Industry Coalition Meets to Discuss State of Industry

(September, 2023) TCATA along with TRSA, DLI, CLA, ARTA and others met via Zoom recently to discuss current events in the industry. Some of the topics discussed included PFAS, microfiber, microplastics, EPR, and single use plastics among others. Bill 1628 in California which addresses the filtration of microfibers on all washers by 2029 was discussed. Brian Wallace from CLA shared that they were able to intercede with amendments to have commercial washers removed from the bill completely. The bill currently sits on Governor Newsome’s desk. Kevin Schwalb from TRSA spoke to the group about EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) proposed recently in California. Extended Producer Responsibility is a strategy to add all the estimated environmental costs associated with a product throughout the product life cycle to the market price of that product. Making each company along the manufacturing process responsible for developing a plan to recover manufacturing waste or pay into a fund. Kevin reports that commercial laundry has been exempted from EPR. The coalition plans to meet regularly going forward to work together on pressing industry issues.