    [Senate Hearing 118-720]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 118-720

                            FEDERAL PROGRAMS FOR THE
                       CIRCULAR ECONOMY: STATE AND LOCAL
                       PERSPECTIVES ON EFFORTS TO IMPROVE
                              REUSE AND RECYCLING
    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                                  COMMITTEE ON
                          ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 SECOND SESSION

                                   __________

                                  MAY 22, 2024

                                   __________

      Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works

     [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

            Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

                                    __________

                       U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    61-832                     WASHINGTON : 2025

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                        ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
                                 SECOND SESSION

                      THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, Chairman
              SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia, Ranking Member

    BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota
    BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont             CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming
    SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island     MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma
    JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 PETE RICKETTS, Nebraska
    EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts      JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
    DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
    MARK KELLY, Arizona                  DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska
    ALEX PADILLA, California             LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina
    JOHN FETTERMAN, Pennsylvania
                   Courtney Taylor, Democratic Staff Director
                   Adam Tomlinson, Republican Staff Director

                               C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

                                  MAY 22, 2024

                               OPENING STATEMENTS

    Carper, Hon. Thomas R., U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware..     1
    Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, U.S. Senator from The State of West
      Virginia.......................................................     3

                                   WITNESSES

    Biser, Hon. Elizabeth, Secretary, North Carolina Department of
      Environmental Quality..........................................     6
        Prepared statement...........................................     9
        Responses to additional questions from:
            Senator Carper...........................................    16
            Senator Whitehouse.......................................    23
    Susan Fife-Ferris, Director, Solid Waste Planning and Program
      Management Division, Seattle Public Utilities..................    26
        Prepared statement...........................................    28
        Responses to additional questions from:
            Senator Carper...........................................    78
            Senator Whitehouse.......................................    99
            Senator Boozman..........................................   108
    Cody Marshall, Chief System Optimization Officer, The Recycling
      Partnership....................................................   109
        Prepared statement...........................................   111
        Responses to additional questions from:
            Senator Carper...........................................   118
            Senator Whitehouse.......................................   123

                              ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

    Letter to Senator Carper, Senator Capito and members of the
      Committee from the Solid Waste Association of North American
      (SWANA)........................................................   138
    Letter to Senator Carper and Senator Capito from Alison Keane,
      Flexible Packaging Association (FPA)...........................   140
    Hearing on: Efforts to Improve Reuse and Recycling from the
      American Chemistry Council (ACC)...............................   144

    FEDERAL PROGRAMS FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY: STATE AND LOCAL PERSPECTIVES
                   ON EFFORTS TO IMPROVE REUSE AND RECYCLING

                                  ----------

                            WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2024

                                           U.S. Senate,
                     Committee on Environment and Public Works,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:25 a.m. in
    room 406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Thomas R. Carper
    (chairman of the committee) presiding.
        Present: Senators Carper, Capito, Boozman, Sullivan.

              OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS R. CARPER,
                U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE

        Senator Carper. Good morning, again, for those who have
    been with us for the first part of this. I said to Senator
    Capito, this is a little bit like a day-night double-hitter,
    except we get to do it all in the daytime.
        I want to welcome everyone to this second half of our
    workload today. I am pleased to call the hearing to order.
        Today, we are gathered to talk about one of my favorite
    subjects, and I think a favorite subject of many members of our
    committee, and that is recycling. Specifically, today we are
    here to discuss a topic that we have explored any number of
    times before this committee, and that is circular economy.
        First, I want to welcome our witnesses to the committee
    today: Secretary Bizer, Ms. Fife-Ferris, and Mr. Marshall.
    There is a college in West Virginia named after you, the
    Thundering Herd, where my sister actually went to college. We
    thank you all for joining us this morning.
        What exactly is a circular economy, anyway? As you will
    recall, the circular economy is a model of production and
    consumption to which things we use during our daily lives are
    reused, repaired, or recycled instead of allowing those items
    to end up in a landfill or to litter our communities across
    America.
        As a number of our colleagues know, I care deeply about
    limiting waste through recycling and reusing. In fact, I have
    recycled just about everything from paint cans to electronics.
        I like to run. I like to run outside a couple days a week,
    and as I run along, if I come across beer cans or bottles or
    whatever, I pick them up. People sometimes wonder what I am
    doing, but I just like to pick them up and recycle them when I
    get home. I am too old to change.
        One might ask, why is it important that we build a circular
    economy? Well, reusing and recycling products not only helps
    keep our communities cleaner, but it is an essential part of
    the solution to a series of crises facing our planet. These
    include escalating climate change, overflowing landfills, and
    alarming amounts of plastic choking our oceans.
        For example, recycling can reduce energy consumption.
    Producing aluminum products from recycled materials uses 95
    percent less energy than creating them from first-use
    materials, and it is not just aluminum. Many goods, like paper
    and glass, are more energy-efficient to produce from recycled
    materials. With more energy-efficient processes, manufacturers
    reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
        Further, reducing waste from the products we use has
    significant economic benefits. For example, in 2020, the
    Environmental Protection Agency's Recycling Economic
    Information Report estimated that recycling and reuse
    activities support approximately 681,000 domestic jobs. How
    many jobs is that? Just for comparison's sake, that is more
    jobs than the entire work force of the State of Rhode Island.
        Unfortunately, according to the Environmental Protection
    Agency, today, we only recycle approximately 32 percent of our
    waste in the United States. That presents us with both a
    challenge and an opportunity. In adversity lies opportunity.
        As many of our colleagues know, that is something I believe
    in deeply, and I think my colleagues do, as well. I believe we
    have an opportunity to clean up our communities, an opportunity
    to support jobs and economic growth, and protect our planet by
    actively supporting recycling and reuse as ways to reduce waste
    in our economy.
        Fortunately, we have taken bipartisan action in recent
    years to seize the day and seize the opportunity. In the 116th
    Congress, as some of you may recall, members of this committee
    worked together to lead the passage of the Save Our Seas 2.0
    Act. That law established the Solid Waste Infrastructure for
    Recycling, or SWIFR, grant program at the Environmental
    Protection Agency to support waste management programs across
    our Country.
        As some of you will recall, last Congress, the Bipartisan
    Infrastructure Law, which Senator Capito and I helped to write,
    we literally worked on it in this committee hearing room and
    beyond with the Administration, but last Congress, the
    Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided funding for this grant
    program. Specifically, this historic law provides $275 million
    over 5 years for the SWIFR program and some $75 million over 5
    years for recycling education and outreach grants.
        EPA announced awards for the SWIFR grant program in
    November of last year, representing the largest Federal
    investment in recycling in over 30 years. Every single State
    has been awarded funding through that program.
        SWIFR grants are flexible and can be used for many
    different purposes. For example, in Delaware, we will use part
    of our funding to conduct research on using recycling glass as
    a, this is very unique, I think this is very cool stuff, using
    recycled glass as a cost-effective alternative to sand for
    beach replenishment. The city of Baltimore, Maryland, where Ben
    Cardin is from, will use its SWIFR grant to build a solar-
    powered composting facility, and the State of Arkansas will use
    its funding to update its statewide waste management plan for
    the 21st century.
        Today, we will hear more about how the city of Seattle,
    Washington is using its SWIFR grant to build a warehouse to
    help reuse salvaged lumber from old buildings. If more cities
    found ways to reuse building materials, as Seattle is doing, we
    could create approximately 200,000 jobs. Let me say that again:
    if more cities found ways to reuse building materials as
    Seattle is doing, we could create approximately 200,000 jobs
    and reduce carbon emissions associated with building materials
    by almost 40 percent by the year 2050, according to the Ellen
    MacArthur Foundation's estimates.
        Today, we are looking forward to learning more from our
    panelists about what is working in communities across our
    Nation. As the members of this committee have often heard me
    say more than a few times, we need to find out what works and
    do more of that.
        As members of this committee will recall, in the Senate, we
    are continuing to advance bipartisan solutions that will
    support the innovative work happening on the ground in
    communities across America. Ranking Member Senator Capito,
    along with Senator Boozman and yours truly, authored two
    recycling bills to improve data collection on our Nation's
    recycling and composting systems and to expand recycling
    infrastructure in rural communities. In fact, these bills just
    passed the Senate about 2 months ago, back in March.
        In closing, I believe that we should seize the opportunity
    in front of us to create a circular economy that protects our
    planet, strengthens our communities, and creates jobs. We must
    do so by collaborating across all levels of government. That
    includes nonprofits, and it includes the private sector, which
    we will hear from a lot here today.
        Before we turn to our panel of witnesses, I want to turn it
    over to Senator Capito and thank her for her terrific
    leadership on these issues, not just for West Virginia, but for
    our Country.
        Senator Capito?

            OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO,
              U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

        Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank
    the panel for being here with us today. We are going to revisit
    a topic that we have talked about a lot in the committee: the
    benefits of recycling and policy options to improve our
    recycling infrastructure.
        After hearing about specific recycling challenges, Chairman
    Carper and I introduced and shepherded through the Senate the
    two bills that the Chairman talked about. These two bills, the
    Chairman's bill is the Recycling Composting and Accountability
    Act, and my bill is the Recycling Infrastructure and
    Accessibility Act.
        They both await action in the House, and for the life of
    me, I cannot believe that we ca not get these bills over the
    finish line. We have been trying for, like, 3 years, and they
    are quite simple and just a very beginning step, but we are
    going to keep trying, and we are going to push this and try to
    get into law. Maybe if I named it after you, maybe we would
    have better luck.
        Senator Carper. No, no, we are trying to get them passed.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Capito. We are also committed to an ongoing
    evaluation by the Committee of the capacity of our Nation's
    recycling systems to handle increasing amounts of waste.
        A fundamental challenge is how to improve the recycling
    collection infrastructure across the Nation in the face of low
    demand for recycled materials. In examining that challenge, we
    should consider what, if any, additional role there is for
    government, or at what level.
        The Federal Government's role should reflect the well-
    established spirit of cooperative federalism that the
    regulation of waste management is based upon. Federal policy
    solutions should supplement, not replace or override, State,
    local, and private initiatives and programs.
        One area to consider is whether more clarity is needed for
    recycling labeling to provide better information to households.
    Recycling information should be easy to understand and in line
    with today's recycling infrastructure.
        The three chasing arrows label that we are accustomed to
    seeing on consumer products is outdated and actively misleads
    consumers. The average consumer should not need a microscope to
    decipher the fine print on a label to see if something is
    recyclable in their community.
        The lack of consistent and clear labeling on everyday
    products is due to great variation in existing infrastructure
    and local recycling requirements across the Country. That is
    why the pizza box can be recycled here in D.C., but it goes
    straight into the trash when I am at home.
        Today's hearing is focused on the role of Federal programs
    to support local waste management efforts. As we will hear
    today, Federal grants alone are not a magic bullet solution,
    but they are one tool that can help spur private sector
    investment to build that collection infrastructure. Grant
    recipients can leverage that funding into zero-interest or
    below-market rate loans. This helps to reduce risk and attract
    private sector investments into emerging technologies and
    infrastructure.
        Competitive grants are also inherently flexible funding
    mechanisms. This is particularly impactful within the recycling
    sector, as grants can be tailored to the unique needs of a
    particular recycling facility or community.
        As we consider the potential role that Federal Government
    may fill in our recycling infrastructure, I do have two key
    areas of concern.
        First, competitive grant programs are frequently
    accompanied by rigorous and complex application requirements.
    The short timeframes and complicated requirements can
    disadvantage rural communities that are unable to compete with
    large urban centers due to a lack of resources. The lack of
    rural recycling infrastructure is one of the key challenges, I
    think, facing our recycling system. We must address rural
    participation in our competitive grant programs.
        Second, the U.S. recycling system will never be sustainable
    if there is an overreliance on Federal grant funding. Grants
    should be used to attract and not replace private sector
    investment into recycling infrastructure.
        Recycling systems operate on the premise that materials can
    be recovered, reprocessed, and then resold to consumers.
    Without viable end markets with consumers willing to pay for
    recyclable goods, those recycling systems will collapse, and we
    have seen that, sort of, in the past, regardless of how much
    taxpayer dollars are thrown into this.
        So, I look forward to hearing from our panel today. With
    that, I yield back my time.
        Senator Carper. Thanks so much. I am going to turn now to
    our panel of witnesses. On behalf of all the members of this
    committee, thank you for joining us today to share your
    perspectives on Federal programs on the circular economy. Thank
    you even more for the good that you do with your lives for our
    States and our Country and for our planet.
        First, we are going to hear from Secretary Elizabeth Biser,
    who is currently Secretary of North Carolina's Department of
    Environmental Quality. Who was your predecessor in that role?
        Ms. Biser. Administrator Michael Regan.
        Senator Carper. No kidding. Do you ever talk to him?
        Ms. Biser. I do.
        Senator Carper. Good, all right. My wife is from North
    Carolina. She is from Boone, up in the mountains. I told her
    that we are having the Secretary from North Caroline come, and
    she said to tell you hello, and go get them, girl.
        Secretary Biser was appointed by an old friend, Roy Cooper,
    the Governor of North Carolina in, what was it, 2021? Yes.
    Secretary Biser joined us, I think it was in 2021, to share
    some of her thoughts on the circular economy concept. We look
    forward to hearing from you again today about how circularity
    has changed in the past two and half years, and it has changed.
        Next, we are joined by Susan Fife-Ferris, who serves as the
    Director of Solid Waste Planning and Program Management for
    Seattle Public Utilities. In her role, Ms. Fife, you go by Ms.
    Fife-Ferris, is that right?
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. Yes.
        Senator Carper. There you go, okay. F-squared, there we go.
    She leads the city's solid waste management division, focusing
    on strategic and long-range planning. Welcome.
        Last, we are going to hear from Cody Marshall, who is the
    Chief System Optimization Officer for the Recycling
    Partnership. Mr. Marshall leads the Recycling Partnership's
    efforts to provide grants and resources to local and State
    recycling programs across our Nation.
        We thank you all for coming before our committee today. We
    are grateful to you for joining us to discuss this important
    topic. We will now begin witness testimony. I am going to ask
    Secretary Biser to be our lead-off hitter. Proceed with your
    statement at this time, thank you.
        Senator Boozman is about to--I think he has, John? Senator
    Boozman? Before you, I just want us to take a minute. He is a
    great partner in this, a great leader on this front, not just
    for his State, but for our Country. I just want to say, what a
    joy and honor it is to work with you, especially on these
    issues.
        Senator Boozman. Let me just say likewise to you and
    Shelley for working so hard, and then again, the key to it all
    has been our staff. They work really hard and do a great job
    together. As you pointed out earlier in the business meeting, I
    mean, this is how this place ought to work, again, not only
    between us, but between our staffs working really hard. Thank
    you all for being here, and we appreciate all you do very, very
    much.
        Senator Carper. Thank you, sir. There is a great song,
    ``She Works Hard for the Money,'' and our staff work really
    hard for the money, as you know. We are grateful for that. All
    right. Thank you.
        Ms. Biser, why do not you go ahead and jump into it?

     STATEMENT OF HON. ELIZABETH BISER, SECRETARY, NORTH CAROLINA
                  DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

        Ms. Biser. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member
    Capito, members of the committee. I really appreciate the
    opportunity to come back today to talk about the circular
    economy in North Carolina and specifically how I have utilized
    efforts and investment under the Infrastructure Investment and
    Jobs Act to further our recycling efforts.
        These investments, Mr. Chairman, as you noted, mark the
    most significant Federal investments in recycling in decades to
    States. As we are seeing through the fact that every single
    State and territory in the district all opted into the Solid
    Waste Infrastructure and Recycling Grant Program, the SWIFR
    Program, we see that this is a universal issue across States.
        As a president of the Environmental Council of States, I
    can tell you that sustainable material management is one of----
        Senator Carper. You are also the president as well? That is
    a lot of titles.
        Ms. Biser. Lots of titles. Some of them, it is on the minds
    of a lot of my colleagues. One of the things that we are
    focused on this year in our organizational parties is advancing
    the circular economy.
        Today, I will talk to you a little bit about how North
    Carolina is using investments from the IIJA to advance our
    circular economy, how building State capacity for recycling is
    so vital to addressing the needs of our infrastructure,
    developing end markets, and making sure that we are furthering
    resident education.
        In North Carolina, we like to say a healthy economy and a
    healthy environment go hand in hand. In order to make that a
    reality, we need a firm foundation of good data on which to
    make smart and strategic investments. The majority of SWIFR
    funding to States is going toward data collection efforts and
    development of solid waste management plans, in some cases, for
    the very first time in other States.
        At North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, we
    are using the approximately $600,000 that we received to
    conduct a statewide materials management optimization study.
    That will include a statewide waste characterization study,
    market assessments for key commodities, a gap analysis for
    material recovery facilities, and a recycling hub-and-spoke
    infrastructure assessment to address recycling in the rural
    parts of our State.
        The State is going to enable us to make smart and strategic
    decisions about where to invest resources where we can get the
    maximum return on investment. This is critical because the
    conversation is different than it was when I was last here to
    talk about this issue in 2021.
        States like mine have not traditionally been worried about
    landfill capacity issues. We have been talking about this more
    in terms of job and economic investment, but now we are
    starting to see the conversation evolve. In North Carolina, our
    two largest regional landfills, which together, accept about 25
    percent of our State's waste, are approaching capacity within
    the next decade. This comes at a time----
        Senator Carper. Where are those located?
        Ms. Biser. They are in Charlotte and in the Southeastern
    part of our State.
        Senator Carper. Okay, thanks.
        Ms. Biser. This comes at a time when our State is growing
    very rapidly, so boosting our recycling efforts is going to
    ensure that that end-of-life material, that is actually feeding
    our economy, creating jobs, economic investment, and creating
    manufacturing feedstock for local industries that desperately
    need it.
        In fact, more than 15,700 North Carolinians are directly
    employed by the 550 recycling businesses in our State. As we
    continue to make investments, we anticipate we will see those
    numbers continue to grow.
        We are also making investments in education and outreach.
    We know that there is a significant amount of contamination in
    the waste stream due to wish-cycling, or residents putting
    materials in their bins that do not belong there, and that
    results in contamination issues that increase costs for local
    governments and make the sortation and processing recyclables
    more difficult.
        North Carolina is also using SWIFR funding to advance our
    Recycle Right and our Use the Food NC materials management
    campaigns. These two campaigns advance the goals of reducing
    the amount of contamination in the recycling stream and also
    reducing the amount of wasted food going into our landfills. We
    are also providing grants to local governments to help them
    with their education and outreach efforts, as well.
        One way we know that we can reduce confusion about what
    they can recycle where, Senator Capito, you mentioned the pizza
    box example, is to invest in MRF infrastructure. Accepted
    materials vary across jurisdictions because the level of
    modernization and what materials different MRFs can accept vary
    across jurisdictions, and so the information that we gather
    through our SWIFR-funded study will help us identify where
    there are gaps in the MRF processing infrastructure and where
    modernization efforts can improve the quantity and the quality
    of materials that are recycled.
        While we tend to think about the traditional recyclables of
    our plastic bottles, our aluminum cans, cardboard, we also need
    to think about the infrastructure to handle waste and food,
    which composes nearly a quarter of the waste stream. the
    climate footprint of wasted food is large. In fact, a recent
    EPA study showed that wasted food is responsible for nearly 60
    percent of methane emissions from solid waste landfills.
        Senator Carper. Would you say that again?
        Ms. Biser. The EPA study found that wasted food is
    responsible for nearly 60 percent of methane emissions from
    solid waste landfills. It is a staggering number.
        Senator Carper. Thank you.
        Ms. Biser. At the same time, we have more than 44 million
    Americans that live in food insecure households who could very
    much benefit from the food that is still edible that makes its
    way to landfills.
        My agency in 2022 did a study to see what our composting
    capacity was versus how much food we are generating. We found
    that we generate nearly 2.5 million tons of food waste per
    year, while our capacity for commercial composters in the State
    can only handle 350 tons, so that leaves a 2.1 million ton gap.
        We know that investments in composting infrastructure are
    an example of how States can encourage end market development,
    generate jobs, and leverage private economic investment and
    mitigate waste by turning that potential waste product into a
    commodity.
        We also provide data and information to manufacturers who
    are considering locating to our State to help them look at
    where material is being generated, and those investments also
    help protect our environment and grow our economy.
        I will emphasize again that we cannot pursue these actions
    without sufficient State capacity and resources. We know that
    recycling is an inherently local activity, and having the State
    capacity be robust and have that information and data we need
    to help our local governments is key to helping advance the
    circular economy.
        I encourage Congress and this committee to continue to
    invest in recycling, to build State capacity, and to support
    the infrastructure, education, and end markets needed to move
    toward a true circular economy. Everyone, whether we are in
    North Carolina or across the Country, is thinking about how we
    can more sustainably manage our materials. There is no better
    example of a healthy environment and a healthy economy going
    hand-in-hand.
        I am grateful for the opportunity today to share my State's
    perspective, and I greatly appreciate this committee's support,
    and especially Senator Capito and Senator Carper, your support
    of this issue. Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Biser follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Carper. Thank you so much. Thanks for joining us
    again in this room. Thank you for your testimony today.
        Now, we are going to turn to Ms. Fife-Ferris to hear her
    testimony. Welcome. Good to see you today. Thanks for joining
    us. Please proceed.

    STATEMENT OF SUSAN FIFE-FERRIS, DIRECTOR, SOLID WASTE PLANNING
       AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT DIVISION, SEATTLE PUBLIC UTILITIES

        Ms. Fife-Ferris. Good morning. Good morning, Chairman
    Carper, Ranking Member Capito, and members of the committee. My
    name is Susan Fife-Ferris, and I am Director of Solid Waste
    Planning Management for Seattle Public Utilities. Thank you for
    inviting me today to testify.
        Seattle has been an international leader in the solid waste
    management for decades, including waste prevention, recycling,
    and composting organic materials. Our vision is zero waste. We
    owe our success to strong public and private support focused on
    protecting and improving community and environmental health.
        Our city still faces challenges and has limited control or
    influence over the large and complex solid waste system. This
    is why leadership at the national level is so important to help
    eliminate waste and create a truly circular economy. Funding
    for the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling, or SWIFR,
    grant program included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act has
    been critical for important reuse and recycling strategies and
    projects throughout our Nation.
        Seattle is a fortunate recipient of one of these grants,
    which will allow us to establish a salvage lumber warehouse to
    support our local deconstruction sector in salvaging lumber
    that can be reclaimed and reused from old buildings. The SWIFR
    grant will provide seed money necessary to attract a private
    company to site a salvaged lumber warehouse to ensure that
    recovered lumber can be stored, marketed, and sold. This
    funding will help fill a critical gap in the infrastructure and
    lay the foundation for sustained preservation of the precious
    resource that this lumber represents.
        We strongly encourage the Senate to extend the SWIFR
    funding, as well as other funding mechanisms, such as the
    Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach grant program beyond
    the 2026 end date.
        The Federal Government can also play a critical role by
    supporting consistent and accurate data collection at a
    national level and using this data to drive effective programs
    and investments in the solid waste field. Seattle has collected
    data and used data to inform our management of solid waste for
    over 30 years, and we know how important and foundational it
    is.
        Therefore, we support passage of the Chairman's
    legislation, the Recycling and Compost Accountability Act. That
    is a great start for providing the support needed for data
    collection and analysis nationwide.
        The Ranking Member's legislation, the Recycling
    Infrastructure and Accessibility Act, would also be an
    important step forward to help increase collection of
    recyclables by making recycling more convenient and accessible.
    Many communities throughout the Country do not have access to
    basic recycling, resulting in valuable materials going into a
    landfill. I hope the committee will move both bills forward.
        Our Reuse Seattle Initiative is an example of where a
    government entity can play a role in developing a circular
    economy and facilitating the reduction and eventual elimination
    of single-use plastic products and packaging in the food
    service industry.
        The Federal Government can play a role by supporting the
    development of standards and providing local governments funds
    to invest in reuse systems and infrastructure. Federal
    investments can provide the seeds that help grow the reuse
    ecosystem.
        Additionally, we support the Federal Government financially
    incentivizing waste prevention, reuse, and the use of post-
    consumer recycled content through grants and tax credits.
    Adopting a national design for recyclability standards for
    products and packaging that includes standards for use of post-
    consumer recycled content.
        Reducing subsidies to virgin materials, such as
    petrochemical feedstocks, that directly compete with the post-
    consumer recycled plastics, creating accountability throughout
    the recycling system by setting mandatory capture rate goals
    tied to timelines, standardized reporting requirements, and
    verification of responsible end markets.
        Supporting a national framework for extended producer
    responsibility for packaging and paper products that holds
    producers responsible for their products and packaging ensures
    they provide adequate and stable financial support for the
    recycling industry and local communities. Supporting whole life
    cycle analysis of materials that considers externalities such
    as plastic residuals that impact marine life, and adopting
    National labeling standards to reduce consumer confusion and
    support ability to recycle responsibly.
        We applaud the Senate to support the United States' shift
    to a circular approach. As you look to the future, Seattle
    strongly encourages you to place a greater emphasis upstream on
    waste prevention and reuse while also continuing to support
    increased downstream diversion and recyclables and organics to
    reliable and responsible markets.
        Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Fife-Ferris follows:]
       [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Carper. Thank you very, very much for that.
        Now, we are going to hear from Mr. Marshall. Mr. Marshall,
    we are looking forward to your testimony. Thanks for joining
    us. Welcome. You are recognized; please proceed.

    STATEMENT OF CODY MARSHALL, CHIEF SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION OFFICER,
                       THE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP

        Mr. Marshall. Thank you, Chairman Carper, Ranking Member
    Capito, and members of the committee, thank you for the
    opportunity to testify on the importance of community grants to
    advance circularity, especially the Solid Waste Infrastructure
    Grant Program, or SWIFR.
        My name is Cody Marshall, and I serve as the Chief System
    Optimization Officer for the Recycling Partnership, a purpose-
    driven organization that has a singular mission: to build a
    better recycling system. I have the distinct honor to lead a
    team that makes grants to communities across the United States
    to optimize and modernize recycling infrastructure and increase
    participation in recycling programs.
        My introduction to the recycling industry was as a college
    student in rural Ohio, driving a truck collecting recyclables
    from campus.
        I made recycling my career 16 years ago in Orange County,
    North Carolina by taking on the challenge of managing their
    curbside and rural recycling programs. It was there that I
    witnessed the profound impact recycling can have on
    communities. Drawing from my experience in Orange County and
    consulting for various public sector entities, I recognized the
    pressing need for a coordinated improvement within the
    recycling system.
        With that ambition in mind, I helped launch the Recycling
    Partnership. Over the past 10 years, we have worked closely
    with communities, public sector leaders, nonprofits, and the
    private sector to deliver real impact across more than 3,500
    recycling programs, from major cities to small towns.
        Public sector-private sector partnerships have been
    critical to reduce waste, build local economies, and strengthen
    our domestic supply chains. It is from this experience that I
    address this committee.
        Last year, we had the privilege of working with the city of
    New Orleans to assist in developing their proposal for SWIFR
    funding. I am happy to report that because of this funding, the
    city will offer curbside recycling service to all 150,000
    single family homes. Not only will this deliver real results,
    the SWIFR funding unlocked additional funding from the
    partnership, which was made possible from private sector
    dollars. The public-private partnership will ensure the SWIFR
    funding is an enduring investment providing new materials for
    years to come.
        SWIFR funding is making possible an enormous impact in New
    Orleans and across the Country, but many more communities need
    assistance. I cannot express enough how important it is that we
    fund the SWIFR program in 2025. When communities receive grants
    like SWIFR, they can provide access to more residents,
    modernize recycling systems, and develop cleaner streams of
    materials. Grants have impacts long beyond their initial phase.
        Equally as important are the resources needed to build an
    equitable, efficient, and transparent recycling system across
    the United States. Thank you, Chairman Carper and Ranking
    Member Capito, for introducing two critical pieces of
    legislation, the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act
    and the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act. Both
    bills, when passed, will provide important data and resources
    needed to ensure our domestic recycling systems deliver on the
    promise of a circular economy.
        There is a lot of work to be done to make recycling systems
    as effective and efficient as possible. This involves
    rethinking how materials are produced, how packages are
    designed, and what happens after products are consumed. It is
    for this reason the Recycling Partnership both insists on
    meaningful change across the recycling system and assists
    communities and companies in enacting such change. We know that
    good policy has an important role to play.
        We are working with States across the Nation to advocate
    for and implement extended producer responsibility. By
    establishing a national framework for EPR, we will be able to
    provide the funding and resources needed to transform the way
    we use and rely on materials. In doing so, we will establish
    the supply infrastructure and the demand for recycled content
    necessary for a circular economy.
        On behalf of the leadership at the Recycling Partnership, I
    can attest that we remain fully committed as a partner and a
    resource to Congress, our private sector partners, and our
    communities to deliver a better recycling system.
        Thank you for your time and your lasting commitment to the
    change Americans deserve.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Marshall follows:]
      [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Carper. Well, thank you for your time and for your
    commitment, from all of us to all of you. I mentioned earlier,
    Marshall University is in Huntington, West Virginia, as you
    know. They have had some great football teams, some of the best
    football teams in the Country, actually, over the years.
        I am thinking about how we take the legislation that
    Senator Capito, Senator Boozman, and I and others have crafted
    and move through this committee and move it through the Senate,
    how we get it through the House and onto the President's desk.
    We have made great progress, but I will use a football analogy.
    We are inside the red zone, but the ball is not inside the end
    zone.
        So, as we leave here today, we have to figure out how to
    get this ball into the end zone. I think we can. All politics
    is personal. As a friend of mine likes to say, we have to push
    every button to get this done. There is so much that is
    depending on it, so many jobs, so much good for our economy,
    just good in terms of climate change. It works in so many
    different ways that we got to get the job done.
        My first question, really, would be to the entire panel. I
    want to focus on SWIFR grants. As I think you all have
    mentioned in your testimonies, EPA's SWIFR Grant Program has
    unlocked funding for unique waste management projects across
    our entire country. States, communities, and nongovernmental
    organizations have also awarded grants on their own for
    projects that bolster our Nation's recycling systems.
        My question for each of you, would you each please share
    with us how these Federal investments will protect the
    environment, as well as contribute to the economy and job
    creation in communities across our Nation?
        Mr. Marshall, I am going to ask you to respond first, and
    we will go to your right.
        Mr. Marshall. Absolutely, thank you. As a granting
    organization, I can tell you that over the past 10 years of our
    existence, the money that we have invested in the system has
    resulted in the capture of more than a billion pounds of new
    recyclables, avoiding one million metric tons of greenhouse gas
    emissions, so SWIFR is going to be doing the same thing.
        The recycling system, if resourced in the appropriate way
    that we believe needs to be resourced, it can result in a $30
    billion positive economic impact through job creation and
    private sector investment.
        Senator Carper. All right.
        Ms. Fife-Ferris, did you agree with anything he has just
    said?
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. Do I agree with it? Yes, I agree with it.
        Senator Carper. All right, go ahead, proceed please.
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. Yes, thank you. We are very excited about
    the possibility of bringing a private company to actually fill
    a hole in what we determined was the gap in the circular
    economy for the salvage lumber in our area.
        This will displace the need to actually take virgin lumber
    out of our forests. It will also create carbon sinks. This old
    lumber is actually old-growth forest, when you think about it.
    Anything before 1940 probably was harvested out of our old-
    growth forests, so these are carbon sinks, and it is so much
    better.
        From an economic point of view, these are jobs. You have
    jobs for the people who are deconstructing the houses, and we
    are actually complementing the funds that we are getting from
    SWIFR to train more people to do that. There are jobs to
    transport the lumber. There are jobs to actually de-nail and
    process the lumber.
        There are jobs to market it, and then there are jobs to
    sell it. Then there are the jobs for the actual rebuilding of
    new houses, so these all create opportunities for new jobs in
    this sector.
        Then, beyond that, the money is being used in other areas
    and other arenas, like in Hawaii, they are going to be using it
    in the reuse arena, and I can talk about that at a later time.
        Senator Carper. Okay. Same question, Secretary Biser,
    please.
        Ms. Biser. In addition to that, we have a local government,
    Durham County, who received a grant through SWIFR to update and
    reconstruct their convenience center in a disadvantaged
    community, so we are seeing some real impacts along those
    lines.
        Just to talk about the State data aspect of it for a
    moment, I mentioned earlier recycling being an inherently local
    activity, and it is important that States have they capacity
    they need to support those programs to help them understand how
    they can optimize and make sure that they are reaching their
    residents and providing access.
        Having the ability to invest in data, which is not
    something we often have, is going to be really critical, not
    just for my State, but for other States, understand what is in
    the waste stream, understand where material is being generated,
    where the infrastructure to collect that material is lacking.
        We have some MRF deserts that we are trying to address,
    especially in the northeastern part of our State. The more we
    can learn about what is being generated there, which residents
    have access, which do not, we can help support our local
    governments to make sure that not only can they provide
    additional resources, but also, as we have a limited amount of
    grant funding as a State that we can give out, we want to make
    sure we are maximizing our rate of return on that and
    leveraging any kind of private investment we can, and data is
    going to enable us to do all of those things.
        Senator Carper. All right, thank you. Thank you each for
    your responses.
        Senator Capito?
        Senator Capito. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As I mentioned in
    my opening statement, the absolutely critical role that the
    private sector can play in this as part of partnerships with
    governments, local, State, and Federal. In my legislation, we
    do prioritize trying to find funding for financially viable
    public-private partnerships.
        You mentioned leveraging the private sector. Do you have a
    good example of where this is being done very well already in
    North Carolina and what kind of impacts that is having?
        Ms. Biser. Sure. I can give you an example of Clear Path
    Recycling in North Carolina. They received a total of $140,000
    over three cycles from us in grants.
        This is from State dollars, I will just reference, but this
    is a good example of, if we have more to invest, the type of
    experience we can have. It led to $1.7 million private
    investment, so the $140,000 leveraged $1.7 million in that
    private investment and added 90 jobs to that facility.
        Senator Capito. Is that one location?
        Ms. Biser. One location, and it added 6,500 tons of added
    capacity to their operation. I will just say, in general, we
    have different grant programs, but one of the grant programs
    that is giving money directly to recycling businesses requires
    a match. What we end up seeing is a three-to-one match is what
    ends up happening in each of these situations, so we are
    leveraging a lot of private dollars by investing a little bit
    of State dollars.
        Senator Capito. Mr. Marshall, do you have a good example
    for me on where those, I know you have members that are private
    and public, so the partnerships that are going on that you
    could recognize?
        Mr. Marshall. Yes, absolutely. I think we are a great
    example of how the private sector is stepping up. Over the
    years, we have leveraged over $200 million in private funding
    in these grant projects, but I would also like to note that
    what ends up happening is, the collection part of the recycling
    programs is the most expensive part of recycling.
        That is often managed, always managed, by city and county
    governments, so when we fund and grant those programs, we are
    able to see that that supply is unlocked, and when that supply
    is unlocked through the granting programs, we almost always see
    the private sector coming in to invest in the local economy to
    use that material throughout the supply chain.
        Senator Capito. I want to ask about rural America too,
    because, obviously, I live in a rural State. Every State has
    rural areas, and there are real problems with trying to have
    the sustainability of a recycling program. The local
    governments can not really afford them; there are education
    issues as to what can be recycled, how, when, and where.
        There have been a lot of stops and starts in rural areas. I
    mean, I can speak for my own city. We have had programs, and
    then we have not had a program, and then we have a program, and
    then it is a limited program. It causes citizens to just sort
    of throw up their hands and kind of give up a little bit, where
    we do not want that.
        What could you recommend, and I will go to you, Secretary
    Biser, because you have, obviously, a lot of rural in North
    Carolina. How can we do better with our role? We were
    introducing a spoke-and-hub kind of system that can help these
    rural communities have viable recycling programs.
        Ms. Biser. Senator Capito, first of all, I appreciate your
    leadership in trying to get resources for hub-and-spoke
    systems. I think that is one of the primary methods that we
    look to. As Mr. Marshall noted, there is a lot of cost in the
    collection aspect of recycling, and this is an area where we
    can help local governments reduce some of their costs.
        It can be very expensive to have somebody come pick up a
    load from a very small town that can not fill up the back of a
    tractor trailer load, but if you are able to have centralized
    locations to collect materials among a lot of smaller towns,
    they can pool their resources and better afford to have
    programs in place.
        We know that recycling is hard to turn on and off like a
    faucet because then you create a lot of confusion and it
    reduces participation rates, so the more that we can find
    solutions like that that are infrastructure-based and other
    ways to help assist with the cost, I think the better we will
    be at recycling.
        Senator Capito. Ms. Fife-Ferris, Seattle is obviously not a
    rural area, but you have probably seen areas in your State or
    that feed into your system, maybe, how does that, what
    improvements could we make there?
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. We have actually been working at a State
    level on our, hopefully, getting extended producer
    responsibility that would then create funding for the rural
    areas. It is a big problem, and it is not an easy fix.
        The hope would be that then we could have resources that
    could be invested in the rural areas in a stable manner to
    ensure that they have accessibility with the hub-and-spoke type
    of program, which drop-off, and other things. Those are
    approaches that were working at a State level, because we want
    to bring equity statewide with respect to recycling.
        We are also working upstream trying to get products to be
    more consistent and recyclable, because regardless of whether
    you have access to recycling, if you do not have good products
    that are recyclable to put into the bin or drop-off and then
    you have markets that they are going to be sold into
    downstream, that also causes a hitch in making the recycling
    not possible, and that impacts rural communities even more than
    communities.
        Senator Capito. Right, we are going to need more materials
    as we move toward, hopefully, this circular economy. That means
    rural America, every part of the Country, has to really play
    here effectively, because we know we have enough waste to do
    that. It is just getting it to the right place.
        Let me just ask for a clarification here on extended
    producer responsibility. Let us take an example of a piece of
    clothing, maybe, or maybe food. You mentioned food. That would
    be that the producer of whatever that product is, and maybe
    food is not a good example, something that is more sustained,
    like a glass bottle. We will just use that. That means whoever
    produces the glass bottle would pay into a system.
        Is that what it means to you, and then that money would
    then go to the localities to help with the recycling?
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. In a typical producer responsibility, we
    are talking about packaging and paper products, usually, not
    clothing. Though, we have producer responsibilities for paint
    and medicine and all kinds of things.
        Right now, we are working on what is the bulk in our
    recycling cart or in our garbage. Yes, it would depend on how
    you define producer, but it would be the person who puts it
    into your marketplace. The brand or the producer, it depends on
    who is putting it into your marketplace, and then they would
    pay a fee based on the volume of the numbers and then what that
    material is that they are using, how recyclable is it.
        They use a term called eco-modulation where the cost of
    putting that product into the market will be determined by how
    easily recyclable that is, and captured for end markets.
        Senator Capito. Are you doing this now? No? You are looking
    to do it?
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. No, we are actually, but California and
    Oregon are setting up systems for it, as are Colorado and
    Maine. They are the four States that have passed producer
    responsibility programs. All different, but somewhat similar.
        So, the money would go into a pot, and that money would be
    managed by a PRO, which is a producer responsibility
    organization that is actually made up of the private sector
    producers, and then they report to the State as a regulatory
    body.
        There would be what we call rates and dates. In other
    words, they would try to have capture rates based on the
    different types of materials by a certain date, and they would
    use the funding to help set up programs to ensure that that
    happens statewide.
        Senator Capito. Sounds like there is a lot to iron out
    there to figure that out, but I am not saying it is not worth
    it. I am sure it is, but there are a lot of details to figure
    out. Anyway, I appreciate that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        Senator Carper. Yes. Great questions.
        Senator Sullivan, thanks for rejoining us. You are
    recognized. Thank you.
        Senator Sullivan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the
    witnesses testifying today.
        As I mentioned in my remarks just a couple minutes ago
    here, Alaska, we are a resource-rich but infrastructure-poor
    State in terms of just everything. Roads, bridges, ports,
    harbors, telecommunications. Infrastructure poverty also
    extends to recycling infrastructure, particularly in our rural
    communities.
        These SWIFR grants are good news. They are part of my and
    Senator Whitehouse's Save Our Seas 2.0 legislation and the
    Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, as already mentioned. One thing
    that I have heard about, and I would like Ms. Biser and Mr.
    Marshall, maybe you can take a crack at this, that the process,
    in terms of funding, has been very slow.
        Are there ways to streamline the EPA funding process to get
    these grants out faster and then maybe even simplify it, right?
    One thing that you do not want to have happen, and you guys are
    very familiar with how to write grants and everything, but for
    a lot of communities that is a big undertaking, just in and of
    itself.
        You do not want the groups that are kind of the
    professionals at grant-writing to always get the grants.
    Streamlining getting the resources out more quickly, and then
    helping communities that maybe are not so experienced in this.
    Those are broad questions, but I would love your views on them.
        Ms. Biser. Thank you, Senator Sullivan. I know Alaska has
    some particular challenges.
        I do not believe there is a material recovery facility in
    your State. That can add to some of the challenges, so I am
    excited to see you all receiving funding. I believe that Alaska
    in undertaking a solid waste management plan with this funding,
    which is also a great step.
        In terms of the EPA process, I know that this was a
    situation where they had to create a new grant program
    completely from scratch, so in working----
        Senator Sullivan. Which is a good thing, but also a scary
    thing, right, depending on which way they go with it.
        Ms. Biser. It can be challenging. I will tell you, we have
    worked closely with the office that has been building this
    program and understand that they have been working, I think, as
    quickly as they can, but still hear frustrations from folks who
    want to get funding out more quickly.
        I will say, for the next round of funding, we are hearing
    that that could be potentially sometime in October, so we are
    anticipating having those opportunities again. I know that
    North Carolina looks to provide technical assistance to our
    communities to help as they are applying in this grant program,
    and then other programs under the IIJA. We will continue to do
    that.
        The other area that we are receiving technical assistance
    and that EPA is providing across the Country is for the CPRG
    grants. That will be another potential area that we could take
    advantage of. That is a bigger pot of funding, especially
    aiming toward any kind of climate emission reductions,
    including food waste, so I know that our State is planning to
    take advantage of that as well.
        We do appreciate the technical assistance. I will say that
    we tried to have patience with EPA since they were creating
    something brand new. That is always a challenge, and we will
    continue to work with them if we see opportunities to
    streamline.
        Senator Sullivan. Good.
        Mr. Marshall?
        Mr. Marshall. Yes, it is a challenge to manage these types
    of granting programs. We have about 150 active grants at the
    Recycling Partnership, and I myself have about 30 people
    working on them, so it is critical to resource them because
    there are a lot of questions; you have to pay invoices.
        The positive thing about this, we reimburse a lot. Upon
    award, action starts happening. I know money might not be
    flowing yet, but momentum is growing in these places that have
    been awarded, so there might be a positive way to look at this
    also, because they are excited that they received the award.
    They are looking for other money. They have contacted us for
    additional money to match the EPA dollars, so action is
    happening, even if money might not be flowing.
        I really appreciate your bringing up that critical need to
    support these local governments to help write the grants. We
    supported a few communities that needed to write grants to
    apply for this money, and I think that would be a really
    critical step, to really have a robust system to help urban
    areas and the rural areas get applied.
        You are right, people that would apply to this are also the
    arborists or the sheriff at their local government. They do not
    have time to write grants.
        Senator Sullivan. Yes, or they do not have the experience.
        Mr. Marshall. That is right.
        Senator Sullivan. Let me end with just a followup question.
    I am kind of running out of time here.
        Senator Carper. No, you are not. You are not.
        Senator Sullivan. Ms. Fife-Ferris, I understand you were a
    consultant in Alaska a number of years ago, and so you know
    these challenges specifically with regard to rural communities,
    limited financial resources for communities that are trying to
    benefit from these kind of programs.
        Maybe this is a question for all of you. I know, Mr.
    Marshall, you have also testified about the importance of
    public-private partnerships, the Feds, the State, the local
    governments ca not, they ca not do everything here, so how do
    we enhance that element of addressing this broader challenge,
    so maybe Ms. Fife-Ferris, if we can start with you?
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. That is a tough question. To get the
    private industry----
        Senator Sullivan. Also your experience with the rural
    communities in Alaska, in particular.
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. Oh, my experience, yes. When I was
    working, I was working primarily in Juneau, and we were working
    on a landfill, and they had a waste-to-energy facility that the
    local government was looking at taking over, but I also
    consulted with up in Anchorage and Fairbanks.
        Yes, you can not bury waste very easily when the ground is
    frozen. You do not have someplace to take it. You do not have
    roadways to haul your material out of your city. You have to
    barge it. We looked at barging recyclables down to California.
    We looked at barging recyclables to Hawaii, at one point.
        It is really, really difficult, and so you have to look at
    the community. I think this is a great area where waste
    prevention, and using durables, getting rid of single-use
    plastics, looking at what is right for the community that you
    are in and not something that fits for Seattle is not
    necessarily going to fit for one of your small, rural
    communities on the coastline, but there are ways to do it.
        Then, the materials that are coming into your area should
    be recyclable and easy to capture; then you can back haul them,
    you can back barge them. In other words, you are bringing up
    supplies up to the area, and then you back haul them on that
    same barge or thing. There are ways to work it out, but it is
    not an easy solution.
        Senator Sullivan. Yes, and it is expensive.
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. It is expensive. Producer responsibility,
    you make it, you manage it.
        Senator Sullivan. Mr. Marshall, on the public-private
    partnership issue? I know you have testified on that before.
        Mr. Marshall. Yes, absolutely. I think sharing the stories
    of public-private partnerships is critical in this space. That
    is one way to do it, so the Recycling Partnership actually
    received a grant from EPA Region Four to start 10 years ago, so
    that has really gotten our start, and now we are fully funded
    by the private sector to deliver funds.
        I would also highlight that those stories and connections
    are really happening at the local of what the Conference of
    Mayors. This has been a major subject for them every single
    year, and so I just think what you are highlighting is critical
    to really lean in and learn how to do it. We are trying to get
    in front of as many local governments as possible, so they
    understand how to access these dollars.
        Senator Sullivan. Great, thank you. Thanks to the
    witnesses. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it.
        Senator Carper. You bet. I just want to acknowledge the
    good work that you and Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator Whitehouse,
    have done on Save Our Seas that is still bearing fruit.
        Before I ask another question or two, I just want to say
    that I, my staff and I would be happy to work together with
    your folks and certainly with Senator Capito's team to ensure
    that EPA provides technical assistance to rural communities in
    Alaska and West Virginia and other places where they need it in
    this regard when they apply for grants.
        Senator Sullivan. Thank you.
        Senator Carper. You bet. Okay. We have had some mention
    here today about methane, food waste, and that sort of thing.
        I must say, we have a son that lives out in the Bay Area in
    California, and every now and then, we will go fly out and see
    him. We fly in an out of SFO, San Francisco Airport. You walk
    through that airport, and they have, you know, sometimes you go
    to airports, you are lucky to find a distinction between
    recycling bins and non-recycling bins.
        In San Francisco, they basically have three bins, and they
    have them throughout the airport. They are color-coded. One of
    them is for recyclables, one is for just trash that is not
    recyclable, the other is food waste.
        One of the things that they do in the Bay Area, they have
    businesses, pretty successful businesses, that take the food
    waste and, through a process I will not describe here, but they
    create a fuel for buses and for trucks and stuff like that. In
    adversity, lies opportunity, but they have got it right. I have
    been intrigued by their success and anxious for us to replicate
    that in Delaware and other States, as well.
        In October 2023, this would be a question, I think, for
    Secretary Biser and Ms. Fife-Ferris, but in October of last
    year, the EPA published a report that found that nearly 60
    percent of methane emissions from municipal solid waste
    landfills actually does come from food waste.
        Earlier this year, we held, as some will recall, we held an
    EPW hearing that explored strategies to reduce methane, a
    greenhouse gas that is, I believe, over 80 times more potent
    that carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. One of the strategies
    that emerged as a solution at that hearing was waste diversion.
    My question, both for Secretary Biser and for Ms. Fife-Ferris,
    is: what efforts are currently underway in your State and your
    city to divert food waste from landfills?
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. Within Seattle, food waste is banned from
    being put into our garbage, and it has been since 2015. We have
    extensive collection opportunities, both at the curbside and
    then out in the commercial sector. We have robust composting
    facility opportunities. We have facilities for processing the
    materials, which is critical.
        At the State level, they just passed a law where they are
    going to be studying how to better move food waste out of the
    waste stream, and they are going to be mandating that
    collection opportunities be available statewide for organic
    materials, but also supporting the processing aspect. You can
    not collect it if you do not have someplace to haul it, to
    process it.
        Food waste is a local type of, you have to do it within a
    reasonable distance from where you are doing it, and that is
    one way to move the food waste.
        We also have an extensive food rescue program where we are
    working with our local grocery stores or large businesses have
    these big cafeterias or restaurants to help move the food out
    the back door that is edible to the food banks or the rescue
    organizations that can use that. We are actually entering into
    a grant program where we are going to be giving money to help
    come up with innovative ideas on transportation. We will be
    announcing the winners of those grants probably within the next
    month.
        We have identified different ways, and then we also educate
    our residents on how, we call it love food, stop waste, and so
    we educate them on how to make better shopping decisions so
    that they are not throwing those strawberries out at the end of
    the week, and they actually eat them.
        Senator Carper. That is a great rundown. That is wonderful.
        Same question, Secretary Biser, same question. What is
    going on in the Tar Heel State that you maybe want to mention
    to us with respect to diverting food waste from landfills?
        Ms. Biser. We are, in addition to looking at data, as I
    mentioned earlier, we have been analyzing how much wasted food
    is being generated versus our commercial composting capacity.
    It is a 2.1 million ton gap, so we are working with the
    industry to look at options there.
        We also have a Use the Food NC campaign that we are doing,
    an educational campaign statewide along the lines of what Ms.
    Fife-Ferris was just discussing, trying to help folks
    understand both how to save money, I believe that the number is
    about $1,500 per year that the average family wastes in food
    that they buy but never eat, but also how to keep it out of
    landfills.
        We also have been convening our food hubs and food banks to
    look at how we can better help support them in the food rescue.
    Of course, we want the first priority for rescued food to go to
    feeding people who are hungry or food insecure before we look
    at other options such as animal feed or composting.
        There have also been efforts to work with our cultural
    industry for providing food for feed at those operations, and
    then we are also supporting local government programs through a
    grant program. Recently, we gave a grant to a local company
    called Compost Now that is installing new tipping stations,
    reinforcing their loading dock, and making improvements for
    their compactors.
        Senator Carper. Thank you. Thank you very much. Those were
    encouraging comments.
        Senator Capito, any other questions?
        Senator Capito. I do not. I just want to thank the panel,
    and I appreciate everything. We will get to work; help us on
    the House side to get these bills across the finish line. That
    would be a good takeaway for today.
        Senator Carper. The Senate is about to start our first
    vote. In fact, I think we have just started our first vote.
    Senator Capito may feel the need to run and vote. I want to
    just take another minute or two and ask a couple questions
    before I head out.
        Again, from my heart, thank you for believing in these
    issues and leading in these issues. Somehow, we have to figure
    out how to get the ball into the end zone in the House of
    Representatives. This is not something that either of us can do
    by ourselves. We can do a part of it by ourselves, but we have
    got to get this done.
        There is a lot at stake here and great opportunities, as
    well. We look forward to doing that.
        When I first became Governor of Delaware, an old Governor,
    a much older Governor, came to see me. I was just a pup at the
    time. He came to see me, and he said over lunch at the
    Governor's house, he said, Governor Tom, here is one piece of
    advice for you. I said, what is that? He said, the main thing
    is to keep the main thing the main thing. I said, the what? The
    main thing is the keep the main thing the main thing.
        Here, in terms of moving this legislation and putting it on
    the President's desk is, we have to get it through the House.
    That is something that is going to take every bit of our
    efforts with our colleagues together. We look forward to that.
        I will see you on the floor, Okay? Thank you, and thanks
    for your great work here.
        I have, maybe, at least one more question on reuse. I am
    going to ask Ms. Fife-Ferris this question, if I could. I
    think, in your written testimony, you mentioned a public-
    private partnership that was established between Seattle Public
    Utilities and local businesses called Reuse Seattle.
        This program has supported the promotion of reusable food
    service ware as an alternative to single-use containers in
    places like entertainment venues, in places like restaurants,
    maybe that includes public schools, and that sort of thing,
    throughout the city.
        Would you just describe for us some of the successes of the
    program? How has the city been able to drive business and
    individuals to this program? Make sure, there you go.
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. We started the program by getting people
    together who were stakeholders and getting them all interested,
    and that started to attract interest from reusable product
    vendors. Then, we worked closely with our stadiums, like our
    large stadiums, Climate Pledge Arena, where the Mariners, Lumen
    Field, where our Seahawks play.
        We have also worked with our movie theaters, closed venues,
    a lot of music venues, festivals, with their actual people who
    plan these events. We just made connections, and we are not
    actually doing the work. We are not funding the work. We are
    funding a person to bring people together, but then we have
    also helped them with siting a wash facility, and then we have
    been working closely with PR3 on standardization.
        Now, as of the last count, we have, through our activities
    that have gone on, the actual events, have resulted in
    displacing over a million single use items with reusables, but
    standards are really critical. You have a cup that people will
    not take as a souvenir, and they will put it in the bin. Then
    you have to have bins, but our vision is that this goes city-
    wide, and that we work with fast food locations.
        We have drop-off locations around the city, and the city
    will help with that, that are similar to like, your library
    books, and you put in, you will have a QR code, or you will
    have a bar code, and it will go into that. It will go into a
    wash station, and then it will be scanned, and then it will be
    redistributed.
        That is our vision, but right now, we are working primarily
    in the closed-loop environments, but very large closed-loop
    environments, went you think about Lumen Stadium and where the
    Mariners play.
        Senator Carper. All right. Followup question that relates
    to this, but what, and you may have, in part, you have answered
    this, but I am going to ask it anyway. What lessons can
    communities across the Country, West Virginia, Delaware, and
    other places, what lessons can the rest of us take from
    programs like Reuse Seattle?
        Ms. Fife-Ferris. I think you have to start small. Identify
    people who are groups that are really interested, small music
    venues, small theaters. You start, and you pilot, and you
    figure out what will work. Then, you expand it and you look
    for, there are a lot of people moving into this space.
        You can learn from what other people have done, and you can
    put that into play where you are. You do not have to recreate
    the wheel, and then you look to places like the PR3 and the
    ARKUPS and others that are really active in this arena, and you
    look for help from them. Those are all private companies or
    nonprofits, so the government can convene it, but let the
    private sector run with it.
        Senator Carper. Okay, good. Thank you.
        Mr. Marshall, I have one more question. Would you be up to
    it? Want to give it a shot? All right.
        Recycling Partnership's Feet on the Street program in an
    initiative that provides direct feedback to consumers by
    tagging residential recycling carts with information about what
    residents can and cannot put in their recycling bin. This
    sounds great.
        Mr. Marshall, what have been some success stories from the
    Feet on the Street program, and are there other projects that
    the Recycling Partnership is working on to improve recycling in
    communities across our Country?
        Mr. Marshall. I am so glad you asked. The Feet on the
    Street program is a strategy that we use that we have developed
    over the years to try to get as close to that recycling
    behavior as possible. We have people in the field partnering
    with States and cities around the Country giving feedback,
    direct feedback to residents, checking out their recycling,
    talking to residents, and giving them that information on the
    cards, those cart tags that you mentioned.
        One of the most recent and biggest successes we have had is
    in Smyrna, Delaware. We had a partnership with the Delaware----
        Senator Carper. Home of the Smyrna Eagles.
        Mr. Marshall. Home of the Smyrna Eagles, I was going to say
    that.
        Senator Carper. Just north of Dover.
        Mr. Marshall. The Delaware Waste Authority really wanted to
    test strategy at the local level to see how we can improve
    recycling, and they take those learnings to scale across the
    State. We love that because we take those learnings to scale
    across the Country.
        Through this work and through engaging the residents in
    Smyrna, we saw a 78 percent reduction in contamination, which
    might not mean much if you are not in the recycling field, that
    is a huge reduction.
        Senator Carper. That is great. That is great.
        Mr. Marshall. We are really proud of that work. Delaware is
    ready to scale it and replicate it, and we are really ready to
    do that around the Country.
        I think another, you asked for another success story in
    communities around the Country that we are working in. One
    would be, connecting to the public-private partnerships that we
    are discussing, Orange County, Florida is one example I would
    share where we worked on the same Feet on the Street program
    throughout the county, improving quality drastically. What that
    does is, it sends signals to the private sector, and now they
    are looking to have private sector investment in Orange County
    and Orlando to build a recycling facility to manage that
    material.
        Senator Carper. That is good. The people of Smyrna, I hope
    they are watching this hearing.
        Mr. Marshall. Me too.
        Senator Carper. This is one of the most exciting things
    that has happened in Smyrna today. This is great.
        We are voting in the Senate. I think they want me to come
    and vote, so I am going to close it out here, but I just really
    want to thank you all. I want to thank you for what you do with
    your lives, for our Country, for your States, and I want to
    thank you, certainly, for your time and your testimony today.
        I want to thank Senator Capito. I want to thank our staffs,
    who have approached this issue, really, in a truly bipartisan
    way. I found a long time ago that bipartisan solutions are
    lasting solutions, and that is the way we approach things
    around here.
        Your perspectives help us appreciate that although there
    are significant challenges relating to our waste, there are
    opportunities for us to do better. I believe the Federal
    Government can and should work with State and local
    governments, as well as nonprofits and the private sector to
    help us build a circular economy and a more sustainable future
    for our Nation, for our kids, and our grandchildren. I look
    forward to our continued work together to protect our one and
    only planet.
        For some final housekeeping, I ask unanimous consent to
    submit for the record a variety of materials that relate to
    today's hearing, including letters from stakeholders. Senators
    will be allowed to submit questions for the record through the
    close of business on June 5th. We will compile those questions
    and send them to you, to our witnesses, and I am going to ask
    that you try to respond by June 20th.
        This is my favorite part, when I get to the end of the
    hearing, my other colleagues have left to go vote, and I can
    ask unanimous consent, and nobody can object because they are
    all gone.
        [The referenced information follows:]
        [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Carper. I get to serve in the Senate for another 7
    months or so. People say to me almost every day, people are
    very nice, they say to me almost every day, I hope you are
    enjoying your retirement.
        I say, I am not retired. Frankly, I have no intention to
    ever retire, God willing, but we have plenty of work to do in
    this committee and in the Senate and the House. We have to
    figure out how to thread the needle over in the House on the
    recycling legislation. We have, I think, done good work here.
    It is not probably perfect. We can certainly, everything we do,
    I know we can do better.
        We look forward to working with Democrats and with
    Republicans and the Administration until we can finally get the
    ball into the end zone.
        Let me just turn around and say to our staffs, is there
    anything else that we are missing here? Okay. With that, it is
    a wrap. With that, the Senate hearing is adjourned.
        Thank you all very much.
        [Whereupon, at 11:42 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

                               [all]