The mayors also said that manufacturers must “take responsibility for collecting and recycling their products and the end of their useful life”.
It encouraged policies such as buying recycled content products, leasing products rather than purchasing them and requiring producers to offer less toxic alternatives.
At the 78th annual conference of mayors, the environmental committee said that it “urges Congress to protect and support the ability of local and state governments to establish producer responsibility legislation”.
It added: “The US Conference of Mayors supports state and federal EPR [Extended Producer Responsibility] legislation which gives producers the incentive to design products to make them less toxic and easier to reuse and recycle.”
EPR, also known as Product Stewardship, is a policy approach that encourages shared responsibility where all entities involved in the product chain have some responsibility to reduce the life-cycle impacts of a product and its packaging. But primary responsibility lies with the producer, or brand owner, who makes design and marketing decisions.