Land-Based Marine Debris Reduction Act

Summary: Land-Based Marine Debris Reduction Act  This bill declares national goals of no increase in the generation of solid waste sent to landfills, no increase in the flow of human-created marine debris into the ocean, and recycling of at least 50% of the municipal solid waste stream by the end of 2020 and 65% by the end of 2030. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must report on: (1) municipal solid waste generation, waste management methods, and progress in meeting the goals; (2) leakage paths of marine debris into the ocean; and (3) the costs and difficulties in closing landfills. The EPA must develop a list of categories of commonly used products and packaging that are discarded into the municipal solid waste stream and determine with respect to the products or packaging in each category: (1) the percentage of recovered materials used in their manufacture; (2) the source reduction and recovery efficiency; (3) the percentage that is recycled upon discard and the percentage that is littered; and (4) the life cycle environmental effects associated with them, compared to alternatives. The EPA must identify categories to be targeted for regulatory action. Regulations may require manufacturers to use recovered materials in the product or packaging. The EPA and the Department of Commerce must develop a voluntary system of packaging standards with respect to materials contained within the packaging and the recyclability of the packaging upon discard. The standard has to provide that packaging that meets the standards be eligible to use a label indicating compliance for promotional and educational purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Land-Based Marine Debris Reduction 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds and declares the following:
            (1) Because the United States has the largest Exclusive 
        Economic Zone of all nations, it has a disproportionate 
        economic interest in a healthy ocean.
            (2) The United States has a strategic interest in healthy 
        fisheries, marine ecosystems, and a strong ocean economy.
            (3) Solid waste is littering the Nation's waterways, 
        including streams, rivers, and lakes, most notably the Great 
        Lakes, and much of this marine debris is collecting in the 
        oceans.
            (4) An estimated 80 percent of litter that ends up in the 
        oceans comes from land-based sources, and litter in the 
        Nation's waterways has numerous detrimental effects.
            (5) Marine debris injures wildlife, sometimes resulting in 
        death, degrades ecosystems, interferes with navigation, 
        threatens public health and safety, and creates additional 
        expenditures for shipping, fishing, tourism, and coastal 
        communities.
            (6) Only about 46 percent of the Nation's waste is recycled 
        or composted, including through waste-to-energy.
            (7) Successful solid waste management requires creative use 
        of the entire hierarchy of solid waste management, waste 
        reduction, recycling, waste-to-energy operations, and 
        landfilling.
            (8) Recycling can play a significant role in reducing 
        municipal waste and marine debris.
            (9) The failure to recycle and reuse materials is a 
        significant and unnecessary waste of important national energy 
        and material resources.
            (10) Comprehensive, multi-material recycling programs 
        represent the most cost-effective and efficient method of 
        meeting recycling goals and reducing marine debris.
            (11) The responsibility to recycle should be shared by all 
        consumers of recyclable goods including individual households, 
        municipalities, and commercial and institutional 
        establishments.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL GOALS FOR WASTE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING.

    (a) Source Reduction.--Congress declares it to be the national goal 
of the United States that there shall be no increase in the generation 
of solid waste sent to landfills above the level of solid waste 
generated and sent to landfills in the year of the enactment of this 
Act (as determined by the Administrator).
    (b) Waste Recycling.--Congress declares it to be the national goal 
of the United States that at least 50 percent of the municipal solid 
waste stream shall be recycled by the end of 2020, and 65 percent of 
such waste stream shall be recycled by the end of 2030 (as determined 
by the Administrator).
    (c) Marine Debris Reduction.--Congress declares it to be the 
national goal of the United States that there shall be no increase in 
the flow of marine debris into the ocean above the level of such flow 
in the year of the enactment of this Act (as determined by the 
Administrator).

SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT.

    (a) Requirement.--The Administrator shall report to Congress each 
year the following:
            (1) The amount and composition of municipal solid waste 
        generated in the United States.
            (2) The amount and composition of municipal solid waste 
        generated in the United States that enters the ocean.
            (3) The methods used to manage such waste.
            (4) The progress made in achieving the source reduction, 
        recycling, and marine debris reduction goals of this Act, the 
        impediments to the attainment of such goals, and 
        recommendations on the regulatory or legislative initiatives 
        necessary to attain such goals.
    (b) First Report.--The first report under this section shall be 
submitted not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON PRIMARY LEAKAGE PATHS OF MARINE DEBRIS INTO THE 
              OCEAN.

    Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator shall provide to Congress a report that includes the 
following:
            (1) Identification of the pathways through which marine 
        debris reaches the ocean, such as consumer discards, flawed 
        waste management designs, and infrastructural leaks, as 
        determined in consultation with experts, including waste 
        management, consumer goods, and infrastructure experts.
            (2) Best practices that may be used at the Federal, State, 
        and local level to reduce or eliminate such pathways, including 
        methods to address infrastructural leaks, regulation, or 
        economic incentives.

SEC. 6. PRODUCTS AND PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) List and Recycling Determinations.--
            (1) Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the 
        Secretary of Commerce, shall develop a list of categories of 
        commonly used products and packaging which are discarded into 
        the municipal solid waste stream. With respect to each category 
        on the list, the Administrator shall determine the following:
                    (A) The percentage of recovered materials used in 
                the manufacture of products or packaging in each 
                category.
                    (B) The source reduction and recovery efficiency of 
                products or packaging in each category.
                    (C) The percentage of products or packaging in each 
                category that is recycled upon discard.
                    (D) The percentage of products or packaging in each 
                category that enters the ocean upon discard or is 
                otherwise littered.
                    (E) The life cycle environmental effects associated 
                with the products or packaging in each category 
                compared to product or packaging alternatives, using 
                standard life cycle assessment methodologies and 
                categories of environmental impacts, including climate 
                change, human health, eutrophication, acidification, 
                water use, land use, and ecosystems toxicity.
            (2) Upon completion of the list and determinations required 
        under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall identify 
        categories of products or packaging that shall be targeted for 
        regulatory action under subsection (b). The Administrator shall 
        target a category based upon high overall life cycle impact of 
        the product or package compared to the alternatives, 
        considering categories of environmental impacts, recovered 
        material content, recyclability, and high volume in the waste 
        stream.
    (b) Regulatory Action.--With respect to each category of product or 
packaging identified under subsection (a)(2), the Administrator may 
take the following actions:
            (1) The Administrator may promulgate regulations to require 
        the manufacturer of the product or packaging to use recovered 
        materials of that or another category in the product or 
        packaging. In promulgating regulations under this paragraph, 
        the Administrator shall, to the extent practicable, consider 
        the potential life cycle impacts of requiring recovered 
        material content in a product or packaging on increasing 
        greenhouse gases and water usage, current regulations regarding 
        the use of recovered materials, and potential market 
        disruptions to recovered materials.
            (2) The Administrator may phase in any of the actions taken 
        under paragraph (1) if the Administrator determines it to be 
        necessary for economic reasons.

SEC. 7. PACKAGING STANDARDS.

    The Administrator and the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation 
with affected industries, experts in package design and marketing, 
companies engaged in collecting and processing products and packages, 
and environmental organizations, shall develop a voluntary system of 
packaging standards with respect to materials contained within the 
packaging and the recyclability of the packaging upon discard, which 
may include implementation of an existing labeling standard where 
appropriate. The standards shall provide that packaging that meets the 
standards shall be eligible to use a label indicating compliance with 
the standards for promotion and educational purposes.

SEC. 8. REPORT ON LANDFILL CLOSURES.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report analyzing the costs 
and difficulties encountered by States and local communities in closing 
landfills. The report shall include recommendations on the types and 
levels of Federal assistance (including technical guidance and funds) 
that should be provided to States and local communities for such 
purpose.

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) The term ``marine debris'' is human-created waste that 
        has been discharged into the coastal or marine environment, 
        including any anthropogenic, manufactured, or processed solid 
        material (regardless of size) discarded, disposed of, or 
        abandoned in the environment, including all materials discarded 
        into the ocean, on the shore, or brought indirectly to the 
        ocean by rivers, sewage, storm water, waves, or wind.
            (3) The term ``recovered material'' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
        U.S.C. 6903).
            (4) The term ``recycled'' means reused, recovered, or 
        reclaimed from solid waste through any means, including 
        remanufacturing, reprocessing, and waste-to-energy 
        technologies.