- Ranae Hanson is the Clerk of the Environmental Stewardship Working Group. Contact the clerk of the Environmental Stewardship Working Group.
- The Environmental Stewardship Working Group meets on the second Thursday of each month from 7-8 PM (Pacific time)
- Sign up for emails from the Environmental Stewardship Working Group.
Environmental Stewardship Priorities for 2024 that are still alive (updated status Feb. 1)
HB 2049, SB 6005 Re-WRAP Act (Washington Recycling and Packaging) Act – This bill is still alive and will probably be needing our strong support at the beginning of February
Quaker Voice supports the Re-WRAP Act because it could cut down on the damage that plastic and other waste inflicts on living beings. Plastic is most often produced in low-income, southern communities of color, thus inflicting serious health damage on those communities. The producers of packaging should be the ones responsible for the effects of its creation, recycling, and disposal. Producer responsibility bills have proven to be the most effective way of removing plastic from products and making sure that paper products are recycled. This bill requires producers of certain paper products and packaging to participate in and fund the operations of a producer responsibility organization to collect covered packaging materials from consumers and carry out other recycling-related activities.
HB 1933 Sponsors: Berry, Doglio, Fitzgibbon, Ramel, Duerr, Mena, Ryu, Bateman, Slatter, Gregerson, Simmons, Peterson, Marci, Street, Alvarado, Fosse, Pollet, Kloba
SB 6005 Sponsors: Lovelett, Nguyen, Frame, Hasegawa, Liias, Nobles, Pedersen, Saldaña, Salomon, Stanford
Environmental Stewardship’s Secondary Issue Areas and Bills – These bills are all still alive, so we’ll be asking ESWG members to support them. If you’d like take easy actions to support these with us, contact the clerk of the Environmental Stewardship Working Group.
- HB 1589 and SB 5562, PSE Gas Ban Bill
- HB 2201, Linking CA, Quebec and WA markets (1/15)
- HB 1433, Residential Energy Scores (1/18)
- HB 2070, CURB (Cumulative Risk Burden) Pollution Act (1/16)
- HB 1900, the “Bottle Bill”
- HB 1368, Electric School Buses (1/18)
Environmental Stewardship Priorities for 2024 that appear to be dead for this year (updated status Feb. 1)
HB 1933 Right to Repair – This bill appears to be dead again this year. That doesn’t mean we’ll be giving up on it.
Quaker Voice has supported Right to Repair for several years because the bill would help the environment as well as low-income consumers. The bill has been extensively revised, has a new number, and its best chance so far of passing. It needs our continued help. Smart phones and computers are necessary for modern life. Restricting repair services increases both the price and the time needed for repair. Moreover, existing barriers are more likely to negatively impact small businesses from underserved communities. Replacing an item instead of repairing it creates more technological waste and increases the demand for rare earth metals.
HB 1933 Sponsors: Gregerson, Kretz, Fitzgibbon, Morgan, Paul, Berry, Duerr, Ramel, Klicker, Reed, Simmons, Ormsby, Peerson, Kloba, Marci, Street, Doglio, Bergquist, Riccelli, Fosse, Shavers
HB 2253, SB 6113 Community Solar – This Bill appears to be dead again this year. That doesn’t mean we’ll be giving up on it.
Quaker Voice supports the Community Solar bill for both environmental and economic justice reasons. People who own roofs might be able to get solar panels in Washington, but people who rent or do not have roofs suitable for solar have no access. Community solar is a way that groups of people can gain the economic advantage of investment in solar projects. Furthermore, local investment in solar projects helps to increase independence from fossil fuels, hedge against the effects of climate change, create more energy equity, attain environmental benefits, and promote economic development.
HB 2253 Sponsors: Hackney, Doglio, Ryu, Orwall, Duerr, Berry, Ramel, Paul, Springer, Marci, Bergquist, Street, Pollet, Tharinger
SB 6113 Sponsors: Lovick, Dhingra, Hunt, Kuderer, Lovelett, Saldaña, Shewmake
Other issues we’ve following –
- Culverts for Salmon budget issue
- EV Battery Recycling
- Old -Growth Forests
See Environmental Stewardship resources here.
