About CPSC

Who is CPSC?

The California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) is a coalition of local governments and their associations related to solid waste, recycling, resource conservation, environmental protection, water quality, and other cross-media issues (Associates). In partnership with non-government organizations (NGOs), businesses, and individuals (Partners) across California, CPSC has created a powerful network of people supporting product stewardship and extended producer responsibility (EPR). CPSC is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit public benefit California corporation that exists by means of your monetary and in-kind contributions in addition to private and public grant funding.

CPSC’s Vision Statement for California’s Waste Management Future

Producers have the primary responsibility to establish, fund, and manage end of life systems for their products with State government setting the performance goals and ensuring accountability and transparency.

Mission

To shift California’s product waste management system from one focused on government funded and ratepayer financed waste diversion to one that relies on producer responsibility in order to reduce public costs and drive improvements in product design that promote environmental sustainability.

	CPSC Board Chair, Rob D'Arcy, receives the 2008 Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition 'Agent of Change' Award

Why Does CPSC Exist?

These articles describe the immediate reasons for forming the California Product Stewardship Council: the statewide ban on putting common household hazardous products ("Universal Waste") in the trash; recognition that local governments have neither the capacity nor funding to deal with toxic, disposable spent products; and news of successes by local governments organizing for full producer responsibility state legislation in Washington State.

• 600 Million and Counting Feb 2007
  Press Release on Year 1 of the U-Waste Disposal Ban and formation of CPSC
• Perfect Storm for EPR in California May 2006
  How EPR is sweeping down the West Coast of North America and why the Universal Waste products disposal ban created the “perfect storm” for local governments to take action. By Product Policy Institute.
• ‘Universal Waste’ Disposal Ban: A Financial Crisis for California’s Local Governments Feb 2007
  Fact steet by CPSC.
• Local Governments’ Looming Fiscal Crisis: Household Hazardous Products and the Need for Extended Producer Responsibility 2006
  An examination of the fiscal impacts to local government of enforcing the U-waste hazardous products disposal ban. By Rob D'Arcy, Santa Clara County.
  
  
• What are "Universal Waste" products?
  
  
  • Wastes Banned from the Trash CIWMB 5/26/2006
  • Managing Universal Waste in California DTSC June 2003

CPSC Objectives

1. Build capacity and knowledge among local governments, and build relationships with stakeholders, to bring about producer financed and managed systems for product discards, including, but not restricted to, products covered by the Universal Waste Ban.
   
2. Provide a forum for the exchange of information regarding existing and proposed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs.
   
3. Develop and recommend practical local and statewide EPR policy and educational tools such as model ordinances and legislation, newsletters, articles, policy briefings, etc.
   
4. Provide effective leadership on EPR initiatives in California and develop a prioritized list, with timelines, of future EPR programs.
   
5. Educate elected and appointed officials and other decision makers on the benefits to local government of EPR.

From the Executive Director

Welcome to the CPSC website! Our goals for the website are threefold: 1) To educate you about Product Stewardship, 2) to inspire you to action, and 3) to provide the tools to take action. We will have done our job and achieved our goals if each and every one of you finds the information and answers you are seeking as you navigate through our website. If you do not, please let me know what we can do to enhance the website by e-mailing me at Heidi@CalPSC.org.

We are an organization driven by local governments and we work closely with our “partners” including waste and recycling companies, non-profits, water quality organizations, businesses of all types, and, most importantly, product consumers who are working together to reduce waste and bring good public policy to the materials management industry.

We encourage your input and thank you in advance for your support!

With gratitude,

Heidi