I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1153

To improve the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information that

will promote the recycling of municipal solid waste.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 7, 1995

Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. ZIMMER, Mr.

WOLF, and Mr. BEILENSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

A BILL

To improve the collection, analysis, and dissemination of

information that will promote the recycling of municipal

solid waste.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recycling Information

5 Clearinghouse Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND OBJECTIVES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Section 1002(c) of the Solid Waste

8 Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901(c)) is amended by striking

9 out ‘‘and’’ in paragraph (2), by striking out the period
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1 in paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding

2 at the end the following new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(4) Recycling should be promoted through a

4 national clearinghouse to provide information about

5 the economic feasibility of recycling various mate6 rials, State and local initiatives that have succeeded

7 in increasing the recycling rate for municipal waste,

8 and Federal, State, and local procurement opportu9 nities for recyclable materials.’’.

10 (b) OBJECTIVES AND POLICY.—Section 1003(a) of

11 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6902(a)) is

12 amended by striking out the period in paragraph (11) and

13 inserting ‘‘; and’’, by striking out ‘‘and’’ in paragraph (1),

14 and by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

15 ‘‘(12) establishing an information clearinghouse

16 to promote the recycling of municipal solid waste.’’.

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

18 Section 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42

19 U.S.C. 6903) is amended by adding at the end the

20 following:

21 ‘‘(42) The term ‘municipal solid waste’ means

22 residential, institutional, and commercial solid waste

23 generated within a community. The term does not

24 include any garbage, refuse, sludge, or other residue
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1 that is a byproduct of an industrial process or any

2 solid waste which is regulated under subtitle C.

3 ‘‘(43) The term ‘recycled material’ means a ma4 terial which has been previously used which can be

5 reused with or without reprocessing in place of a vir6 gin material.

7 ‘‘(44) The term ‘recycled product’ means a

8 product that is derived substantially from recycled

9 materials.

10 ‘‘(45) The term ‘recycling’ means remanufac11 turing or reprocessing used or discarded materials

12 into a useful product.’’.

13 SEC. 4. INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subtitle D of the Solid Waste

15 Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by add16 ing at the end the following new section:

17 ‘‘SEC. 4011. INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE.

18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall es19 tablish a clearinghouse for information about the recycling

20 of municipal solid waste, to be administered by the Office

21 of Solid Waste in accordance with the provisions of this

22 section.

23 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.—

24 The clearinghouse shall collect and provide the following

25 types of information:
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1 ‘‘(1) A data base containing information on the

2 annual volume and rate of recycling of materials

3 from the municipal solid waste stream. Such data

4 base should include information that may be avail5 able from trade associations, nonprofit organiza6 tions, Federal agencies, and State governments. At

7 a minimum, the data base should estimate the ag8 gregate annual tonnage and recycling rate for glass,

9 metal, paper, plastic, and corrugated containers. To

10 the extent feasible, the data base should include an

11 analysis of the impact of geographic and demo12 graphic factors on the recycling rate.

13 ‘‘(2) An annual estimate of the balance of trade

14 in recycled materials and products.

15 ‘‘(3) Economic data comparing the costs and

16 benefits of recycling various materials from the mu17 nicipal solid waste stream. The analysis should take

18 into account the avoided disposal costs resulting

19 from recycling.

20 ‘‘(4) A catalog of State and local laws that en21 courage or require the recycling of materials from

22 the municipal solid waste stream. The catalog should

23 include information about any recycling targets or

24 objectives established by such legislation and, where
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1 feasible, evaluate whether those objectives are being

2 met.

3 ‘‘(5) A list of all purchases of recycled materials

4 or products by the Federal Government, organized

5 by agency and the type of recycled materials or

6 products purchased.

7 ‘‘(6) A register announcing all solicitations by

8 Federal agencies for the purchase of recycled mate9 rials or products. Such information shall be orga10 nized to provide timely and relevant information to

11 persons seeking to sell recycled materials or products

12 to the Federal Government. To the extent feasible,

13 the register should include information about pro14 curement opportunities available from State or local

15 governments.

16 ‘‘(7) Information about state-of-the-art recy17 cling methods, programs, and technologies, including

18 the results of any recycling research or demonstra19 tion programs funded by the Federal Government.

20 ‘‘(8) A register of all potential purchasers (both

21 government and private) of recycled materials.

22 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION COORDINATION.—The Adminis23 trator may, at his or her discretion, make available

24 through the information clearinghouse any other informa25 tion that would promote national, State, and local recy-
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1 cling efforts including, but not limited to, information that

2 may be obtained under subtitle D and subtitle E.

3 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—The informa4 tion compiled and analyzed under this section shall be

5 made available to the public. A toll-free, telephone hotline

6 shall be established and made available to members of the

7 public seeking information from the clearinghouse. To the

8 extent feasible, the information compiled should be com9 puterized to facilitate analysis and provide for prompt

10 retrieval of information.

11 ‘‘(e) INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATION.—In carrying out

12 this section the Administrator shall cooperate with any

13 independent organization which is comprised of persons

14 engaged in recycling and persons representing environ15 mental organizations and which provides matching funds

16 to cover the costs of any cooperative program undertaken

17 by the organization and the Environmental Protection

18 Agency.

19 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap20 propriated to the Administrator $500,000 for each fiscal

21 year occurring after enactment of the Recycling Informa22 tion Clearinghouse Act of 1995 for functions carried out

23 by the information clearinghouse.’’.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 4003(c) of

2 such subtitle D is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing:

4 ‘‘(3) A State shall not be eligible for assistance under

5 section 4008(a)(3) after December 31, 1996, unless the

6 State maintains and publicizes a State register of potential

7 purchasers (both governmental and private) of recycled

8 materials known to the State solid waste planning authori9 ties. Such register shall be periodically updated and sub10 mitted to the information clearinghouse established under

11 section 4011.’’.

12 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

13 such subtitle D is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing new item:

‘‘Sec. 4011. Information clearinghouse.’’.

Æ