§ 70A.208.020 — Definitions.

Washington § 70A.208.020

• Jurisdiction: Washington
• Title 70A: ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
• Ch. 70A.208: SOLID WASTE—PACKAGING AND PAPER PRODUCTS—PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY

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The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Advisory council" means the council established in RCW 70A.208.050 .

(2) "Alternative recycling process" means a recycling process that occurs other than through purely physical means.

(3)(a) "Beverage" means a drinkable liquid intended for human oral consumption.

(b) "Beverage" does not include: (i) A drug regulated under the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.; (ii) 100 percent fluid milk; (iii) infant formula; or (iv) a meal replacement liquid.

(4) "Beverage container" means any container in which a producer originally prepackaged and sealed a beverage.

(5) "Brand" means a name, symbol, word, logo, or mark that identifies an item and attributes the item and its components, including packaging, to the brand owner of the item.

(6) "Collection rate" means the amount of a covered material by covered materials type collected by service providers and transported for recycling or composting divided by the total amount of the type of a covered material by covered materials type introduced by the relevant unit of measurement established in the plan.

(7) "Compostable" means a product that is capable of composting in a composting system and is in compliance with the requirements for a product labeled as compostable under chapter 70A.455 RCW.

(8) "Composting" means the controlled microbial degradation of source separated compostable materials to yield a humus-like product.

(9) "Composting rate" means the amount of compostable covered material that is managed through composting, divided by the total amount of compostable covered material introduced by the relevant unit of measurement.

(10) "Composting system" means a system meeting the requirements of chapter 70A.205 RCW applicable to facilities that treat solid waste for composting.

(11) "Contamination" means:

(a) The presence of materials that are not on the list of materials collected in that material stream; or

(b) The presence of materials that are not specified or accepted as a component of the feedstock or commodity.

(12) "Covered entity" means a person or location that receives covered services for covered materials in accordance with the requirements of this chapter, including:

(a) A single-family residence;

(b) A multifamily residence; and

(c) A public place where a government entity managed recycling collection receptacles as of August 1, 2025, and any additional public place identified in an approved plan.

(13)(a) "Covered material" means packaging and paper products introduced into the state.

(b) "Covered material" does not include exempt materials.

(14) "Covered materials type" means a singular and specific type of material, such as paper, plastic, metal, or glass, that is a covered material and that:

(a) May be categorized based on distinguishing chemical or physical properties, including properties that allow a covered materials type to be aggregated into a discrete commodity category for purposes of reuse, recycling, or composting; and

(b) Is based on similar uses in the form of a product or packaging.

(15)(a) "Covered services" means collecting, transferring, transporting, sorting, processing, recovering, preparing, or otherwise managing for purposes of waste reduction, refill, reuse, recycling, composting, or disposal of contamination or residuals.

(b) Except with regard to contamination, "covered services" do not include:

(i) Resource recovery through mixed municipal solid waste composting or incineration; or

(ii) Land disposal.

(16) "De minimis producer" means a producer that:

(a) In their most recent fiscal year introduced less than one ton of covered materials;

(b) Has a global gross revenue, not including on-premises alcohol sales, for the prior fiscal year of:

(i) Until January 1, 2031, less than $5,000,000; or

(ii) Beginning January 1, 2031, less than $5,000,000, as adjusted for inflation. The department must use the consumer price index for urban wage earners to calculate the annual rate of inflation adjustment effective January 1st of each year, beginning January 1, 2031; or

(c) Is an agricultural employer, as defined in RCW 19.30.010 , regardless of where the agricultural employer is located, with less than $5,000,000, as adjusted for inflation as described in (b) of this subsection, in gross revenue in Washington from consumer sales of agricultural commodities sold under the brand name of the agricultural employer.

(17) "Department" means the department of ecology.

(18) "Drop-off collection site" means a physical location where covered materials are accepted from the public and that is open a minimum of 12 hours weekly throughout the year.

(19) "Exempt materials" means materials, or any portion of materials, that are:

(a) Packaging for infant formula, as defined in 21 U.S.C. Sec. 321(z);

(b) Packaging for medical food, as defined in 21 U.S.C. Sec. 360ee(b)(3);

(c) Packaging for a fortified oral nutritional supplement used by persons who require supplemental or sole source nutrition to meet nutritional needs due to special dietary needs directly related to cancer, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, malnutrition, or failure to thrive, as those terms are defined by the International Classification of Diseases , tenth revision;

(d) Packaging for a product regulated as a drug, medical device, or dietary supplement by the United States food and drug administration, including associated components and consumable medical equipment, under the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 321 et seq.), or a product regulated as a biologic or vaccine by the United States food and drug administration under the public health service act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 201 et seq.);

(e) Packaging for a medical equipment or product used in medical settings that is regulated by the United States food and drug administration, including associated components and consumable medical equipment;

(f) Packaging for drugs, biological products, parasiticides, medical devices, or in vitro diagnostics that are used to treat, or that are administered to, animals and are regulated by the United States food and drug administration under the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.) and by the United States department of agriculture under the federal virus-serum-toxin act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.);

(g) Noncompostable film plastic packaging used in direct contact with raw meat;

(h) Packaging for products regulated by the United States environmental protection agency under the federal insecticide, fungicide, and rodenticide act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.);

(i) Packaging used to contain liquefied petroleum gas and are designed to be refilled;

(j) Packaging used to contain hazardous or flammable products classified by the 2012 federal occupational safety and health administration hazard communication standard, 29 C.F.R. Sec. 1910.1200 (2024), that prevent the packaging from being reduced or made reusable, recyclable, or compostable, as determined by the department;

(k) Packaging that is associated with products managed through a paint stewardship plan approved under chapter 70A.515 RCW;

(l) Excluded materials, as determined by the department under RCW 70A.208.260 ;

(m) Used to protect or store a durable product for a period of at least five years;

(n) Packaging used for bulk construction materials;

(o) Covered materials that:

(i) A producer distributes to another producer;

(ii) Are subsequently used to contain a product and the product is distributed to a commercial or business entity for the production of another product; and

(iii) Are not introduced to a person other than the commercial or business entity that first received the product used for the production of another product; and

(p) Covered materials for which the producer demonstrates to the department that the covered material meets all of the following criteria:

(i) The material is not collected through a residential recycling collection service;

(ii) The material is recycled at a responsible market;

(iii) The material is intended to be used and collected within a commercial setting;

(iv)(A) The producer annually demonstrates to the department that the material has had a state recycling rate of 65 percent for three consecutive years, until December 31, 2029. Beginning January 1, 2030, the producer must demonstrate to the department every two years that the material has had a state recycling rate of at least 70 percent annually; or

(B) The producer annually demonstrates to the department that the material is directly managed by the producer and has had a reuse or recycling rate of 65 percent for three consecutive years, until December 31, 2029. Beginning January 1, 2030, the producer must demonstrate to the department every two years that the material controlled by the producer has had a reuse or recycling rate of at least 70 percent annually; and

(v) If only a portion of the material sold in or into the state by a producer meets the criteria of (p)(i) of this subsection, only the portion of the material that meets that criteria is an exempt material and any portion that does not meet the criteria is a covered material for purposes of this chapter.

(20) "Government entity" means any:

(a) County, city, town, or other local government, including any municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or special purpose district, or any office, department, division, bureau, board, commission, or agency thereof, or other local public agency;

(b) State office, department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other state agency;

(c) Federally recognized Indian tribe whose traditional lands and territories include parts of Washington; or

(d) Federal office, department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other federal agency.

(21) "Individual plan" means a plan submitted by a producer that registers with the department as a producer responsibility organization to address the covered materials of the producer.

(22) "Introduce" means to sell, offer for sale, distribute, or ship a product within or into this state.

(23) "Material recovery facility" means any facility that receives, compacts, repackages, or sorts source separated solid waste for the purpose of recycling.

(24) "Overburdened communities" means the overburdened communities identified and prioritized by the department under RCW 70A.02.050 (1)(a).

(25)(a) "Packaging" means a material, substance, or object that is used to protect, contain, transport, serve, or facilitate delivery of a product and is sold or supplied with the product to the consumer for personal, noncommercial use.

(b) "Packaging" does not include exempt materials.

(26) "Paper product" means paper sold or supplied to a consumer for personal, noncommercial use, including flyers, brochures, booklets, catalogs, magazines, printed paper, and all other paper materials except for: (a) Bound books; (b) conservation-grade and archival-grade paper; (c) newspapers, including supplements or enclosures; (d) magazines that have a circulation of fewer than 95,000 and that includes content derived from primary sources related to news and current events; (e) copy paper; (f) paper for use in building construction; and (g) paper that could reasonably be anticipated to become unsafe or unsanitary to handle.

(27)(a) "Plastic source reduction" means the reduction in the amount of covered plastic material introduced by a producer relative to a baseline year of 2023, or relative to an alternative baseline year of no earlier than 2013 where a producer submits data documenting the plastic source reduction to a producer responsibility organization. Methods of source reduction include, but are not limited to, shifting covered material to reusable or refillable packaging or a reusable product, eliminating unnecessary packaging, or reducing the packaging to product ratio. "Plastic source reduction" must include elimination, which means the removal of plastic covered materials.

(b) "Plastic source reduction" does not include either of the following:

(i) Replacing a recyclable or compostable covered material with a nonrecyclable or noncompostable covered material or a covered material that is less likely to be recycled or composted; or

(ii) Switching from virgin covered material to postconsumer recycled content, except as allowed under an alternative compliance formula in RCW 70A.208.150 (6).

(28) "Postconsumer recycled content" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70A.245.010 .

(29)(a) "Producer" means the following person responsible for compliance with requirements under this chapter for a covered material introduced into the state:

(i) For items sold in or with packaging at a physical retail location in this state:

(A) If the item is sold in or with packaging under the brand of the item manufacturer or is sold in packaging that lacks identification of a brand, the producer is the person that manufactures the item;

(B) If there is no person to which (a)(i)(A) of this subsection applies, the producer is the person that is licensed to manufacture and sell or offer for sale to consumers in this state an item with packaging under the brand or trademark of another manufacturer or person;

(C) If there is no person to which (a)(i)(A) or (B) of this subsection applies, the producer is the brand owner of the item;

(D) If there is no person described in (a)(i)(A), (B), or (C) of this subsection within the United States, the producer is the person who is the importer of record for the item into the United States for use in a commercial enterprise that sells, offers for sale, or distributes the item in this state; or

(E) If there is no person described in (a)(i)(A) through (D) of this subsection, the producer is the person that first distributes the item in or into this state;

(ii) For items sold or distributed in packaging in or into this state via e-commerce, remote sale, or distribution:

(A) For packaging used to directly protect or contain the item, the producer of the packaging is the same as the producer identified under (a)(i) of this subsection; and

(B) For packaging used to ship the item to a consumer, the producer of the packaging is the person that packages the item to be shipped to the consumer;

(iii) For packaging that is a covered material and is not included in (a)(i) and (ii) of this subsection, the producer of the packaging is the person that first distributes the item in or into this state;

(iv) For paper products that are magazines, catalogs, telephone directories, or similar publications, the producer is the publisher;

(v) For paper products not described in (a)(iv) of this subsection:

(A) If the paper product is sold under the manufacturer's own brand, the producer is the person that manufactures the paper product;

(B) If there is no person to which (a)(v)(A) of this subsection applies, the producer is the person that is the owner or licensee of a brand or trademark under which the paper product is used in a commercial enterprise, sold, offered for sale, or distributed in or into this state, whether or not the trademark is registered in this state;

(C) If there is no person to which (a)(v)(A) or (B) of this subsection applies, the producer is the brand owner of the paper product;

(D) If there is no person described in (a)(v)(A), (B), or (C) of this subsection within the United States, the producer is the person that imports the paper product into the United States for use in a commercial enterprise that sells, offers for sale, or distributes the paper product in this state; or

(E) If there is no person described in (a)(v)(A) through (D) of this subsection, the producer is the person that first distributes the paper product in or into this state;

(vi) A person is the "producer" of a covered material sold, offered for sale, or distributed in or into this state, as defined in (a)(i) through (v) of this subsection, except:

(A) Where another person has mutually signed an agreement with a producer as defined in (a)(i) through (v) of this subsection that contractually assigns responsibility to the person as the producer, and the person has joined a registered producer responsibility organization as the responsible producer for that covered material under this chapter. If another person is assigned responsibility as the producer under this subsection, the producer under (a)(i) through (v) of this subsection must provide written certification of that contractual agreement to the producer responsibility organization. The following persons are not eligible to be the assigned recipient of responsibility as a producer under this subsection: (I) A person who produces an agricultural commodity introduced under the brand or trademark of another manufacturer or person; or (II) a distributor of a beverage sold in a beverage container; and

(B) If the producer described in (a)(i) through (v) of this subsection is a business operated wholly or in part as a franchise, the producer is the franchisor, if that franchisor has franchisees that have a commercial presence within the state.

(b) "Producer" does not include:

(i) Government entities;

(ii) Registered 501(c)(3) charitable organizations and 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations; or

(iii) De minimis producers.

(30) "Producer responsibility organization" means:

(a) A nonprofit organization that qualifies for a tax exemption under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 501(c)(3) of the federal internal revenue code and is designated by a producer or group of producers to fulfill the requirements of this chapter;

(b) A producer that registers with the department as a producer responsibility organization and implements an individual plan addressing the covered materials of the producer; or

(c) An organization as defined by the department by rule.

(31) "Program" means the activities conducted to implement an approved plan.

(32)(a) "Public place" means an indoor or outdoor location open to and generally used by the public and to which the public is permitted to have access including, but not limited to, streets, sidewalks, plazas, town squares, public parks, beaches, forests, or other public land open for recreation or other uses, and transportation facilities such as bus and train stations, airports, and ferry terminals.

(b) "Public place" does not include a retail establishment or industrial, commercial, or privately owned property that is not required to be accessible to the public.

(33) "Recycling" means transforming or remanufacturing covered materials into usable or marketable materials for use other than landfill disposal or incineration and does not include reuse or composting.

(34) "Recycling rate" means the amount of covered materials, in aggregate or by individual covered materials type, delivered to responsible markets for recycling in a calendar year divided by the total amount of covered materials introduced by the relevant unit of measurement and excluding covered materials that are reusable or compostable.

(35) "Refill" means the continued use of a covered material by a consumer through a system that is:

(a) Intentionally designed and marketed for repeated filling of a covered material to reduce demand for new production of the covered material;

(b) Supported by adequate logistics and infrastructure to provide convenient access to consumers; and

(c) Compliant with all applicable federal, state, and local statutes, rules, ordinances, and other laws governing health and safety.

(36) "Responsible market" means an entity that:

(a) First produces and sells, transfers, or uses recycled organic product or recycled content feedstock that meets the quality standards necessary to be used in the creation of new or reconstituted products;

(b) Complies with all applicable federal, state, and local statutes, rules, ordinances, and other laws governing environmental, health, safety, and financial responsibility;

(c) If the market operates in the state, manages waste according to the state's solid waste management hierarchy established in RCW 70A.205.005 ; and

(d) Meets the minimum operational standards adopted under a producer responsibility organization plan to protect the environment, public health, worker health and safety, and minimize adverse impacts to socially vulnerable populations.

(37) "Responsible producer" means a producer that is not a de minimis producer.

(38) "Retail establishment" includes any person, corporation, partnership, business, facility, vendor, organization, or individual that sells or provides merchandise, goods, or materials directly to a customer.

(39) "Return rate" means the amount of reusable covered material in aggregate or by individual covered materials type, collected for reuse by a producer or service provider in a calendar year, divided by the total amount of reusable covered materials introduced by the relevant unit of measurement.

(40) "Reusable" means capable of reuse.

(41) "Reuse" means the return of a covered material to the marketplace and the continued use of the covered material by a producer or service provider when the covered material is:

(a) Intentionally designed and marketed to be used multiple times for its original intended purpose without a change in form;

(b) Designed for durability and maintenance to extend its useful life and reduce demand for new production of the covered material;

(c) Supported by adequate logistics and infrastructure at a retail location, by a service provider, or on behalf of or by a producer, that provides convenient access for consumers; and

(d) Compliant with all applicable federal, state, and local statutes, rules, ordinances, and other laws governing health and safety.

(42) "Reuse rate" means the share of units of a reusable covered material introduced into the state in a calendar year that are demonstrated and deemed reusable in accordance with an approved plan.

(43) "Service provider" means an entity that provides covered services for covered materials. A government entity that provides, contracts for, or otherwise arranges for another party to provide covered services for covered materials within its jurisdiction may be a service provider regardless of whether it provided, contracted for, or otherwise arranged for similar services before the approval of the applicable plan.

(44) "Socially vulnerable population" means:

(a) Any person residing in:

(i) A census tract that contains a high overall social vulnerability index as measured using the United States centers for disease control and the agency for toxic substances and disease registry's social vulnerability index, as it existed as of January 1, 2025, for the most recent year such data are available; or

(ii) As applicable, an alternative population specified in RCW 70A.208.270 ; or

(b) Any person that has an income below the minimum necessary for a household based on family composition in a given geography to adequately meet their basic needs without public or private assistance, as measured by the University of Washington's center for women's welfare, for the most recent year such data are available.

(45) "Third-party certification" means certification by an accredited independent organization that a standard or process required by this chapter, or by a plan approved under this chapter, has been achieved.

(46) "Toxic substance" means chemicals that are regulated under chapter 70A.222 , 70A.350, 70A.430, or 70A.560 RCW.

(47) "Vulnerable populations" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 70A.02.010 .

Legislative History

[2025 c 316 s 102.]