117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3743 

AN ACT 

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out certain activities to improve 

recycling and composting programs in the United States, 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recycling and 

3 Composting Accountability Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act: 

6 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ8 mental Protection Agency. 

9 (2) CIRCULAR MARKET.—The term ‘‘circular 

10 market’’ means a market that utilizes industrial 

11 processes and economic activities to enable post-in12 dustrial and post-consumer materials used in those 

13 processes and activities to maintain their highest 

14 values for as long as possible. 

15 (3) COMPOST.—The term ‘‘compost’’ means a 

16 product that— 

17 (A) is manufactured through the controlled 

18 aerobic, biological decomposition of biodegrad19 able materials; 

20 (B) has been subjected to medium and 

21 high temperature organisms, which— 

22 (i) significantly reduce the viability of 

23 pathogens and weed seeds; and 

24 (ii) stabilize carbon in the product 

25 such that the product is beneficial to plant 

26 growth; and 
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1 (C) is typically used as a soil amendment, 

2 but may also contribute plant nutrients. 

3 (4) COMPOSTABLE MATERIAL.—The term 

4 ‘‘compostable material’’ means material that is a 

5 feedstock for creating compost, including— 

6 (A) wood; 

7 (B) agricultural crops; 

8 (C) paper; 

9 (D) certified compostable products associ10 ated with organic waste; 

11 (E) other organic plant material; 

12 (F) marine products; 

13 (G) organic waste, including food waste 

14 and yard waste; and 

15 (H) such other material that is composed 

16 of biomass that can be continually replenished 

17 or renewed, as determined by the Adminis18 trator. 

19 (5) COMPOSTING FACILITY.—The term 

20 ‘‘composting facility’’ means a location, structure, or 

21 device that transforms compostable materials into 

22 compost. 

23 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

24 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 
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1 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

2 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

3 (7) MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITY.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘materials 

5 recovery facility’’ means a dedicated facility 

6 where primarily residential recyclable materials, 

7 which are diverted from disposal by the gener8 ator and collected separately from municipal 

9 solid waste, are mechanically or manually sort10 ed into commodities for further processing into 

11 specification-grade commodities for sale to end 

12 users. 

13 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘materials re14 covery facility’’ does not include a solid waste 

15 management facility that may process munic16 ipal solid waste to remove recyclable materials. 

17 (8) RECYCLABLE MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘recy18 clable material’’ means a material that is obsolete, 

19 previously used, off-specification, surplus, or inciden20 tally produced for processing into a specification21 grade commodity for which a circular market cur22 rently exists or is being developed. 

23 (9) RECYCLING.—The term ‘‘recycling’’ means 

24 the series of activities— 
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1 (A) during which recyclable materials are 

2 processed into specification-grade commodities, 

3 and consumed as raw-material feedstock, in lieu 

4 of virgin materials, in the manufacturing of new 

5 products; 

6 (B) that may include sorting, collection, 

7 processing, and brokering; and 

8 (C) that result in subsequent consumption 

9 by a materials manufacturer, including for the 

10 manufacturing of new products. 

11 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean12 ing given the term in section 1004 of the Solid 

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

14 (b) DEFINITION OF PROCESSING.—In paragraphs 

15 (7), (8), and (9) of subsection (a), the term ‘‘processing’’ 

16 means any mechanical, manual, or other method that— 

17 (1) transforms a recyclable material into a spec18 ification-grade commodity; and 

19 (2) may occur in multiple steps, with different 

20 steps, including sorting, occurring at different loca21 tions. 

22 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

23 It is the sense of Congress that— 
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1 (1) recycling and composting conserve re2 sources, protect the environment, and are important 

3 to the United States economy; 

4 (2) the United States recycling and composting 

5 infrastructure encompass each of the entities that 

6 collect, process, broker, and consume recyclable ma7 terials and compostable materials sourced from com8 mercial, industrial, institutional, and residential 

9 sources; 

10 (3) the residential segment of the United States 

11 recycling and composting infrastructure is facing 

12 challenges from— 

13 (A) confusion over what materials are recy14 clable materials or compostable materials; 

15 (B) reduced export markets; 

16 (C) growing, but still limited, domestic end 

17 markets; and 

18 (D) an ever-changing and heterogeneous 

19 supply stream; 

20 (4) in some areas, recycling and composting in21 frastructure is in need of revitalization; and 

22 (5) in an effort to address those challenges, the 

23 United States must use a combination of tactics to 

24 improve recycling and composting in the United 

25 States. 
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1 SEC. 4. REPORT ON COMPOSTING INFRASTRUCTURE CAPA2 BILITIES. 

3 The Administrator, in consultation with States, units 

4 of local government, and Indian Tribes, shall— 

5 (1) prepare a report describing the capability of 

6 the United States to implement a national 

7 composting strategy for compostable materials for 

8 the purposes of reducing contamination rates for re9 cycling, including— 

10 (A) an evaluation of existing Federal, 

11 State, and local laws that may present barriers 

12 to implementation of a national composting 

13 strategy; 

14 (B)(i) an evaluation of existing composting 

15 programs of States, units of local government, 

16 and Indian Tribes; and 

17 (ii) a description of best practices based on 

18 those programs; 

19 (C) an evaluation of existing composting 

20 infrastructure in States, units of local govern21 ment, and Indian Tribes for the purposes of es22 timating cost and approximate land needed to 

23 expand composting programs; and 

24 (D) a study of the practices of manufac25 turers and companies that are moving to using 

26 compostable packaging and food service ware 
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1 for the purpose of making the composting proc2 ess the end-of-life use of those products; and 

3 (2) not later than 1 year after the date of en4 actment of this Act, submit the report prepared 

5 under paragraph (1) to Congress. 

6 SEC. 5. REPORT ON FEDERAL AGENCY RECYCLING PRAC7 TICES. 

8 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Comptroller Gen10 eral of the United States, in consultation with the Admin11 istrator, shall make publicly available a report describ12 ing— 

13 (1) the total annual recycling and composting 

14 rates reported by all Federal agencies; 

15 (2) the total annual percentage of products con16 taining recyclable material, compostable material, or 

17 recovered materials purchased by all Federal agen18 cies, including— 

19 (A) the total quantity of procured products 

20 containing recyclable material or recovered ma21 terials listed in the comprehensive procurement 

22 guidelines published under section 6002(e) of 

23 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 6962(e)); and 
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1 (B) the total quantity of compostable ma2 terial purchased; 

3 (3) recommendations for updating— 

4 (A) the comprehensive procurement guide5 lines published under section 6002(e) of the 

6 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6962(e)); 

7 and 

8 (B) the environmentally preferable pur9 chasing program established under section 

10 6604(b)(11) of the Pollution Prevention Act of 

11 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13103(b)(11)); and 

12 (4) the activities of each Federal agency that 

13 promote recycling or composting. 

14 SEC. 6. IMPROVING DATA AND REPORTING. 

15 (a) INVENTORY OF MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILI16 TIES.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the Administrator, 

18 in consultation with States, units of local government, and 

19 Indian Tribes, shall— 

20 (1) prepare an inventory of public and private 

21 materials recovery facilities in the United States, in22 cluding— 

23 (A) the number of materials recovery fa24 cilities in each unit of local government in each 

25 State; and 
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1 (B) a description of the materials that 

2 each materials recovery facility can process, in3 cluding— 

4 (i) in the case of plastic, a description 

5 of— 

6 (I) the types of accepted resin, if 

7 applicable; and 

8 (II) the packaging or product 

9 format, such as a jug, a carton, or 

10 film; 

11 (ii) food packaging and service ware, 

12 such as a bottle, cutlery, or a cup; 

13 (iii) paper; 

14 (iv) aluminum, such as an aluminum 

15 beverage can, food can, aerosol can, or foil; 

16 (v) steel, such as a steel food or aer17 osol can; 

18 (vi) other scrap metal; 

19 (vii) glass; or 

20 (viii) any other material not described 

21 in any of clauses (i) through (vii) that a 

22 materials recovery facility can process; and 

23 (2) submit the inventory prepared under para24 graph (1) to Congress. 
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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE BASE2 LINE OF DATA FOR THE UNITED STATES RECYCLING

3 SYSTEM.—The Administrator, in consultation with States, 

4 units of local government, and Indian Tribes, shall deter5 mine, with respect to the United States— 

6 (1) the number of community curbside recycling 

7 and composting programs; 

8 (2) the number of community drop-off recycling 

9 and composting programs; 

10 (3) the types and forms of materials accepted 

11 by each community curbside recycling, drop-off recy12 cling, or composting program; 

13 (4) the number of individuals with access to re14 cycling and composting services to at least the ex15 tent of access to disposal services; 

16 (5) the number of individuals with barriers to 

17 accessing recycling and composting services to at 

18 least the extent of access to disposal services; 

19 (6) the inbound contamination and capture 

20 rates of community curbside recycling, drop-off recy21 cling, or composting programs; 

22 (7) where applicable, other available recycling 

23 or composting programs within a community, includ24 ing store drop-offs; and 
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1 (8) the average cost to States, units of local 

2 government, and Indian Tribes of recycling and 

3 composting programs. 

4 (c) STANDARDIZATION OF RECYCLING REPORTING

5 RATES.— 

6 (1) COLLECTION OF RATES.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

8 use amounts made available under section 9 to 

9 biannually collect from each State the nation10 ally standardized rate of recyclable materials in 

11 that State that have been successfully diverted 

12 from the waste stream and brought to a mate13 rials recovery facility or composting facility. 

14 (B) CONFIDENTIAL OR PROPRIETARY

15 BUSINESS INFORMATION.—Information col16 lected under subparagraph (A) shall not include 

17 any confidential or proprietary business infor18 mation, as determined by the Administrator. 

19 (2) USE.—Using amounts made available under 

20 section 9, the Administrator may use the rates col21 lected under paragraph (1) to further assist States, 

22 units of local government, and Indian Tribes— 

23 (A) to reduce the overall waste produced 

24 by the States and units of local government; 

25 and 
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1 (B) to increase recycling and composting 

2 rates. 

3 (d) REPORT ON END MARKETS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con5 sultation with States, units of local government, and 

6 Indian Tribes, shall— 

7 (A) provide an update to the report sub8 mitted under section 306 of the Save Our Seas 

9 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224; 134 Stat. 1096) 

10 to include an addendum on the end-market sale 

11 of all recyclable materials, in addition to recy12 cled plastics as described in that section, from 

13 materials recovery facilities that process recy14 clable materials collected from households and 

15 publicly available recyclable materials drop-off 

16 centers, including— 

17 (i) the total, in dollars per ton, domes18 tic sales of bales of recyclable materials; 

19 and 

20 (ii) the total, in dollars per ton, inter21 national sales of bales of recyclable mate22 rials; 

23 (B) prepare a report on the end-market 

24 sale of compost from all compostable materials 

25 collected from households and publicly available 
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1 compost drop-off centers, including the total, in 

2 dollars per ton, of domestic sales of 

3 compostable materials; and 

4 (C) not later than 1 year after the date of 

5 enactment of this Act, submit to Congress the 

6 update to the report prepared under subpara7 graph (A) and the report prepared under sub8 paragraph (B). 

9 (2) CONFIDENTIAL OR PROPRIETARY BUSINESS

10 INFORMATION.—Information collected under sub11 paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) shall not 

12 include any confidential or proprietary business in13 formation, as determined by the Administrator. 

14 SEC. 7. STUDY ON THE DIVERSION OF RECYCLABLE MATE15 RIALS FROM A CIRCULAR MARKET. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall de18 velop a metric for determining the proportion of recyclable 

19 materials in commercial and municipal waste streams that 

20 are being diverted from a circular market. 

21 (b) STUDY; REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 development of a metric under subsection (a), the Admin23 istrator shall conduct a study of, and submit to Congress 

24 a report on, the proportion of recyclable materials in com25 mercial and municipal waste streams that, during each of 
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1 the 10 calendar years preceding the year of submission 

2 of the report, were diverted from a circular market. 

3 (c) DATA.—The report under subsection (b) shall 

4 provide data on specific recyclable materials, including 

5 aluminum, plastics, paper and paperboard, textiles, and 

6 glass, that were prevented from remaining in a circular 

7 market through disposal or elimination, and to what use 

8 those specific recyclable materials were lost. 

9 (d) EVALUATION.—The report under subsection (b) 

10 shall include an evaluation of whether the establishment 

11 or improvement of recycling programs would— 

12 (1) improve recycling rates; or 

13 (2) reduce the quantity of recyclable materials 

14 being unutilized in a circular market. 

15 SEC. 8. VOLUNTARY GUIDELINES. 

16 The Administrator shall— 

17 (1) in consultation with States, units of local 

18 government, and Indian Tribes, develop, based on 

19 the results of the studies, reports, inventory, and 

20 data determined under sections 4 through 7, and 

21 provide to States, units of local government, and In22 dian Tribes best practices that the States, units of 

23 local government, and Indian Tribes may use to en24 hance recycling and composting, including— 
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1 (A) labeling techniques for containers of 

2 waste, compostable materials, and recycling, 

3 with the goal of creating consistent, readily 

4 available, and understandable labeling across 

5 jurisdictions; 

6 (B) pamphlets or other literature readily 

7 available to constituents; 

8 (C) primary and secondary school edu9 cational resources on recycling; 

10 (D) web and media-based campaigns; and 

11 (E) guidance for the labeling of recyclable 

12 materials and compostable materials that mini13 mizes contamination and diversion of those ma14 terials from waste streams toward recycling and 

15 composting systems; and 

16 (2) not later than 2 years after the date of en17 actment of this Act, submit to Congress a report de18 scribing the best practices developed under para19 graph (1). 
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1 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad3 ministrator such sums as are necessary to carry out this 

4 Act for each fiscal year. 

Passed the Senate July 28, 2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3743 

AN ACT 

To require the Administrator of the Environmental 

the United States, and for other purposes. to improve recycling and composting programs in Protection Agency to carry out certain activities