW 43.21A.160.2
Sec. 20. RCW 36.70.330 and 2022 c 180 s 601 are each amended to 3
read as follows: 4
SITING OF PROGRAM INFRASTRUCTURE. The comprehensive plan shall 5
consist of a map or maps, and descriptive text covering objectives, 6
principles and standards used to develop it, and shall include each 7
of the following elements: 8
(1) A land use element which designates the proposed general 9
distribution and general location and extent of the uses of land for 10
agriculture, housing, commerce, industry, recreation, education, 11
public buildings and lands, and other categories of public and 12
private use of land, including a statement of the standards of 13
population density and building intensity recommended for the various 14
areas in the jurisdiction and estimates of future population growth 15
in the area covered by the comprehensive plan, all correlated with 16
the land use element of the comprehensive plan. The land use element 17
shall also provide for protection of the quality and quantity of 18
groundwater used for public water supplies and shall review drainage, 19
flooding, and stormwater runoff in the area and nearby jurisdictions 20
and provide guidance for corrective actions to mitigate or cleanse 21
those discharges that pollute Puget Sound or waters entering Puget 22
Sound. Development regulations to implement comprehensive plans under 23
this chapter that are newly developed, updated, or amended after 24
January 1, 2025, must allow for the siting of organic materials 25
management facilities in the areas identified in RCW 26
70A.205.040(3)(a)(i) to the extent necessary to provide for the 27
establishment of the organic materials management volumetric capacity 28
identified under RCW 70A.205.040(3)(a)(ii). Development regulations 29
to implement comprehensive plans under this chapter that are newly 30
developed, updated, or amended after January 1, 2027, must allow for 31
the siting of collection sites under chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new 32
chapter created in section 28 of this act) to the extent necessary to 33
ensure the satisfaction of the collection standards in section 9 (2) 34
of this act and the achievement of the performance targets in section 35
8 of this act; 36
(2) A circulation element consisting of the general location, 37
alignment and extent of major thoroughfares, major transportation 38
routes, trunk utility lines, and major terminal facilities, all of 39
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which shall be correlated with the land use element of the 1
comprehensive plan; 2
(3) Any supporting maps, diagrams, charts, descriptive material 3
and reports necessary to explain and supplement the above elements.4
Sec. 21. RCW 36.70A.142 and 2022 c 180 s 602 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
SITING OF PROGRAM INFRASTRUCTURE. (1) Development regulations to 7
implement comprehensive plans under this chapter that are newly 8
developed, updated, or amended after January 1, 2025, must allow for 9
the siting of organic materials management facilities in the areas 10
identified in RCW 70A.205.040(3)(a)(i) to the extent necessary to 11
provide for the establishment of the organic materials management 12
volumetric capacity identified under RCW 70A.205.040(3)(a)(ii).13
(2) Development regulations to implement comprehensive plans 14
under this chapter that are newly developed, updated, or amended 15
after January 1, 2027, must allow for the siting of collection sites 16
under chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 28 of 17
this act) to the extent necessary to ensure the satisfaction of the 18
collection standards in section 9 (2) of this act and the achievement 19
of the performance targets in section 8 of this act.20
Sec. 22. RCW 35.63.290 and 2022 c 180 s 603 are each amended to 21
read as follows: 22
SITING OF PROGRAM INFRASTRUCTURE. (1) For cities not planning 23
under RCW 36.70A.040, development regulations to implement 24
comprehensive plans under RCW 35.63.100 that are newly developed, 25
updated, or amended after January 1, 2025, must allow for the siting 26
of organic materials management facilities in the areas identified by 27
the county in which the city is located under RCW 28
70A.205.040(3)(a)(i) to the extent necessary to provide for the 29
establishment of the organic materials management volumetric capacity 30
identified under RCW 70A.205.040(3)(a)(ii). 31
(2) For cities not planning under RCW 36.70A.040, development 32
regulations to implement comprehensive plans under this chapter that 33
are newly developed, updated, or amended after January 1, 2027, must 34
allow for the siting of collection sites under chapter 70A.--- RCW 35
(the new chapter created in section 28 of this act) to the extent 36
necessary to ensure the satisfaction of the collection standards in 37
p. 40 SB 6174
section 9 (2) of this act and the achievement of the performance 1
targets in section 8 of this act. 2
Sec. 23. RCW 35A.63.310 and 2022 c 180 s 604 are each amended to 3
read as follows: 4
SITING OF PROGRAM INFRASTRUCTURE. (1) For cities not planning 5
under RCW 36.70A.040, development regulations to implement 6
comprehensive plans required under RCW 35A.63.060 that are newly 7
developed, updated, or amended after January 1, 2025, must allow for 8
the siting of organic materials management facilities in the areas 9
identified by the county in which the city is located under RCW 10
70A.205.040(3)(a)(i) to the extent necessary to provide for the 11
establishment of the organic materials management volumetric capacity 12
identified under RCW 70A.205.040(3)(a)(ii). 13
(2) For cities not planning under RCW 36.70A.040, development 14
regulations to implement comprehensive plans under this chapter that 15
are newly developed, updated, or amended after January 1, 2027, must 16
allow for the siting of collection sites under chapter 70A.--- RCW 17
(the new chapter created in section 28 of this act) to the extent 18
necessary to ensure the satisfaction of the collection standards in 19
section 9 (2) of this act and the achievement of the performance 20
targets in section 8 of this act.21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 24. ACCOUNT. (1) The textile extended 22
producer responsibility account is created in the custody of the 23
state treasurer. All receipts received by the department under this 24
chapter must be deposited in the account. Only the director of the 25
department or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from 26
the account. The account is subject to the allotment procedures under 27
chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for 28
expenditures. Expenditures from the account may be used by the 29
department only for implementing, administering, and enforcing the 30
requirements of this chapter.31
(2) It is the intent of the legislature that the portion of the 32
producer responsibility organization fee received in 2027 for the 33
costs of the department be transferred to whichever state account was 34
used to cover the costs of the department prior to the payment of the 35
producer responsibility organization fee in 2027. 36
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Sec. 25. RCW 43.21B.110 and 2025 c 327 s 1, 2025 c 319 s 6, 2025 1
c 316 s 301, 2025 c 314 s 13, 2025 c 311 s 7, and 2025 c 58 s 1008 2
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 3
POLLUTION CONTROL HEARINGS BOARD JURISDICTION. (1) The hearings 4
board shall only have jurisdiction to hear and decide appeals from 5
the following decisions of the department, the director, local 6
conservation districts, the air pollution control boards or 7
authorities as established pursuant to chapter 70A.15 RCW, local 8
health departments, the department of natural resources, the 9
department of fish and wildlife, the parks and recreation commission, 10
and authorized public entities described in chapter 79.100 RCW:11
(a) Civil penalties imposed pursuant to chapter 70A.230 RCW and 12
RCW 18.104.155, 70A.15.3160, 70A.300.090, 70A.20.050, 70A.205.740, 13
70A.205.280, 70A.205.545, 70A.355.070, 70A.430.070, 70A.500.260, 14
70A.505.100, 70A.505.110, 70A.530.040, 70A.350.070, 70A.515.060, 15
70A.245.040, 70A.245.050, 70A.245.070, 70A.245.080, 70A.245.130, 16
70A.245.140, 70A.65.200, 70A.455.090, 70A.535.180, 70A.550.030, 17
70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 70A.208.230, 70A.565.030, section 15 of 18
this act, 76.04.205, 76.09.170, 77.55.440, 78.44.250, 88.46.090, 19
90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310, 90.56.330, and 90.64.102.20
(b) Orders issued pursuant to RCW 18.104.043, 18.104.060, 21
18.104.130, 43.27A.190, 70A.15.2520, 70A.15.3010, 70A.15.4530, 22
70A.15.6010, 70A.205.740, 70A.205.280, 70A.214.140, 70A.300.120, 23
70A.350.070, 70A.245.020, 70A.65.200, 70A.535.180, 70A.505.100, 24
70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 70A.208.230, 70A.565.030, section 15 of 25
this act, 86.16.020, 88.46.070, 90.03.665, 90.14.130, 90.46.250, 26
90.48.120, 90.48.240, 90.56.330, and 90.64.040. 27
(c) Except as provided in RCW 90.03.210(2), the issuance, 28
modification, or termination of any permit, certificate, or license 29
by the department or any air authority in the exercise of its 30
jurisdiction, including the issuance or termination of a waste 31
disposal permit, the denial of an application for a waste disposal 32
permit, the modification of the conditions or the terms of a waste 33
disposal permit, a decision to approve or deny a solid waste 34
management plan under RCW 70A.205.055, approval or denial of an 35
application for a beneficial use determination under RCW 70A.205.260, 36
an application for a change under RCW 90.03.383, or a permit to 37
distribute reclaimed water under RCW 90.46.220. 38
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(d) Decisions of local health departments regarding the granting 1
or denial of solid waste permits pursuant to chapter 70A.205 RCW, 2
including appeals by the department as provided in RCW 70A.205.130.3
(e) Decisions of local health departments regarding the issuance 4
and enforcement of permits to use or dispose of biosolids under RCW 5
70A.226.090. 6
(f) Decisions of the department regarding waste-derived 7
fertilizer or micronutrient fertilizer under RCW 15.54.820.8
(g) Decisions of local conservation districts related to the 9
denial of approval or denial of certification of a dairy nutrient 10
management plan; conditions contained in a plan; application of any 11
dairy nutrient management practices, standards, methods, and 12
technologies to a particular dairy farm; and failure to adhere to the 13
plan review and approval timelines in RCW 90.64.026 as provided in 14
RCW 90.64.028. 15
(h) Any other decision by the department or an air authority 16
which pursuant to law must be decided as an adjudicative proceeding 17
under chapter 34.05 RCW. 18
(i) Decisions of the department of natural resources, the 19
department of fish and wildlife, and the department that are 20
reviewable under chapter 76.09 RCW, and the department of natural 21
resources' appeals of county, city, or town objections under RCW 22
76.09.050(7). 23
(j) Forest health hazard orders issued by the commissioner of 24
public lands under RCW 76.06.180. 25
(k) Decisions of the department of fish and wildlife to issue, 26
deny, condition, or modify a hydraulic project approval permit under 27
chapter 77.55 RCW, to issue a stop work order, to issue a notice to 28
comply, to issue a civil penalty, or to issue a notice of intent to 29
disapprove applications. 30
(l) Decisions of the department of natural resources that are 31
reviewable under RCW 78.44.270. 32
(m) Decisions of an authorized public entity under RCW 79.100.010 33
to take temporary possession or custody of a vessel or to contest the 34
amount of reimbursement owed that are reviewable by the hearings 35
board under RCW 79.100.120. 36
(n) Decisions of the department of ecology that are appealable 37
under RCW 70A.245.020 to set recycled minimum postconsumer content 38
for products or to temporarily exclude types of products in plastic 39
containers from minimum postconsumer recycled content requirements.40
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(o) Orders by the department of ecology under RCW 70A.455.080.1
(p) Decisions by the department of ecology under RCW 2
70A.208.150(5) regarding a proposal by a producer responsibility 3
organization to count materials sent to an alternative recycling 4
facility towards recycling performance targets. 5
(q) Decisions of the department of natural resources under RCW 6
76.04.205. 7
(2) The following hearings shall not be conducted by the hearings 8
board: 9
(a) Hearings required by law to be conducted by the shorelines 10
hearings board pursuant to chapter 90.58 RCW, except where appeals to 11
the pollution control hearings board and appeals to the shorelines 12
hearings board have been consolidated pursuant to RCW 43.21B.340.13
(b) Hearings conducted by the department pursuant to RCW 14
70A.15.3010, 70A.15.3070, 70A.15.3080, 70A.15.3090, 70A.15.3100, 15
70A.15.3110, and 90.44.180. 16
(c) Appeals of decisions by the department under RCW 90.03.110 17
and 90.44.220. 18
(d) Hearings conducted by the department to adopt, modify, or 19
repeal rules. 20
(3) Review of rules and regulations adopted by the hearings board 21
shall be subject to review in accordance with the provisions of the 22
administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW. 23
Sec. 26. RCW 43.21B.300 and 2025 c 316 s 302 and 2025 c 58 s 24
3008 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:25
POLLUTION CONTROL HEARINGS BOARD PROCESSES. (1) Any civil penalty 26
provided in RCW 18.104.155, 70A.15.3160, 70A.205.280, 70A.230.080, 27
70A.300.090, 70A.20.050, 70A.245.040, 70A.245.050, 70A.245.070, 28
70A.245.080, 70A.245.130, 70A.245.140, 70A.65.200, 70A.430.070, 29
70A.455.090, 70A.500.260, 70A.505.110, 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 30
70A.208.230, 70A.565.030, section 15 of this act, 86.16.081, 31
88.46.090, 90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310, 90.56.330, and 32
90.64.102 and chapter 70A.355 RCW shall be imposed by a notice in 33
writing, either by certified mail with return receipt requested or by 34
personal service, to the person incurring the penalty from the 35
department or the local air authority, describing the violation with 36
reasonable particularity. For penalties issued by local air 37
authorities, within 30 days after the notice is received, the person 38
incurring the penalty may apply in writing to the authority for the 39
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remission or mitigation of the penalty. Upon receipt of the 1
application, the authority may remit or mitigate the penalty upon 2
whatever terms the authority in its discretion deems proper. The 3
authority may ascertain the facts regarding all such applications in 4
such reasonable manner and under such rules as it may deem proper and 5
shall remit or mitigate the penalty only upon a demonstration of 6
extraordinary circumstances such as the presence of information or 7
factors not considered in setting the original penalty.8
(2) Any penalty imposed under this section may be appealed to the 9
pollution control hearings board in accordance with this chapter if 10
the appeal is filed with the hearings board and served on the 11
department or authority 30 days after the date of receipt by the 12
person penalized of the notice imposing the penalty or 30 days after 13
the date of receipt of the notice of disposition by a local air 14
authority of the application for relief from penalty.15
(3) A penalty shall become due and payable on the later of:16
(a) 30 days after receipt of the notice imposing the penalty;17
(b) 30 days after receipt of the notice of disposition by a local 18
air authority on application for relief from penalty, if such an 19
application is made; or 20
(c) 30 days after receipt of the notice of decision of the 21
hearings board if the penalty is appealed. 22
(4) If the amount of any penalty is not paid to the department 23
within 30 days after it becomes due and payable, the attorney 24
general, upon request of the department, shall bring an action in the 25
name of the state of Washington in the superior court of Thurston 26
county, or of any county in which the violator does business, to 27
recover the penalty. If the amount of the penalty is not paid to the 28
authority within 30 days after it becomes due and payable, the 29
authority may bring an action to recover the penalty in the superior 30
court of the county of the authority's main office or of any county 31
in which the violator does business. In these actions, the procedures 32
and rules of evidence shall be the same as in an ordinary civil 33
action. 34
(5) All penalties recovered shall be paid into the state treasury 35
and credited to the general fund except the following:36
(a) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 18.104.155 must be credited 37
to the reclamation account as provided in RCW 18.104.155(7);38
(b) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.15.3160 must be 39
disposed of pursuant to RCW 70A.15.3160; 40
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(c) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.230.080, 70A.300.090, 1
70A.430.070, 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, and 70A.565.030 must be 2
credited to the model toxics control operating account created in RCW 3
70A.305.180; 4
(d) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.245.040, 70A.245.050, 5
and chapter 70A.208 RCW must be credited to the recycling enhancement 6
account created in RCW 70A.245.100; 7
(e) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.500.260 must be 8
deposited into the electronic products recycling account created in 9
RCW 70A.500.130; 10
(f) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.65.200 must be credited 11
to the climate investment account created in RCW 70A.65.250;12
(g) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 90.56.330 must be credited 13
to the coastal protection fund established in RCW 90.48.390; and14
(h) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.355.070 must be 15
credited to the underground storage tank account created in RCW 16
70A.355.090. 17
Sec. 27. RCW 70A.208.270 and 2025 c 316 s 127 are each amended 18
to read as follows: 19
RECYCLING REFORM ACT AMENDMENT. (1) The department must 20
periodically assess the availability of, and methodology used by, the 21
United States centers for disease control and the agency for toxic 22
substances and disease registry's social vulnerability index, as 23
compared to how it existed as of January 1, 2025. 24
(2) If the department determines that the social vulnerability 25
index is no longer available in substantially the same form as it 26
existed on January 1, 2025, the department must notify each 27
registered producer responsibility organization under this chapter 28
and chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 28 of 29
this act) that for purposes of the identification of socially 30
vulnerable populations under this chapter and chapter 70A.--- RCW 31
(the new chapter created in section 28 of this act) , the department 32
and producer responsibility organizations are no longer required to 33
reference the United States centers for disease control and the 34
agency for toxic substances and disease registry's social 35
vulnerability index. Instead, the department and registered producer 36
responsibility organizations must reference the alternative 37
populations specified in subsection (3) of this section.38
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(3)(a) Until such time as a rule is adopted under (b) of this 1
subsection, the department and registered producer responsibility 2
organizations must, for purposes of identifying socially vulnerable 3
populations, identify as socially vulnerable populations those 4
communities ranked as an eight or higher on the environmental health 5
disparities map developed under RCW 43.70.815. 6
(b) After making a determination under subsection (2) of this 7
section, by rule the department may, but is not required to, adopt an 8
alternative methodology for the identification of socially vulnerable 9
populations to replace the reference to the United States centers for 10
disease control and the agency for toxic substances and disease 11
registry's social vulnerability index. A rule adopted under this 12
subsection may, but is not required to, rely in whole or in part on 13
the environmental health disparities map developed by the department 14
of health under RCW 43.70.815. 15
NEW SECTION. Sec. 28. Sections 1 through 19 and 24 of this act 16
constitute a new chapter in Title 70A RCW.17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 29. If any provision of this act or its 18
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 19
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 20
persons or circumstances is not affected.21
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