IBWA Advocacy Report – August 25, 2020

IBWA Provides Oral Comments to USDA and HHS on DGAC Scientific Report
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) held a virtual meeting on August 11 to hear oral comments on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) Scientific Report. IBWA attended the meeting and provided oral comments urging USDA and HHS to take the following actions:

• Recognize the importance of plain water consumption as part of a healthy dietary pattern.
• Include plain water (in addition to dairy) in the MyPlate nutritional graphic and other related documents and materials.
• Encourage plain water as a healthier beverage option for consumers to drink and to replace sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) to reduce added sugar.

Click HERE for more information on this issue.

IBWA Continues Efforts in CA on Recycled Content Legislation
After being vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom (D) in 2019, sponsors and supporters of legislation that would establish a state mandate for recycled content use in plastic beverage containers have continued their push to adopt new language in 2020. For the most part, the bill (AB 793) sets many of the same timelines and mandate amounts as the measure passed in 2019 (AB 792), although the Senate recently moved the starting mandate from 10 percent to 15 percent. Most changes reflect the wishes of the Administration and CalRecycle to place less of a burden on the state and more responsibility on producers.

IBWA, jointly with the California Bottled Water Association (CBWA), submitted comments opposed to the legislation unless it was amended. Click HERE to read these comments.

It is likely that the Senate will pass the bill this week, and with House concurrence, it will be sent to the Governor for his signature. California would then become the first state in the nation with a mandate for manufacturers to use a prescribed amount of recycled plastic in their beverage containers.

IBWA Provides Comments on Washington State’s Reports on Recycling Programs
IBWA recently submitted comments on the Washington State Department of Ecology’s (DOE) Plastic Packaging Study, which was released in three different reports. These reports take a broad look at numerous waste and recycling data for the state, and provide some examples on what other states or countries are doing to reduce recyclable waste from going to landfills or being disposed of improperly. IBWA and the Northwest Bottled Water Association submitted joint comments to provide feedback on the first two reports released. Click HERE to read the IBWA comments.

Since this time, the third report was released, and on August 14, draft recommendations were published, which primarily focus on the state establishing an Extended Producer Responsibility framework for all packaging, a deposit program from beverage containers, and a recycled content mandate for all plastic packaging. Other recommendations would require a producer registry, packaging reporting, and a specific recycled content mandate for plastic beverage containers that may differ from the mandate placed on other plastic packaging . An additional recommendation that is part of the complementary proposals would be to develop a ban on “problematic and unnecessary plastic packaging” which would be determined by a working group.

IBWA is working with several businesses and associations in Washington in providing comments on these recommendations. If you have any questions on this issue, please contact JP Toner, IBWA Director of Government Relations, at (703) 647-4616.

Why Building Relationships at All Levels of Government Is Critical
By Cory Martin, IBWA Vice President of Government Relations
Advocacy used to mean traveling to Washington, D.C., to participate in industry Hill Day events or sending a few grassroots letters through an online forum to share bottled water’s point of view with federal policymakers who make decisions that impact your business. You may also have hosted a tour of your plant, allowing a member of Congress to observe firsthand how your bottling operation works and discussing with them how issues debated in the halls of Congress actually affect your business back home. Click HERE to read more…