Senate lawmakers reintroduce bipartisan recycling, composting legislation

Senate lawmakers have reintroduced two pieces of bipartisan legislation focused on improving the nation’s recycling and composting systems.

Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) have reintroduced The Recycling and Composting Accountability Act as well as the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act.

Both bills were introduced last year, and they had support from several industry groups, including the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), the Plastics Industry Association (Plastics) and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). Senate lawmakers passed these bills in August 2022; however, the companion legislation introduced in the House did not proceed past a hearing in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change.

According to a news release from the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, which is chaired by Carper, the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act would improve data collection on the nation’s recycling systems and explore the potential of a national composting strategy. The legislation would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect and publish data on recycling and composting rates across the country to provide an accurate reflection of performance both nationwide and at the state level.

The Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act would establish a pilot recycling program at the EPA, which would award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for improving recycling accessibility in communities. According to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the goal of this program is to fund eligible projects that would significantly improve access to recycling systems in underserved communities through the use of a hub-and-spoke model for recycling infrastructure development.

“Most Americans want to recycle, recognizing that it helps reduce pollution and waste in their communities and supports economic opportunity and job creation,” says Carper, who also is co-chair of the Senate Recycling Caucus. “Yet, with a national recycling rate of little more than 30 percent, it’s clear we can and must do better. Our bipartisan legislation would help address several of the challenges facing our nation’s recycling and composting efforts, improving access to these services and the availability of sound data. I am pleased to reintroduce these bipartisan bills with Sens. Capito and Boozman, and I look forward to hopefully moving our legislation across the finish line this Congress.”

Several industry groups have expressed support for the reintroduction of these bills.

“NWRA applauds Sens. Carper, Capito and Boozman for reintroducing these bipartisan bills to improve rural recycling accessibility and data collection for recycling and composting,” NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith says. “The Recycling and Composting Accountability Act and the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act are both integral to advancing America’s domestic recycling infrastructure and capabilities. We look forward to supporting this legislation again.”

Plastics President and CEO Matt Seaholm says these bills could help the U.S. to increase its national recycling rate.

“Improving the country’s recycling infrastructure is paramount to increasing our recycling rates for all materials and ensures we keep waste in the circular economy and out of landfills," he says.