I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1960 

To establish national goals for the reduction and recycling of municipal 

solid waste, to address the growing problem of marine debris, to require 

the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate 

regulations to attain those goals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 22, 2015 

Mr. HONDA (for himself, Mr. FARR, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PINGREE, and Ms. LOFGREN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish national goals for the reduction and recycling 

of municipal solid waste, to address the growing problem 

of marine debris, to require the Administrator of the 

Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations to attain those goals, 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 ‘‘Land-Based Marine 

5 Debris Reduction Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds and declares the following: 


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1 (1) Because the United States has the largest 

2 Exclusive Economic Zone of all nations, it has a dis3 proportionate economic interest in a healthy ocean. 

4 (2) The United States has a strategic interest 

5 in healthy fisheries, marine ecosystems, and a strong 

6 ocean economy. 

7 (3) Solid waste is littering the Nation’s water8 ways, including streams, rivers, and lakes, most no9 tably the Great Lakes, and much of this marine de10 bris is collecting in the oceans. 

11 (4) An estimated 80 percent of litter that ends 

12 up in the oceans comes from land-based sources, and 

13 litter in the Nation’s waterways has numerous detri14 mental effects. 

15 (5) Marine debris injures wildlife, sometimes re16 sulting in death, degrades ecosystems, interferes 

17 with navigation, threatens public health and safety, 

18 and creates additional expenditures for shipping, 

19 fishing, tourism, and coastal communities. 

20 (6) Only about 46 percent of the Nation’s waste 

21 is recycled or composted, including through waste-to22 energy. 

23 (7) Successful solid waste management requires 

24 creative use of the entire hierarchy of solid waste 


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1 management, waste reduction, recycling, waste-to2 energy operations, and landfilling. 

3 (8) Recycling can play a significant role in re4 ducing municipal waste and marine debris. 

5 (9) The failure to recycle and reuse materials is 

6 a significant and unnecessary waste of important na7 tional energy and material resources. 

8 (10) Comprehensive, multi-material recycling 

9 programs represent the most cost-effective and effi10 cient method of meeting recycling goals and reduc11 ing marine debris. 

12 (11) The responsibility to recycle should be 

13 shared by all consumers of recyclable goods includ14 ing individual households, municipalities, and com15 mercial and institutional establishments. 

16 SEC. 3. NATIONAL GOALS FOR WASTE REDUCTION AND RE17 CYCLING. 

18 (a) SOURCE REDUCTION.—Congress declares it to be 

19 the national goal of the United States that there shall be 

20 no increase in the generation of solid waste sent to land21 fills above the level of solid waste generated and sent to 

22 landfills in the year of the enactment of this Act (as deter23 mined by the Administrator). 

24 (b) WASTE RECYCLING.—Congress declares it to be 

25 the national goal of the United States that at least 50 


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1 percent of the municipal solid waste stream shall be recy2 cled by the end of 2020, and 65 percent of such waste 

3 stream shall be recycled by the end of 2030 (as determined 

4 by the Administrator). 

5 (c) MARINE DEBRIS REDUCTION.—Congress declares 

6 it to be the national goal of the United States that there 

7 shall be no increase in the flow of marine debris into the 

8 ocean above the level of such flow in the year of the enact9 ment of this Act (as determined by the Administrator). 

10 SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT. 

11 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator shall report 

12 to Congress each year the following: 

13 (1) The amount and composition of municipal 

14 solid waste generated in the United States. 

15 (2) The amount and composition of municipal 

16 solid waste generated in the United States that en17 ters the ocean. 

18 (3) The methods used to manage such waste. 

19 (4) The progress made in achieving the source 

20 reduction, recycling, and marine debris reduction 

21 goals of this Act, the impediments to the attainment 

22 of such goals, and recommendations on the regu23 latory or legislative initiatives necessary to attain 

24 such goals. 


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1 (b) FIRST REPORT.—The first report under this sec2 tion shall be submitted not later than 18 months after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 5. REPORT ON PRIMARY LEAKAGE PATHS OF MARINE 

5 DEBRIS INTO THE OCEAN. 

6 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Administrator shall provide to Congress 

8 a report that includes the following: 

9 (1) Identification of the pathways through 

10 which marine debris reaches the ocean, such as con11 sumer discards, flawed waste management designs, 

12 and infrastructural leaks, as determined in consulta13 tion with experts, including waste management, con14 sumer goods, and infrastructure experts. 

15 (2) Best practices that may be used at the Fed16 eral, State, and local level to reduce or eliminate 

17 such pathways, including methods to address 

18 infrastructural leaks, regulation, or economic incen19 tives. 

20 SEC. 6. PRODUCTS AND PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS. 

21 (a) LIST AND RECYCLING DETERMINATIONS.— 

22 (1) Not later than 2 years after the date of the 

23 enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in con24 sultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall de25 velop a list of categories of commonly used products 


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1 and packaging which are discarded into the munic2 ipal solid waste stream. With respect to each cat3 egory on the list, the Administrator shall determine 

4 the following: 

5 (A) The percentage of recovered materials 

6 used in the manufacture of products or pack7 aging in each category. 

8 (B) The source reduction and recovery effi9 ciency of products or packaging in each cat10 egory. 

11 (C) The percentage of products or pack12 aging in each category that is recycled upon 

13 discard. 

14 (D) The percentage of products or pack15 aging in each category that enters the ocean 

16 upon discard or is otherwise littered. 

17 (E) The life cycle environmental effects as18 sociated with the products or packaging in each 

19 category compared to product or packaging al20 ternatives, using standard life cycle assessment 

21 methodologies and categories of environmental 

22 impacts, including climate change, human 

23 health, eutrophication, acidification, water use, 

24 land use, and ecosystems toxicity. 


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1 (2) Upon completion of the list and determina2 tions required under paragraph (1), the Adminis3 trator shall identify categories of products or pack4 aging that shall be targeted for regulatory action 

5 under subsection (b). The Administrator shall target 

6 a category based upon high overall life cycle impact 

7 of the product or package compared to the alter8 natives, considering categories of environmental im9 pacts, recovered material content, recyclability, and 

10 high volume in the waste stream. 

11 (b) REGULATORY ACTION.—With respect to each cat12 egory of product or packaging identified under subsection 

13 (a)(2), the Administrator may take the following actions: 

14 (1) The Administrator may promulgate regula15 tions to require the manufacturer of the product or 

16 packaging to use recovered materials of that or an17 other category in the product or packaging. In pro18 mulgating regulations under this paragraph, the Ad19 ministrator shall, to the extent practicable, consider 

20 the potential life cycle impacts of requiring recovered 

21 material content in a product or packaging on in22 creasing greenhouse gases and water usage, current 

23 regulations regarding the use of recovered materials, 

24 and potential market disruptions to recovered mate25 rials. 


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1 (2) The Administrator may phase in any of the 

2 actions taken under paragraph (1) if the Adminis3 trator determines it to be necessary for economic 

4 reasons. 

5 SEC. 7. PACKAGING STANDARDS. 

6 The Administrator and the Secretary of Commerce, 

7 in consultation with affected industries, experts in package 

8 design and marketing, companies engaged in collecting 

9 and processing products and packages, and environmental 

10 organizations, shall develop a voluntary system of pack11 aging standards with respect to materials contained within 

12 the packaging and the recyclability of the packaging upon 

13 discard, which may include implementation of an existing 

14 labeling standard where appropriate. The standards shall 

15 provide that packaging that meets the standards shall be 

16 eligible to use a label indicating compliance with the stand17 ards for promotion and educational purposes. 

18 SEC. 8. REPORT ON LANDFILL CLOSURES. 

19 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress 

21 a report analyzing the costs and difficulties encountered 

22 by States and local communities in closing landfills. The 

23 report shall include recommendations on the types and lev24 els of Federal assistance (including technical guidance and 


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1 funds) that should be provided to States and local commu2 nities for such purpose. 

3 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

4 For purposes of this Act: 

5 (1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad6 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. 

7 (2) The term ‘‘marine debris’’ is human-created 

8 waste that has been discharged into the coastal or 

9 marine environment, including any anthropogenic, 

10 manufactured, or processed solid material (regard11 less of size) discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in 

12 the environment, including all materials discarded 

13 into the ocean, on the shore, or brought indirectly to 

14 the ocean by rivers, sewage, storm water, waves, or 

15 wind. 

16 (3) The term ‘‘recovered material’’ has the 

17 meaning given that term in section 1004 of the Solid 

18 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903). 

19 (4) The term ‘‘recycled’’ means reused, recov20 ered, or reclaimed from solid waste through any 

21 means, including remanufacturing, reprocessing, and 

22 waste-to-energy technologies. 

Æ 


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