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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt:12.0pt"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> <span style="color:#1F497D">
</span> <img width="121" height="120" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image003.png@01D1F3EC.6B321210" alt="cid:image004.png@01D1F3E4.38999F60"></span></b> <span style="color:#1F497D">
</span> <img width="293" height="120" id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D1F3EC.6B321210" alt="cid:image006.jpg@01D1F3E4.38999F60"><span style="font-size:2.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;color:#1F497D">
</span><span style="font-size:8.0pt">809 Center Street, Room 10, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt"> <span style="color:#1F497D">
</span> (831) 420-5010 • Fax: (831) 420-5011 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt"> <span style="color:#1F497D">
</span></span><a href="http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/"><span style="font-size:8.0pt">www.cityofsantacruz.com</span></a><u><span style="color:blue"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:8.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Aug. 11, 2016 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Contacts:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:jbisgaard@cityofsantacruz.com"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Janice Bisgaard</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#333333">, City of Santa Cruz Community<i>
</i>Relations Specialist, (831) 420-5166 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:Heidi%20Sanborn%20%3cHeidi@nsaction.us%3e"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Heidi Sanborn</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#333333">, National Stewardship Action Council Executive Director, (</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#221D4D">916)
402-3911</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#333333"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Photo attached:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Akin Babatola, City of Santa Cruz Environmental Compliance Manager<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;background:white"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Santa Cruz
<span style="color:#333333">Becomes First U.S. City to Require Drug Manufacturers
</span>and Retailers <span style="color:#333333">to Collect and Dispose of Unwanted Prescription Drugs</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. </span>
</b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">— On Aug. 9, 2016 Santa Cruz became the first U.S. city to adopt an ordinance requiring that the responsibility of safe and orderly disposal of drugs and sharps waste be placed on the manufacturers and/or producers of the
products, while encouraging product design that minimizes negative impacts on human health and the environment at every stage of the product's lifecycle.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">The new </span><a href="http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/home/showdocument?id=53808"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Extended Producers Responsibility Ordinance</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> requires
manufacturers and retailers to develop programs to dispose of unneeded medications and unwanted hazardous medical products, such as needles and syringes. The ordinance goes into effect 30 days from adoption when each of the 30+ pharmacies located in Santa
Cruz will have to present a plan to the city for how they intend to meet the new requirements.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">“Until now, our sharps and drug take back program was based on an environmental benefits analysis,” said City of Santa Cruz Environmental Compliance Manager Akin Babatola. “But the new ordinance brings a social
justice component. Since 2007, the City has budgeted $7-10,000 annually in program costs to keep our rivers and ocean clean from these chemical wastes. From now on, we will have the manufacturers and distributors pick up the tab; the new ordinance incorporates
the shared responsibility of the producer at the post-consumer stage of their products’ life cycle.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Alameda was the first U.S. county to enact such an ordinance in 2012.
<span style="color:#303030">In 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court denied the pharmaceutical industry's petition for certiorari in a challenge against Alameda County’s ordinance. This ruling validated this model for control at county and municipal levels. A
</span>total of 9 counties nationwide <span style="color:#303030">have enacted similar ordinances to Santa Cruz. All of these ordinances prohibit
</span>the manufacturers and/or producers of the products<span style="color:#303030"> from charging any visible fee at point of sale or point of collection.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#303030"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#303030">“We are excited that local governments like the City of Santa Cruz are taking action to ensure the producers of medicines and needles will design and fund convenient collection systems so that
these chemical and hazardous wastes are safely disposed of as they are in Canada,” said Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director of the National Stewardship Action Council. “We will continue to see cities and counties across the country adopt policies to mandate
their participation, but our hope is that soon we can collaborate to find a national solution that we can all support.”
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">The Santa Cruz </span><a href="http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/home/showdocument?id=53808"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Extended Producers Responsibility Ordinance</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt">
and more information are available at </span><a href="http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">www.cityofsantacruz.com</span></a><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:blue">.</span></u><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">About the City of Santa Cruz<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">The City of Santa Cruz is a dynamic, nationally recognized coastal community in California. With renowned attractions and climate, it is a destination for thousands of visitors as well as a highly desirable
location in which to live, work and play. As the seat of Santa Cruz County, the city is home to an engaged community and diverse economy with world-renowned educational, public health and technological institutions which attract talent from across the globe. Natural
resources and recreational opportunities are unparalleled in Santa Cruz as the city is bordered by majestic redwood forests and the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary. Additionally, the arts, entertainment and cultural opportunities in Santa Cruz are matched by
few other cities of its size. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">About
</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#303030">National Stewardship Action Council (</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black">NSAC)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;color:black">NSAC was founded in 2015 as an affiliate of the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC). CPSC, which is a 501(c)(3) environmental
education and protection organization under IRS rules, may only conduct limited legislative lobbying activities. CPSC’s recent legislative successes in California have come with increasing demands from across the country for CPSC’s assistance, creating the
need for an entity that can carry CPSC’s work forward without lobbying limits, and on a national scale. In contrast to CPSC, NSAC is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that will engage primarily in lobbying and advocacy work for EPR and Product Stewardship,
anywhere in the U.S. and at any level of government interested in EPR legislation. NSAC will also be able to become involved in elections for public office, should such activities be needed to further its mission.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#141823">###<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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