Oppose a Plastics Tax and Ban

The Michigan Legislature is considering establishing an "Extended Producer Responsibility" (EPR) program in Michigan that would dramatically raise the cost of groceries, medicines, and other household items by taxing and banning plastics used for packaging.

House Bill 5902 and similar EPR mandates hurt consumers and businesses by increasing prices on every packaged good. Michigan families will undoubtedly bear these increased costs, small businesses will have to raise prices to cover the tax, and some manufacturers will be put out of business entirely due to the bans imposed under the proposal, costing hundreds to thousands of jobs across Michigan.

The program would cede authority to a state-approved, non-governmental authority who will calculate and impose a tax on all plastics used for packaging in Michigan. That organization would be required to ban ten new types of plastics every three years and give 25% of tax revenues to other politically motivated organizations with limited accountability. Moreover, manufacturers would be required to make dramatic cuts in the amount of plastic they produce. Some manufacturers would go out of business altogether.