SLS 22RS-812 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 13
BY SENATOR LAMBERT
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL. Request the Department of Environmental Quality to
study strategies for recycling plastic containers.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To urge and request the Department of Environmental Quality to study and make
3 recommendations for strategies to increase the recycling of plastic containers.
4 WHEREAS, economic development and people's changing patterns of consumption
5 and production have led to a drastic increase in plastic wastes, in particular plastic containers
6 for beverages, in Louisiana as it has across the globe; and
7 WHEREAS, the lack of adequate recycling of plastic waste harms the environment
8 and poses threat to human health, and therefore, there is great desire to reduce plastic wastes;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, a large portion of litter is composed of plastic containers that negatively
11 effects our environment, our communities, and our economy; and
12 WHEREAS, this litter directly impacts the environment through habitat destruction
13 in marine and aquatic ecosystems, largely through storm water runoff, and to pet and wildlife
14 injury and death due to litter entanglement, toxicity, and ingestion; and
15 WHEREAS, waste plastic containers are a breeding ground for vermin and
16 disease-causing bacteria; and
17 WHEREAS, according to a study commissioned by Keep Louisiana Beautiful, the
18 direct economic impact of paying to have litter collected and disposed of costs local and
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SLS 22RS-812 ORIGINAL
1 state government forty million dollars per year; and
2 WHEREAS, this forty-million-dollar-per-year price tag is in addition to other direct
3 costs incurred for enforcing litter laws and developing programs and advertisements
4 encouraging and educating citizens on the dangers of litter and the indirect economic
5 impacts including real estate devaluation, loss of new industry and business, and loss of
6 tourism and ecotourism; and
7 WHEREAS, a strategy to consider is the implementation of a bottle deposit and
8 redemption program by statute, similar to those in Vermont, Oregon, New York, Michigan,
9 Massachusetts, Maine, Iowa, Hawaii, Connecticut, California, and Guam, that would reduce
10 litter and create a steady and reliable stream of plastics for recycling; and
11 WHEREAS, this stream of plastics would further make the construction and
12 operation of advanced recycling facilities, provided for in Act No. 460 of the 2021 R.S.,
13 economically feasible by supplying constant material for processing back into basic
14 components to manufacture into new products and thereby keep plastic containers from
15 becoming litter on our otherwise scenic roadways and waterways; and
16 WHEREAS, the recycling facilities would have the additional benefit of creating
17 additional jobs and economic opportunities for our citizens and businesses.
18 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
19 urge and request the Department of Environmental Quality, in consultation with any
20 governmental entity or nongovernmental organization the department finds useful or
21 necessary, to study strategies to increase the recycling of plastic containers and to report
22 recommendations to the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality and the House
23 Committee on Natural Resources and Environment by March 10, 2023.
24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
25 secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality.
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SLS 22RS-812 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Tyler S. McCloud.
DIGEST
SCR 13 Original 2022 Regular Session Lambert
Requests the Dept. of Environmental Quality to study strategies to increase the recycling of
plastic containers and to report recommendations to the Senate Committee on Environmental
Quality and the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment by March 10,
2023.
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