I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2101 

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to award 

grants for projects that are consistent with zero-waste practices, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 19, 2021 

Ms. OMAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

Agency to award grants for projects that are consistent 

with zero-waste practices, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Zeroing Excess, Re5 ducing Organic Waste, And Sustaining Technical Exper6 tise Act’’ or the ‘‘ZERO WASTE Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 Except as otherwise provided, in this Act: 


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1 (1) ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE.—The 

2 term ‘‘adaptive management practice’’ means, with 

3 respect to use of a grant under this Act, the integra4 tion of project design, management, and monitoring 

5 to identify the impacts and outcomes of such use of 

6 a grant as they arise for purposes of adjusting be7 haviors to improve outcomes. 

8 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis9 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ10 mental Protection Agency. 

11 (3) DOMESTICALLY OWNED AND OPERATED.— 

12 The term ‘‘domestically owned and operated’’ means, 

13 with respect to a business— 

14 (A) the headquarters of such a business is 

15 located within the United States; and 

16 (B) the primary operations of such a busi17 ness are carried out in the United States. 

18 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti19 ty’’ means— 

20 (A) a single unit of State, local, or Tribal 

21 government; 

22 (B) a partnership of multiple units of 

23 State, local, or Tribal government; 


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1 (C) one or more units of State, local, or 

2 Tribal government in coordination with for3 profit or nonprofit organizations; or 

4 (D) one or more nonprofit organizations. 

5 (5) EMBODIED ENERGY.—The term ‘‘embodied 

6 energy’’ means energy that was used to create a 

7 product or material. 

8 (6) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 

9 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ has 

10 the meaning given that term in section 601. 

11 (7) LIVING WAGE.—The term ‘‘living wage’’ 

12 means the minimum income necessary to allow a 

13 person working 40 hours per week to afford the cost 

14 of housing, food, and other material necessities. 

15 (8) ORGANICS RECYCLING.—The term 

16 ‘‘organics recycling’’ means the biological process by 

17 which organic material— 

18 (A) is biologically converted to compost 

19 that is not harmful to humans, plants, or ani20 mals; and 

21 (B) is treated in a specialized facility de22 signed to recycle organic material. 

23 (9) RECYCLE; RECYCLING.—The terms ‘‘recy24 cle’’ and ‘‘recycling’’ have the meanings given those 


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1 terms in section 12001 of the Solid Waste Disposal 

2 Act (as added by this title). 

3 (10) REUSE.—The term ‘‘reuse’’— 

4 (A) means— 

5 (i) using a product, packaging, or ma6 terial more than once for the same or a 

7 new function without requiring additional 

8 processing; 

9 (ii) repairing a product, packaging, or 

10 material in such a way that extends its 

11 useful lifetime; 

12 (iii) sharing or renting a product, 

13 packaging, or material in such a way that 

14 extends its useful lifetime; or 

15 (iv) selling or donating a product, 

16 packaging, or material in such a way that 

17 extends its useful lifetime; and 

18 (B) does not include incineration. 

19 (11) SINGLE-USE PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘single20 use product’’— 

21 (A) means a consumer product that is de22 signed to be disposed of, recycled, or otherwise 

23 discarded after a single use; and 

24 (B) does not include— 


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1 (i) medical equipment, devices, or 

2 other products determined by the Sec3 retary of Health and Human Services to 

4 necessarily be made of plastic for the pro5 tection of public health; 

6 (ii) a personal hygiene product that, 

7 due to the intended use of the product, 

8 could become unsafe or unsanitary to recy9 cle, such as a diaper; and 

10 (iii) packaging that is— 

11 (I) for any product described in 

12 subparagraph (A); or 

13 (II) used for the shipment of 

14 hazardous materials that is prohibited 

15 from being composed of used mate16 rials under section 178.509 or 

17 178.522 of title 49, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations (as in effect on the date 

19 of enactment of this Act). 

20 (12) SOURCE REDUCTION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘source re22 duction’’ means an activity or process that re23 duces the generation of waste at its source, be24 fore it can enter into commerce or the environ25 ment. 


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1 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘source re2 duction’’ includes— 

3 (i) the redesign of products or mate4 rials such that they can be reused, rather 

5 than disposed of; 

6 (ii) the design and manufacture of 

7 products or materials with minimal pack8 aging intended for disposal; 

9 (iii) an activity or process that re10 duces the amount of waste generated dur11 ing a manufacturing process; 

12 (iv) an activity or process that reduces 

13 or eliminates the use of materials that are 

14 not able to be recycled without degrading 

15 the quality of the material; and 

16 (v) any other activity or process that 

17 reduces the weight, volume, or toxicity of 

18 products or materials. 

19 (C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘source reduc20 tion’’ does not include an activity or process 

21 used after a product or material has become 

22 waste, such as incineration. 

23 (13) SOURCE SEPARATION.—The term ‘‘source 

24 separation’’— 


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1 (A) means the separation of solid waste by 

2 material or commodity type prior to collection, 

3 such as separation into recyclable and non-recy4 clable materials or by recyclable commodity; 

5 and 

6 (B) does not require the use of tech7 nologies that sort mixed municipal solid waste 

8 into recyclable and non-recyclable materials. 

9 (14) WASTE PREVENTION.—The term ‘‘waste 

10 prevention’’ means any method to reduce the 

11 amount of materials disposed of in landfills or incin12 erated, including reuse and recycling. 

13 (15) ZERO-EMISSIONS VEHICLE.—The term 

14 ‘‘zero-emissions vehicle’’ means a vehicle that pro15 duces zero emissions of— 

16 (A) greenhouse gases; 

17 (B) criteria pollutants; and 

18 (C) hazardous air pollutants. 

19 (16) ZERO-WASTE.—The term ‘‘zero-waste’’ 

20 means the conservation of all resources by means of 

21 responsible production, consumption, reuse, and re22 covery of products, packaging, and materials with23 out— 

24 (A) burning or otherwise destroying em25 bodied energy; and 


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1 (B) a discharge to land, water, or air that 

2 results in adverse human health or environ3 mental effects. 

4 (17) ZERO-WASTE PRACTICE.—The term ‘‘zero5 waste practice’’ means a practice used to help 

6 achieve zero-waste, including the use of source re7 duction. 

8 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR ZERO-WASTE PROJECTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 

10 and carry out a program to award grants, on a competitive 

11 basis, to eligible entities to carry out projects described 

12 in subsection (b). 

13 (b) GRANT USE.— 

14 (1) ORGANICS RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re16 ceiving a grant under this section may use such 

17 grant to carry out a project to construct, ex18 pand, or modernize infrastructure required for 

19 organics recycling, including any facility, ma20 chinery, or equipment required for the collection 

21 and processing of organic material on a city22 wide or county-wide scale. 

23 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—Each project car24 ried out under this paragraph shall result in in25 creased capacity— 


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1 (i) to collect and process residential 

2 and commercial organic material, including 

3 through source separation of organic mate4 rial; and 

5 (ii) to generate environmentally bene6 ficial byproducts, such as compost with 

7 added nutritional content. 

8 (C) MIXED-WASTE COMPOSTING.—A grant 

9 received under this paragraph may not be used 

10 to support the collection or processing of mixed11 waste composting. 

12 (2) ELECTRONIC WASTE RECYCLING.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re14 ceiving a grant under this section may use such 

15 grant to carry out a project that enables the re16 cycling or reuse of electronic devices at the end 

17 of their useful lifetime, including— 

18 (i) constructing, expanding, or mod19 ernizing infrastructure and technology; 

20 (ii) research and development; and 

21 (iii) product refurbishment. 

22 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A project carried 

23 out under this paragraph— 

24 (i) may not include an electronic 

25 waste buy-back program— 


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1 (I) that provides compensation 

2 for used electronics; and 

3 (II) under which such compensa4 tion may be applied as a credit toward 

5 the purchase of new electronics; and 

6 (ii) shall be carried out by an eligible 

7 entity that is certified to recycle electronics 

8 by an organization that is accredited by— 

9 (I) the National Accreditation 

10 Board of the American National 

11 Standards Institute; 

12 (II) the American Society of 

13 Quality; or 

14 (III) another accrediting body de15 termined appropriate by the Adminis16 trator. 

17 (3) SOURCE REDUCTION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re19 ceiving a grant under this section may use such 

20 grant to carry out a project relating to source 

21 reduction, which such project may include, in 

22 accordance with subparagraph (B), carrying out 

23 product or manufacturing redesign or redevel24 opment to reduce byproducts, packaging, and 

25 other outputs. 


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1 (B) REDESIGN AND REDEVELOPMENT.— 

2 An eligible entity may only carry out a project 

3 described in subparagraph (A)(ii) if— 

4 (i) the applicable manufacturer— 

5 (I) is domestically owned and op6 erated; and 

7 (II) pays a living wage; and 

8 (ii) the redesign or redevelopment 

9 does not result in— 

10 (I) higher toxicity of the product 

11 or byproducts; 

12 (II) more complicated 

13 recyclability of the product or byprod14 ucts; or 

15 (III) increased volume of byprod16 ucts compared with the original prac17 tice. 

18 (4) MARKET DEVELOPMENT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re20 ceiving a grant under this section may use such 

21 grant to carry out a project that— 

22 (i) creates market demand for source 

23 reduction, sorted recyclable commodities, 

24 goods made of sorted recyclable commod25 ities, or refurbished goods; and 


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1 (ii) as applicable, encourages or en2 ables investment in domestically owned and 

3 operated manufacturing capacity with re4 spect to the list in clause (i). 

5 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—Each project car6 ried out under this section— 

7 (i) shall target easily or commonly re8 cycled materials which are disproportion9 ately disposed of in landfills or incinerated; 

10 (ii) shall reduce the volume, weight, or 

11 toxicity of waste and waste byproducts; 

12 and 

13 (iii) may not conflict with— 

14 (I) minimum-content laws, such 

15 as post-consumer recycled content re16 quirements; 

17 (II) beverage container deposits; 

18 (III) programs funded through 

19 retail fees for specific products or 

20 classes of products that use such fees 

21 to collect, treat, or recycle such prod22 ucts; or 

23 (IV) any applicable recycled 

24 product procurement laws and ex25 panded sustainable government purVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101

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1 chasing requirements, as identified by 

2 the Administrator. 

3 (5) ZERO-EMISSIONS COLLECTION VEHICLES.— 

4 An eligible entity receiving a grant under this sec5 tion may use such grant to carry out a project to 

6 purchase, operate, and maintain zero-emissions vehi7 cles used to collect material for recycling or organics 

8 recycling. 

9 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR LANDFILL DIVERSION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 

11 and carry out a program to award grants, on a competitive 

12 basis, to eligible entities to develop and implement new 

13 requirements, as described in subsection (b), that reduce 

14 the amount of waste disposed of in landfills. 

15 (b) GRANT USE.— 

16 (1) TIPPING FEES.—An eligible entity receiving 

17 a grant under this section may use such grant to de18 velop and implement zero-waste practices that are 

19 accompanied by permanent increases in tipping, 

20 gate, or disposal fees imposed on the disposal of 

21 waste at landfills. 

22 (2) CURBSIDE COMPOSTING COLLECTION.—An 

23 eligible entity receiving a grant under this section 

24 may use such grant to support the implementation 

25 of State programs that mandate the availability of 


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1 curbside collection of material for organics recycling 

2 for all single-family and multifamily residential 

3 households. 

4 (3) LANDFILL DIVERSION.—An eligible entity 

5 receiving a grant under this section may use such 

6 grant to support the implementation of statewide re7 quirements that prohibit organic waste from being 

8 sent to landfills. 

9 (c) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec10 tion, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a single unit of 

11 State government or a relevant State agency. 

12 SEC. 5. GRANT APPLICATIONS. 

13 (a) APPLICATION.— 

14 (1) CRITERIA FOR ALL APPLICANTS.—To be eli15 gible to receive a grant under this Act, an eligible 

16 entity shall submit to the Administrator an applica17 tion at such time and in such form as the Adminis18 trator requires, which shall include demonstrating 

19 that the eligible entity— 

20 (A) has set specific source reduction or 

21 waste prevention targets; and 

22 (B) will carry out a project that meets the 

23 applicable project requirements under section 

24 3(b) or 4(b). 


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1 (2) ADDITIONAL APPLICATION CRITERIA FOR

2 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—In the case of an ap3 plication from an eligible entity that is a nonprofit 

4 organization, the application shall include— 

5 (A) a letter of support for the proposed 

6 project from— 

7 (i) a local unit of government; or 

8 (ii) another nonprofit organization 

9 that— 

10 (I) has a demonstrated history of 

11 undertaking work in the geographic 

12 region where the proposed project is 

13 to take place; and 

14 (II) is not involved in the project 

15 being proposed; and 

16 (B) any other information the Adminis17 trator may require. 

18 (b) PRIORITY FACTORS.—In awarding grants under 

19 this Act, the Administrator shall give priority to any eligi20 ble entity that— 

21 (1) with respect to an eligible entity that is a 

22 State or unit of local government, has statutorily 

23 committed to implementing one or more zero-waste 

24 practices; 


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1 (2) demonstrates how use of such grant could 

2 lead to the creation of new jobs that pay a living 

3 wage and are, to the greatest extent practicable, of4 fered to individuals who experience barriers to em5 ployment, as determined by the Administrator; 

6 (3) will use such grant to carry out source re7 duction or waste prevention in schools; 

8 (4) will use such grant to employ an adaptive 

9 management practice to identify, prevent, or address 

10 any negative environmental consequences of a 

11 project proposed to be carried out with a grant 

12 under this Act; 

13 (5) has a demonstrated need for additional in14 vestment in infrastructure or other resources to 

15 achieve source reduction and waste prevention tar16 gets set by the local unit of government that is re17 sponsible for waste management and recycling in the 

18 geographic area; 

19 (6) will use such grant to develop an innovative 

20 or new technology or strategy for source reduction 

21 and waste prevention; 

22 (7) demonstrates how receiving the grant will 

23 encourage further investment in source reduction 

24 and waste prevention activities; or 


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1 (8) will incorporate multi-stakeholder involve2 ment, including nonprofit, commercial, and public 

3 sector partners, in carrying out a project using such 

4 grant. 

5 (c) REQUIREMENT.—Of the amount made available 

6 pursuant to section 8(a), not less than 75 percent shall 

7 be allocated to projects that serve, or are located in, envi8 ronmental justice communities. 

9 SEC. 6. REPORTING. 

10 Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this 

11 Act shall submit to the Administrator a report, at such 

12 time and in such form as the Administrator may require, 

13 on the results of the project carried out with such grant, 

14 and such report shall include any relevant data requested 

15 by the Administrator for purposes of tracking the effec16 tiveness of the programs established under section 3(a) 

17 and 4(b). 

18 SEC. 7. ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 

19 In each of calendar years 2022 through 2030, the 

20 Administrator shall convene an annual conference to pro21 vide an opportunity for eligible entities and other relevant 

22 stakeholders to share their experience and expertise in im23 plementing zero-waste practices. 


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1 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) GRANTS FOR ZERO-WASTE PROJECTS.—There is 

3 authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 3 

4 $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2031, 

5 to remain available until expended. 

6 (b) GRANTS FOR LANDFILL DIVERSION.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 4 

8 $250,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 

9 2031, to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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