A recently introduced bill from State Rep. Eric Bell in the Georgia House seeks to create a statewide responsibility program for packaging, alongside new recycling and reuse standards, according to the Georgia State House.
Filed as HB1237 on Friday, Feb. 6, during the 2026 session of the 158th General Assembly, the bill is officially titled: ’Pollution Prevention and Producer Responsibility Act of 2026; enact’.
The summary below is based on the actual bill text, with some explanation for clarity.
This legislation enacts the “Pollution Prevention and Producer Responsibility Act of 2026,” which includes an extended producer responsibility system statewide for packaging, paper products and beverage containers. It plans for a Producer Responsibility Advisory Board, requires producers to participate in authorized nonprofit producer responsibility organizations, and mandates state needs assessments every five years. The bill creates standards for reuse, recycling, composting, source reduction and postconsumer content, and introduces a bottle deposit program requiring a minimum 10-cent refund. Further provisions include the development of lists for recyclable and compostable materials, limits on some toxic additives, funding for a reuse program of at least $5 million per year, and powers for enforcement, fees and rulemaking.
Co-sponsors for the bill are Rep. Doreen Carter (Democrat-93rd), Rep. Debra Bazemore (Democrat-69th), Rep. Viola Davis (Democrat-87th), as well as two additional representatives.
Bell has filed 14 other bills since the current session began.
He holds a BA from Morehouse College.
Bell, a Democrat, was elected to represent the Georgia State House’s 75th District in 2023, succeeding former representative Mike Glanton.
According to Georgia, the legislative process starts with a lawmaker, sometimes after a request from a constituent, collaborating with the Office of Legislative Counsel to draft a bill. After filing with either the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, the proposal receives its first reading and is sent to committee for debate and analysis. Committee approval moves the bill forward to a third reading, floor debate, and vote. Passage in both chambers is required, which may involve a conference committee to resolve differing versions, before the measure is sent to the governor. The governor then has six days during session—or 40 days after adjournment (Sine Die)—to sign, veto, or let the bill become law without a signature. The Georgia General Assembly meets each year for a 40-day session beginning the second Monday in January.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| HB1103 | 01/29/2026 | Happy Highways Grant Program; establishment of and purpose; provide |
| HB1100 | 01/29/2026 | Sales and use tax; new special purpose local option sales tax dedicated to healthcare purposes; provide |
| HB1014 | 01/16/2026 | Education; prohibit private and public primary and secondary schools from serving or selling, or allowing a third party to serve or sell, food or beverages that contain certain synthetic dyes |
| HB1013 | 01/16/2026 | State symbols; Georgia state chicken wing flavor; designate lemon pepper |
| HB954 | 01/13/2026 | Eric’s Law; enact |
| HB650 | 02/26/2025 | Presidential Felon Freedom Act; enact |
| HB550 | 02/20/2025 | Education; promise scholarship accounts; require participating schools to prepare school safety plans that meet certain requirements |
| HB524 | 02/19/2025 | Public officers and employees; elected officers or officials shall not have their employment terminated solely as a result of being elected to or holding an elected office; provide |
| HB464 | 02/13/2025 | Crimes and offenses; immunity for a prospective offender while seeking assistance from law enforcement as a victim of certain offenses; provide |
| HB403 | 02/11/2025 | Property; enhance protections for homeowners and tenants by revising or repealing certain provisions inhibiting housing stability |
| HB389 | 02/11/2025 | Property; prohibit homeowners’ associations from preventing property owners from installing solar energy devices; provisions |
| HB214 | 01/30/2025 | Evidence; creative and artistic expression evidence is inadmissible at trial; provide |
| HB206 | 01/30/2025 | Drug-free Postsecondary Education Act of 1990; repeal Article 2 of Chapter 1 |
| HB201 | 01/30/2025 | Food; selling, offering for sale, trading, or distributing lab-grown meat; prohibit |
Information in this article was obtained from the Georgia State House. The source data can be found here.
