Zero Waste Washington drives policy change for a healthy and waste-free world. We envision a just, equitable, and sustainable future where we all produce, consume, and reuse responsibly.

Legislative session in full swing: your help is needed

Sen Liz Lovelett and Rep Liz Berry, champions of the Recycling Reform Act

We are approaching the mid-point of legislative session…. And our zero waste bills are still alive!  At this critical point, we could use your help.

Bills need to be “pulled” from the Rules committees (which means they are voted out) in the House and Senate and then they need to be voted on the floor of the respective houses. Policy bills will die if they are not voted off the floor of their house of origin by 5pm on March 12.

We are working with terrific partners on a large suite of legislative bills this session. Below is a summary of our priority zero waste bills, their status, and how you can help us move them toward becoming law.

How you can help

The most important thing right now is for legislators to hear from their own constituents. Their aides give them daily tallies of how many emails and calls they receive on each bill. Thus, it is vital for you to make your opinion known now.

It is super simple and will just take a few minutes per bill.  You can send an email through the legislative webpage, or you can call the hotline (open M-F 8 am to 7 pm): 1-800-562-6000

They will ask your name and address and then will let you list several bill numbers and state your support or opposition and a brief comment: “I urge your support/opposition on this bill because…”

The operators type up your comment and send that as an email to the legislative aides, so that it is easy for them to tally.

Or you can send a quick email, through the system.  Links are provided for each bill below. Again, it makes it easy for the legislative aides to tally.

You don’t need to write a tome

Fundamentally, it is about the number of emails/calls they receive, not about lengthy comments. One sentence for each bill is perfectly fine!

Please support these bills

If you only have 2 minutes, our #1 priority is the Recycling Reform Act so we ask that you support this bill. It is still moving forward in both the House and Senate.  If you have a few more minutes, please send emails or make calls for the rest of the list.

Here is each bill and link to make comment.  And quick summaries of each bill are below.

Click the link for:

Recycling Reform Act (SB 5284 / HB 1150)

              Senate bill (SB 5284): https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/5284

              House bill (HB 1150): https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/1150

Right to repair (SB 5423 / HB 1483)

Senate bill (SB 5423): https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/5423

           House bill (HB 1483): https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/1483

Right to repair – wheelchairs (SB 5680 / HB 1826)

Senate bill (SB 5680): https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/5680

House bill (HB 1826):