[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 39 (Thursday, March 3, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S992-S994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARPER (for himself, Mr. Boozman, and Mrs. Capito):
  S. 3743. A bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency to carry out certain activities to improve recycling 
and composting programs in the United States, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce, alongside 
the Senator from Arkansas, Mr. Boozman, and the Senator from West 
Virginia, Mrs. Capito, the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act.
  This bill is the result of true collaboration and reflects a 
substantial amount of bipartisan effort to address our Nation's 
recycling and composting challenges. This bill aims to improve the 
Environmental Protection Agency's ability to gather data on our 
Nation's recycling systems and explore opportunities for implementing a 
national composting strategy.
  The availability of good data is one of the major challenges facing 
the public and private sector as they work make investments to improve 
our recycling systems. Upgrading recycling infrastructure, expanding 
recycling services, and increasing recycling education will all benefit 
from the availability of better data.
  Specifically, this bill will create a comprehensive database of all 
curbside recycling and composting programs nationwide. It will also 
assess the materials those programs collect and their rates of 
contamination. The bill will also look at barriers communities and 
individuals face when trying to access recycling and composting 
services.
  In addition to that, the bill will ask the EPA to study the end 
market sale of recyclable and compostable materials. It also directs 
the EPA to develop a way to measure how otherwise recyclable materials 
are being lost from the circular market. The reports from both of these 
studies will be immeasurably helpful to stakeholders, communities, and 
local and State governments.
  As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress 
provided unprecedented levels of funding for recycling infrastructure 
and educational programs. The bill I am introducing today represents 
our next step in building on these efforts--to turn the challenges of 
recycling and composting into opportunities to reduce planet-warming 
emissions and create good-paying jobs.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this 
legislation this Congress. I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the 
legislation be printed in the Record following my statement.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3743

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Recycling and Composting 
     Accountability Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       (a) In General.--In this Act:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
       (2) Circular market.--The term ``circular market'' means a 
     market that utilizes industrial processes and economic 
     activities to enable post-industrial and post-consumer 
     materials used in those processes and activities to maintain 
     their highest values for as long as possible.
       (3) Compost.--The term ``compost'' means a product that--
       (A) is manufactured through the controlled aerobic, 
     biological decomposition of biodegradable materials;
       (B) has been subjected to medium and high temperature 
     organisms, which--
       (i) significantly reduce the viability of pathogens and 
     weed seeds; and
       (ii) stabilize carbon in the product such that the product 
     is beneficial to plant growth; and
       (C) is typically used as a soil amendment, but may also 
     contribute plant nutrients.
       (4) Compostable material.--The term ``compostable 
     material'' means material that is a feedstock for creating 
     compost, including--
       (A) wood;
       (B) agricultural crops;
       (C) paper;
       (D) certified compostable products associated with organic 
     waste;
       (E) other organic plant material;
       (F) marine products;
       (G) organic waste, including food waste and yard waste; and
       (H) such other material that is composed of biomass that 
     can be continually replenished or renewed, as determined by 
     the Administrator.
       (5) Composting facility.--The term ``composting facility'' 
     means a location, structure, or device that transforms 
     compostable materials into compost.
       (6) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
     meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
     Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
       (7) Materials recovery facility.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``materials recovery facility'' 
     means a dedicated recycling facility where primarily 
     residential recyclables, which are diverted from disposal by 
     the generator and collected separately from municipal solid 
     waste, are mechanically or manually sorted into commodities 
     for further processing into specification-grade commodities 
     for sale to end users.
       (B) Exclusion.--The term ``materials recovery facility'' 
     does not include a solid waste management facility that may 
     process municipal solid waste to remove recyclable materials.
       (8) Recyclable material.--The term ``recyclable material'' 
     means a material that is obsolete, previously used, off-
     specification, surplus, or incidentally produced for 
     processing into a specification-grade commodity for which a 
     circular market currently exists or is being developed.
       (9) Recycling.--The term ``recycling'' means the series of 
     activities--
       (A) during which recyclable materials are processed into 
     specification-grade commodities, and consumed as raw-material 
     feedstock, in lieu of virgin materials, in the manufacturing 
     of new products;
       (B) that may include sorting, collection, processing, and 
     brokering; and
       (C) that result in subsequent consumption by a materials 
     manufacturer, including for the manufacturing of new 
     products.
       (10) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
     U.S.C. 6903).
       (b) Definition of Processing.--In paragraphs (7), (8), and 
     (9) of subsection (a), the term ``processing'' means any 
     mechanical, manual, or other method that--
       (1) transforms a recyclable material into a specification-
     grade commodity; and
       (2) may occur in multiple steps, with different steps, 
     including sorting, occurring at different locations.

     SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) recycling conserves resources, protects the 
     environment, and is important to the United States economy;
       (2) the United States recycling infrastructure encompasses 
     each of the entities that collect, process, broker, and 
     consume recyclable materials sourced from commercial, 
     industrial, and residential sources;
       (3) the residential segment of the United States recycling 
     infrastructure is facing challenges from--
       (A) confusion over what materials are recyclable materials;

[[Page S993]]

       (B) reduced export markets;
       (C) growing, but still limited, domestic end markets;
       (D) an ever-changing and heterogeneous supply stream; and
       (E) in some areas, a recycling infrastructure in need of 
     revitalization; and
       (4) in an effort to address those challenges, the United 
     States must use a combination of tactics to improve recycling 
     and composting in the United States.

     SEC. 4. REPORT ON COMPOSTING INFRASTRUCTURE CAPABILITIES.

       The Administrator, in consultation with States, units of 
     local government, and Indian Tribes, shall--
       (1) prepare a report describing the capability of the 
     United States to implement a national residential composting 
     strategy for compostable materials for the purposes of 
     reducing contamination rates for residential recycling, 
     including--
       (A) an evaluation of existing Federal, State, and local 
     laws that may present barriers to implementation of a 
     national residential composting strategy;
       (B)(i) an evaluation of existing composting programs of 
     States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes; and
       (ii) a description of best practices based on those 
     programs;
       (C) an evaluation of existing composting infrastructure in 
     States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes for the 
     purposes of estimating cost and approximate land needed to 
     expand composting programs; and
       (D) a study of the practices of manufacturers and companies 
     that are moving to using compostable packaging and food 
     service ware for the purpose of making the composting process 
     the end-of-life use of those products; and
       (2) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, submit the report prepared under paragraph (1) to 
     Congress.

     SEC. 5. REPORT ON FEDERAL AGENCY RECYCLING PRACTICES.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, and annually thereafter, the Comptroller General of the 
     United States, in consultation with the Administrator, shall 
     make publicly available a report describing--
       (1) the total annual recycling and composting rates 
     reported by all Federal agencies;
       (2) the total annual percentage of products containing 
     recyclable material, compostable material, or recovered 
     materials purchased by all Federal agencies, including--
       (A) the total quantity of procured products containing 
     recyclable material or recovered materials listed in the 
     comprehensive procurement guidelines published under section 
     6002(e) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6962(e)); 
     and
       (B) the total quantity of compostable material purchased;
       (3) recommendations for updating--
       (A) the comprehensive procurement guidelines published 
     under section 6002(e) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
     U.S.C. 6962(e)); and
       (B) the environmentally preferable purchasing program 
     established under section 6604(b)(11) of the Pollution 
     Prevention Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13103(b)(11)); and
       (4) the activities of each Federal agency that promote 
     recycling or composting.

     SEC. 6. IMPROVING DATA AND REPORTING.

       (a) Inventory of Materials Recovery Facilities.--Not later 
     than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
     biannually thereafter, the Administrator, in consultation 
     with States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes, 
     shall--
       (1) prepare an inventory of public and private materials 
     recovery facilities in the United States, including--
       (A) the number of materials recovery facilities in each 
     unit of local government in each State; and
       (B) a description of the materials that each materials 
     recovery facility can process, including--
       (i) in the case of plastic, a description of--

       (I) the types of accepted resin, if applicable; and
       (II) the container type, such as a jug, a carton, or film;

       (ii) food packaging and service ware, such as a bottle, 
     cutlery, or a cup;
       (iii) paper;
       (iv) aluminum, such as an aluminum beverage can, food can, 
     aerosol can, or foil;
       (v) steel, such as a steel food or aerosol can;
       (vi) other scrap metal;
       (vii) glass; or
       (viii) any other material not described in any of clauses 
     (i) through (vii) that a materials recovery facility can 
     process; and
       (2) submit the inventory prepared under paragraph (1) to 
     Congress.
       (b) Establishment of a Comprehensive Baseline of Data for 
     the United States Recycling System.--The Administrator, in 
     consultation with States, units of local government, and 
     Indian Tribes, shall determine, with respect to the United 
     States--
       (1) the number of community curbside recycling and 
     composting programs;
       (2) the number of community drop-off recycling and 
     composting programs;
       (3) the types and forms of materials accepted by each 
     community curbside recycling, drop-off recycling, or 
     composting program;
       (4) the number of individuals with access to recycling and 
     composting services to at least the extent of access to 
     disposal services;
       (5) the number of individuals with barriers to accessing 
     recycling and composting services to at least the extent of 
     access to disposal services;
       (6) the inbound contamination and capture rates of 
     community curbside recycling, drop-off recycling, or 
     composting programs; and
       (7) where applicable, other available recycling or 
     composting programs within a community, including store drop-
     offs.
       (c) Standardization of Recycling Reporting Rates.--
       (1) Collection of rates.--
       (A) In general.--The Administrator may use amounts made 
     available under section 9 to biannually collect from each 
     State the nationally standardized rate of recyclable 
     materials in that State that have been successfully diverted 
     from the waste stream and brought to a materials recovery 
     facility or composting facility.
       (B) Confidential or proprietary business information.--
     Information collected under subparagraph (A) shall not 
     include any confidential or proprietary business information, 
     as determined by the Administrator.
       (2) Use.--Using amounts made available under section 9, the 
     Administrator may use the rates collected under paragraph (1) 
     to further assist States, units of local government, and 
     Indian Tribes--
       (A) to reduce the overall waste produced by the States and 
     units of local government; and
       (B) to increase recycling and composting rates.
       (d) Report on End Markets.--
       (1) In general.--The Administrator, in consultation with 
     States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes, shall--
       (A) provide an update to the report submitted under section 
     306 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116-224; 134 
     Stat. 1096) to include an addendum on the end-market sale of 
     all recyclable materials, in addition to recycled plastics as 
     described in that section, from materials recovery facilities 
     that process recyclable materials collected from households 
     and publicly available recyclable materials drop-off centers, 
     including--
       (i) the total, in dollars per ton, domestic sales of bales 
     of recyclable materials; and
       (ii) the total, in dollars per ton, international sales of 
     bales of recyclable materials;
       (B) prepare a report on the end-market sale of compost from 
     all compostable materials collected from households and 
     publicly available compost drop-off centers, including the 
     total, in dollars per ton, of domestic sales of compostable 
     materials; and
       (C) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, submit to Congress the update to the report 
     prepared under subparagraph (A) and the report prepared under 
     subparagraph (B).
       (2) Confidential or proprietary business information.--
     Information collected under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 
     paragraph (1) shall not include any confidential or 
     proprietary business information, as determined by the 
     Administrator.

     SEC. 7. STUDY ON THE DIVERSION OF RECYCLABLE MATERIALS FROM A 
                   CIRCULAR MARKET.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall develop a 
     metric for determining the proportion of recyclable materials 
     in commercial and municipal waste streams that are being 
     diverted from a circular market.
       (b) Study; Report.--Not later than 1 year after the 
     development of a metric under subsection (a), the 
     Administrator shall conduct a study of, and submit to 
     Congress a report on, the proportion of recyclable materials 
     in commercial and municipal waste streams that, during each 
     of the 10 calendar years preceding the year of submission of 
     the report, were diverted from a circular market.
       (c) Data.--The report under subsection (b) shall provide 
     data on specific recyclable materials, including aluminum, 
     plastics, paper and paperboard, textiles, and glass, that 
     were prevented from remaining in a circular market through 
     disposal or elimination, and to what use those specific 
     recyclable materials were lost.
       (d) Evaluation.--The report under subsection (b) shall 
     include an evaluation of whether the establishment or 
     improvement of recycling programs would--
       (1) improve recycling rates; or
       (2) reduce the quantity of recyclable materials being 
     unutilized in a circular market.

     SEC. 8. VOLUNTARY GUIDELINES.

       The Administrator shall--
       (1) in consultation with States, units of local government, 
     and Indian Tribes, develop, based on the results of the 
     studies, reports, inventory, and data determined under 
     sections 4 through 7, and provide to States, units of local 
     government, and Indian Tribes best practices that the States, 
     units of local government, and Indian Tribes may use to 
     enhance recycling and composting, including--
       (A) labeling techniques for containers of waste, compost, 
     and recycling, with the goal of creating consistent, readily 
     available, and understandable labeling across jurisdictions;
       (B) pamphlets or other literature readily available to 
     constituents;
       (C) primary and secondary school educational resources on 
     recycling;
       (D) web and media-based campaigns; and
       (E) guidance for the labeling of recyclable materials and 
     compostable materials that

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     minimizes contamination and diversion of those materials from 
     waste streams toward recycling and composting systems; and
       (2) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, submit to Congress a report describing the best 
     practices developed under paragraph (1).

     SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
     Administrator such sums as are necessary to carry out this 
     Act for each fiscal year.
                                 ______