II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3743 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2022 

Mr. CARPER (for himself, Mr. BOOZMAN, and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Composting Accountability Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency. 

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

5 market’’ means a market that utilizes industrial 

6 processes and economic activities to enable post-in7 dustrial and post-consumer materials used in those 

8 processes and activities to maintain their highest 

9 values for as long as possible. 

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

11 product that— 

12 (A) is manufactured through the controlled 

13 aerobic, biological decomposition of biodegrad14 able materials; 

15 (B) has been subjected to medium and 

16 high temperature organisms, which— 

17 (i) significantly reduce the viability of 

18 pathogens and weed seeds; and 

19 (ii) stabilize carbon in the product 

20 such that the product is beneficial to plant 

21 growth; and 

22 (C) is typically used as a soil amendment, 

23 but may also contribute plant nutrients. 


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1 (4) COMPOSTABLE MATERIAL.—The term 

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

3 feedstock for creating compost, including— 

4 (A) wood; 

5 (B) agricultural crops; 

6 (C) paper; 

7 (D) certified compostable products associ8 ated with organic waste; 

9 (E) other organic plant material; 

10 (F) marine products; 

11 (G) organic waste, including food waste 

12 and yard waste; and 

13 (H) such other material that is composed 

14 of biomass that can be continually replenished 

15 or renewed, as determined by the Adminis16 trator. 

17 (5) COMPOSTING FACILITY.—The term 

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

19 device that transforms compostable materials into 

20 compost. 

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

22 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

23 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

25 (7) MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITY.— 


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

2 recovery facility’’ means a dedicated recycling 

3 facility where primarily residential recyclables, 

4 which are diverted from disposal by the gener5 ator and collected separately from municipal 

6 solid waste, are mechanically or manually sort7 ed into commodities for further processing into 

8 specification-grade commodities for sale to end 

9 users. 

10 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘materials re11 covery facility’’ does not include a solid waste 

12 management facility that may process munic13 ipal solid waste to remove recyclable materials. 

14 (8) RECYCLABLE MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘recy15 clable material’’ means a material that is obsolete, 

16 previously used, off-specification, surplus, or inciden17 tally produced for processing into a specification18 grade commodity for which a circular market cur19 rently exists or is being developed. 

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

21 the series of activities— 

22 (A) during which recyclable materials are 

23 processed into specification-grade commodities, 

24 and consumed as raw-material feedstock, in lieu 


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1 of virgin materials, in the manufacturing of new 

2 products; 

3 (B) that may include sorting, collection, 

4 processing, and brokering; and 

5 (C) that result in subsequent consumption 

6 by a materials manufacturer, including for the 

7 manufacturing of new products. 

8 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean9 ing given the term in section 1004 of the Solid 

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

11 (b) DEFINITION OF PROCESSING.—In paragraphs 

12 (7), (8), and (9) of subsection (a), the term ‘‘processing’’ 

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

14 (1) transforms a recyclable material into a spec15 ification-grade commodity; and 

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

17 steps, including sorting, occurring at different loca18 tions. 

19 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that— 

21 (1) recycling conserves resources, protects the 

22 environment, and is important to the United States 

23 economy; 

24 (2) the United States recycling infrastructure 

25 encompasses each of the entities that collect, procVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3743.IS S3743

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1 ess, broker, and consume recyclable materials 

2 sourced from commercial, industrial, and residential 

3 sources; 

4 (3) the residential segment of the United States 

5 recycling infrastructure is facing challenges from— 

6 (A) confusion over what materials are recy7 clable materials; 

8 (B) reduced export markets; 

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

10 markets; 

11 (D) an ever-changing and heterogeneous 

12 supply stream; and 

13 (E) in some areas, a recycling infrastruc14 ture in need of revitalization; and 

15 (4) in an effort to address those challenges, the 

16 United States must use a combination of tactics to 

17 improve recycling and composting in the United 

18 States. 

19 SEC. 4. REPORT ON COMPOSTING INFRASTRUCTURE CAPA20 BILITIES. 

21 The Administrator, in consultation with States, units 

22 of local government, and Indian Tribes, shall— 

23 (1) prepare a report describing the capability of 

24 the United States to implement a national residen25 tial composting strategy for compostable materials 


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1 for the purposes of reducing contamination rates for 

2 residential recycling, including— 

3 (A) an evaluation of existing Federal, 

4 State, and local laws that may present barriers 

5 to implementation of a national residential 

6 composting strategy; 

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

8 programs of States, units of local government, 

9 and Indian Tribes; and 

10 (ii) a description of best practices based on 

11 those programs; 

12 (C) an evaluation of existing composting 

13 infrastructure in States, units of local govern14 ment, and Indian Tribes for the purposes of es15 timating cost and approximate land needed to 

16 expand composting programs; and 

17 (D) a study of the practices of manufac18 turers and companies that are moving to using 

19 compostable packaging and food service ware 

20 for the purpose of making the composting proc21 ess the end-of-life use of those products; and 

22 (2) not later than 1 year after the date of en23 actment of this Act, submit the report prepared 

24 under paragraph (1) to Congress. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORT ON FEDERAL AGENCY RECYCLING PRAC2 TICES. 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Comptroller Gen5 eral of the United States, in consultation with the Admin6 istrator, shall make publicly available a report describ7 ing— 

8 (1) the total annual recycling and composting 

9 rates reported by all Federal agencies; 

10 (2) the total annual percentage of products con11 taining recyclable material, compostable material, or 

12 recovered materials purchased by all Federal agen13 cies, including— 

14 (A) the total quantity of procured products 

15 containing recyclable material or recovered ma16 terials listed in the comprehensive procurement 

17 guidelines published under section 6002(e) of 

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

19 6962(e)); and 

20 (B) the total quantity of compostable ma21 terial purchased; 

22 (3) recommendations for updating— 

23 (A) the comprehensive procurement guide24 lines published under section 6002(e) of the 

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

26 and 


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1 (B) the environmentally preferable pur2 chasing program established under section 

3 6604(b)(11) of the Pollution Prevention Act of 

4 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13103(b)(11)); and 

5 (4) the activities of each Federal agency that 

6 promote recycling or composting. 

7 SEC. 6. IMPROVING DATA AND REPORTING. 

8 (a) INVENTORY OF MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILI9 TIES.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

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

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

12 Indian Tribes, shall— 

13 (1) prepare an inventory of public and private 

14 materials recovery facilities in the United States, in15 cluding— 

16 (A) the number of materials recovery fa17 cilities in each unit of local government in each 

18 State; and 

19 (B) a description of the materials that 

20 each materials recovery facility can process, in21 cluding— 

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

23 of— 

24 (I) the types of accepted resin, if 

25 applicable; and 


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1 (II) the container type, such as a 

2 jug, a carton, or film; 

3 (ii) food packaging and service ware, 

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

5 (iii) paper; 

6 (iv) aluminum, such as an aluminum 

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

8 (v) steel, such as a steel food or aer9 osol can; 

10 (vi) other scrap metal; 

11 (vii) glass; or 

12 (viii) any other material not described 

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

14 materials recovery facility can process; and 

15 (2) submit the inventory prepared under para16 graph (1) to Congress. 

17 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE BASE18 LINE OF DATA FOR THE UNITED STATES RECYCLING

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

20 units of local government, and Indian Tribes, shall deter21 mine, with respect to the United States— 

22 (1) the number of community curbside recycling 

23 and composting programs; 

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

25 and composting programs; 


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1 (3) the types and forms of materials accepted 

2 by each community curbside recycling, drop-off recy3 cling, or composting program; 

4 (4) the number of individuals with access to re5 cycling and composting services to at least the ex6 tent of access to disposal services; 

7 (5) the number of individuals with barriers to 

8 accessing recycling and composting services to at 

9 least the extent of access to disposal services; 

10 (6) the inbound contamination and capture 

11 rates of community curbside recycling, drop-off recy12 cling, or composting programs; and 

13 (7) where applicable, other available recycling 

14 or composting programs within a community, includ15 ing store drop-offs. 

16 (c) STANDARDIZATION OF RECYCLING REPORTING

17 RATES.— 

18 (1) COLLECTION OF RATES.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

20 use amounts made available under section 9 to 

21 biannually collect from each State the nation22 ally standardized rate of recyclable materials in 

23 that State that have been successfully diverted 

24 from the waste stream and brought to a mate25 rials recovery facility or composting facility. 


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1 (B) CONFIDENTIAL OR PROPRIETARY

2 BUSINESS INFORMATION.—Information col3 lected under subparagraph (A) shall not include 

4 any confidential or proprietary business infor5 mation, as determined by the Administrator. 

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

7 section 9, the Administrator may use the rates col8 lected under paragraph (1) to further assist States, 

9 units of local government, and Indian Tribes— 

10 (A) to reduce the overall waste produced 

11 by the States and units of local government; 

12 and 

13 (B) to increase recycling and composting 

14 rates. 

15 (d) REPORT ON END MARKETS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con17 sultation with States, units of local government, and 

18 Indian Tribes, shall— 

19 (A) provide an update to the report sub20 mitted under section 306 of the Save Our Seas 

21 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224; 134 Stat. 1096) 

22 to include an addendum on the end-market sale 

23 of all recyclable materials, in addition to recy24 cled plastics as described in that section, from 

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1 clable materials collected from households and 

2 publicly available recyclable materials drop-off 

3 centers, including— 

4 (i) the total, in dollars per ton, domes5 tic sales of bales of recyclable materials; 

6 and 

7 (ii) the total, in dollars per ton, inter8 national sales of bales of recyclable mate9 rials; 

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

11 sale of compost from all compostable materials 

12 collected from households and publicly available 

13 compost drop-off centers, including the total, in 

14 dollars per ton, of domestic sales of 

15 compostable materials; and 

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

17 enactment of this Act, submit to Congress the 

18 update to the report prepared under subpara19 graph (A) and the report prepared under sub20 paragraph (B). 

21 (2) CONFIDENTIAL OR PROPRIETARY BUSINESS

22 INFORMATION.—Information collected under sub23 paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) shall not 

24 include any confidential or proprietary business in25 formation, as determined by the Administrator. 


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1 SEC. 7. STUDY ON THE DIVERSION OF RECYCLABLE MATE2 RIALS FROM A CIRCULAR MARKET. 

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

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall de5 velop a metric for determining the proportion of recyclable 

6 materials in commercial and municipal waste streams that 

7 are being diverted from a circular market. 

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

9 development of a metric under subsection (a), the Admin10 istrator shall conduct a study of, and submit to Congress 

11 a report on, the proportion of recyclable materials in com12 mercial and municipal waste streams that, during each of 

13 the 10 calendar years preceding the year of submission 

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

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

16 provide data on specific recyclable materials, including 

17 aluminum, plastics, paper and paperboard, textiles, and 

18 glass, that were prevented from remaining in a circular 

19 market through disposal or elimination, and to what use 

20 those specific recyclable materials were lost. 

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

22 shall include an evaluation of whether the establishment 

23 or improvement of recycling programs would— 

24 (1) improve recycling rates; or 

25 (2) reduce the quantity of recyclable materials 

26 being unutilized in a circular market. 


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1 SEC. 8. VOLUNTARY GUIDELINES. 

2 The Administrator shall— 

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

4 government, and Indian Tribes, develop, based on 

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

6 data determined under sections 4 through 7, and 

7 provide to States, units of local government, and In8 dian Tribes best practices that the States, units of 

9 local government, and Indian Tribes may use to en10 hance recycling and composting, including— 

11 (A) labeling techniques for containers of 

12 waste, compost, and recycling, with the goal of 

13 creating consistent, readily available, and un14 derstandable labeling across jurisdictions; 

15 (B) pamphlets or other literature readily 

16 available to constituents; 

17 (C) primary and secondary school edu18 cational resources on recycling; 

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

20 (E) guidance for the labeling of recyclable 

21 materials and compostable materials that mini22 mizes contamination and diversion of those ma23 terials from waste streams toward recycling and 

24 composting systems; and 

25 (2) not later than 2 years after the date of en26 actment of this Act, submit to Congress a report deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3743.IS S3743

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1 scribing the best practices developed under para2 graph (1). 

3 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad5 ministrator such sums as are necessary to carry out this 

6 Act for each fiscal year. 

Æ 


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