Senate passes Sosnowski’s Household Hazardous Waste Management Act
The Rhode Island Senate passed legislation sponsored by Sen. V. Susan
Sosnowski (D-Dist. 37, New Shoreham, South Kingstown) that would create a
system for disposal of hazardous household materials.
The bill (2016-S
2526A) would establish
programs to aid in the monitoring, tracking, reuse, recycling, and proper
disposal of hard-to- dispose materials.
“Rhode Islanders
are increasingly using hard-to-dispose hazardous materials,” said Senator
Sosnowski, chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee.
“The
proliferation and accumulation of these materials is a public health hazard and
seriously impedes our efforts to maintain a healthy and clean environment. This
legislation will bring about the effective control, recovery, and recycling of
hard-to-dispose material.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: this legislation, while meritorious, does NOT address the growing problem of electronic waste. Charlestown, like many other municipalities, no longer provides a drop off for e-waste, much of which is loaded with potentially hazardous materials.
EDITOR'S NOTE: this legislation, while meritorious, does NOT address the growing problem of electronic waste. Charlestown, like many other municipalities, no longer provides a drop off for e-waste, much of which is loaded with potentially hazardous materials.
“This bill will also create jobs in hard-to-dispose material cleanup in
small, private recycling centers,” said Senator Sosnowski. “The intent of this
bill is to coordinate existing recycling and removal efforts, and to aid
private and public efforts in the proper disposal, recycling, reuse, and
reduction of hard-to-dispose material.”
The legislation, which is cosponsored by Senators Cynthia A. Coyne
(D-Dist. 32, Barrington, Bristol, East Providence), Gayle L. Goldin (D-Dist. 3,
Providence), William A. Walaska (D-Dist. 30, Warwick) and Frank S. Lombardo III (D-Dist. 25, Johnston), now
heads to the House of Representatives.
