Senate Bill 6156 amends multiple sections of chapter 70A.245 RCW, reenacts and amends RCW 43.21B.110, and adds new sections to chapters 70A.245 and 39.26 RCW. It establishes statewide minimum postconsumer recycled content (PCRC) requirements for specified plastic packaging and products, defines covered product categories (including PCRC 2.0 rigid and film products, plastic beverage containers, household cleaning and personal care product containers, and plastic trash bags), creates producer responsibilities for meeting those standards, and directs the Department of Ecology to implement, administer, and enforce the program. The bill also creates a fee and workload process for producers, requires registration and annual reporting, and adds procurement rules for state agencies. The bill sets phased percentage requirements and effective dates for different product categories (examples from the text: many plastic beverage containers phased from 15% in early years to 50% by 2031; wine in 187 mL containers and dairy milk on later schedules; household cleaning and personal care containers reaching 50% by 2031; plastic trash bags rising to 20% by 2027; PCRC 2.0 rigid containers at 30% for many items manufactured on or after January 1, 2029; roll carts at 10% and film plastics at 10% from January 1, 2029). The Department of Ecology may credit qualifying North American postconsumer PET purchases at 1.5 pounds credit per pound purchased. Noncompliance is subject to penalties: a statutory penalty formula ($0.40 multiplied by the shortfall in pounds), waiver of penalties under $100, and separate civil penalties up to $1,000 per day for registration/reporting/labeling violations after required notices. Producers must obtain third‑party certification (ISO/IEC 17065) beginning January 1, 2030, and may be audited; appeals of department determinations or penalties may be taken to the Pollution Control Hearings Board within specified timeframes. The bill also requires the Department of Ecology to annually analyze workload and set fees (with fees due May 1), to post producer compliance information, to contract for market studies if funded (with specified timelines and expirations), and to periodically review and possibly adjust percentage requirements while observing technical feasibility and federal law. It adds a new procurement requirement in chapter 39.26 RCW directing state agencies, to the extent practicable beginning April 1, 2030, to purchase listed plastic products only from producers who meet the chapter’s minimum recycled content. The act includes a severability clause. Important context is missing or unclear in the extracted text: the full definition and list of PCRC 1.0 products and some truncated provisions are not provided, the specific expiration date mentioned in the bill header is not included, and one deadline in the text is shown as September 31st (not a valid calendar date).

If enacted, Washington would require most producers of specified plastic products sold or distributed in the state to meet phased minimum postconsumer recycled-content targets and to register, report, and pay annual fees to the Department of Ecology to cover program costs. Key deadlines include new content floors for many plastic beverage containers (ramping to 50% for most by 2031, with wine 187 mL and dairy milk phased to 50% by 2036), household cleaning and personal care containers (50% by 2031), plastic trash bags (up to 20% by 2027), and certain rigid and film PCRC 2.0 products (30% rigid and 10% film by January 1, 2029, with lower roll cart requirements). Producers must submit annual data on virgin and postconsumer resin by weight, obtain ISO/IEC 17065 third‑party certification starting January 1, 2030, and may be audited; the Ecology Department will publish compliance lists, set equitable fees (due May 1), and can assess penalties for shortfalls under a statutory formula ($0.40 per pound of unmet recycled content) as well as civil fines for registration or reporting violations. The parties most affected are manufacturers, brand owners, importers, first distributors, and any entity defined as a “producer” for these product categories, who will face higher compliance responsibilities, certification and reporting costs, potential material sourcing or redesign expenses, and enforcement risks; retail-establishment producers may rely on supplier certifications but still must register. State purchasing is directed to prefer compliant producers for a set of product types beginning April 1, 2030, which could shift market demand. The bill allows temporary exclusions when compliance is technically infeasible or conflicts with federal health or safety law (with some exclusions limited to multi‑year terms), and provides appeals to the pollution control hearings board. Some details needed for implementation—such as certain overlapping definitions, the full list of PCRC 1.0 items, and a few cut-off dates that appear incomplete or invalid in the text (for example, “September 31st”)—are missing or unclear in the extracted material.