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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1821

To encourage recycling and composting by promoting the creation of markets

for post-consumer materials, by establishing a grant program for recycling research, by requiring a public outreach program to provide information about recycling, by requiring procurement of recycled goods by

the Federal Government, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 22, 1993

Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER (for himself, Mr. SABO, Mr. TORRES, Mr. BEILENSON,

Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. HUGHES, Mrs.

MALONEY, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. BROWN of California, Ms.

WOOLSEY, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FISH, and Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on

Energy and Commerce, Science, Space, and Technology, and Government

Operations

A BILL

To encourage recycling and composting by promoting the

creation of markets for post-consumer materials, by establishing a grant program for recycling research, by

requiring a public outreach program to provide information about recycling, by requiring procurement of recycled goods by the Federal Government, 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 ‘‘Recyclable Materials

3 Technology and Markets Development Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

6 (1) The United States faces a severe and wors7 ening crisis in solid waste management.

8 (2) Waste disposal is becoming increasingly im9 practical because of concerns about environmental

10 contamination, escalating fees, the closing of dis11 posal facilities, and difficulties in siting new facili12 ties.

13 (3) Recycling offers an environmentally safe ap14 proach to the garbage crisis as well as benefits to

15 manufacturers in reduced material costs, energy

16 usage, and environmental impacts. However, the

17 markets for recyclable materials are currently uncer18 tain.

19 (4) It would be in the best interests of the

20 United States to treat waste according to the follow21 ing hierarchy:

22 (A) Waste reduction.

23 (B) Reuse.

24 (C) Recycling.

25 (D) Composting.

26 (E) Landfilling or incineration.
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1 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as

2 follows:

3 (1) To create markets for post-consumer mate4 rials.

5 (2) To provide consumers with information

6 about recycling.

7 (3) To solicit Federal agency recommendations

8 on appropriate measures to maximize recycling.

9 SEC. 3. STUDY OF MARKETS FOR POST-CONSUMER MA10 TERIALS.

11 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall conduct a

12 study to determine the following:

13 (1) The current and potential uses for post14 consumer materials.

15 (2) The current and potential international

16 markets for post-consumer materials for use in recy17 cling and composting.

18 (3) The current and potential domestic markets

19 for post-consumer materials for use in recycling and

20 composting.

21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the

22 date of the enactment of this act, the Secretary shall sub23 mit to Congress a report—

24 (1) describing the results of the study con25 ducted under subsection (a); and
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1 (2) making recommendations regarding meth2 ods to expand and stabilize markets for post3 consumer materials for use in recycling and

4 composting, including whether additional legislation

5 is necessary for such purpose.

6 (c) ADDITION OF POST-CONSUMER MATERIALS TO

7 INDUSTRIAL SURVEYS.—For purposes of gathering infor8 mation about the generation of post-consumer materials

9 and prices of such materials, the Secretary shall include

10 post-consumer materials in any Department of Commerce

11 surveys on industrial production and prices.

12 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF RECYCLING RESEARCH AND INFORMA13 TION.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than six months

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary,

16 in consultation with the Administrator, shall establish an

17 Office of Recycling Research and Information in the De18 partment of Commerce (in this section referred to as the

19 ‘‘Office’’). The Office shall have a Director who shall be

20 appointed by the Secretary and who shall be paid at a

21 rate determined by the Secretary which is less than the

22 rate of basic pay payable for positions under section 5316

23 of title 5, United States Code.

24 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office are as

25 follows:
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1 (1) To collect, catalog, and disseminate infor2 mation to interested persons regarding waste dis3 posal, recycling, and composting technology.

4 (2) To make grants under subsection (c).

5 (3) To conduct a public outreach program

6 under subsection (d).

7 (4) To develop model programs, not later than

8 two years after the date of the enactment of this

9 Act, for various types of communities (including

10 urban and rural) for recycling and composting of

11 solid waste. Such model programs shall include pro12 visions for collecting, separating, transporting, and

13 reprocessing solid waste.

14 (5) To compile and update statistics on recy15 cling rates for all nondurable consumer products.

16 (6) To provide information to the public regard17 ing the recyclability and recycling rates of individual

18 products.

19 (c) GRANTS.—The Director of Recycling Research

20 and Information shall make grants to public and private

21 entities for studies and scientific research relating to recy22 cling of post-consumer materials, including grants for the

23 following types of studies:

24 (1) A study to determine the products and post25 consumer materials which—
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1 (A) are not currently recycled in signifi2 cant amounts; and

3 (B) which are found in the largest

4 amounts by volume and by weight in municipal

5 solid waste streams.

6 (2) A study of ways to encourage industry to

7 include recyclability as a basic design goal for the

8 long-term resolution of the issue of recycling of post9 consumer materials.

10 (3) A study of innovative recycling technologies

11 or problem issues that are obstacles to recycling,

12 such as nonrecyclable containers and insufficient

13 uses for post-consumer materials.

14 (d) OUTREACH PROGRAM.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of Recycling

16 Research and Information, in consultation with the

17 Administrator, the Secretary, and the Secretary of

18 Education, shall conduct a public outreach program

19 to provide information to secondary school students,

20 State and local governments, and the general public

21 regarding—

22 (A) the harmful effects on the environment

23 of the improper disposal of wastes;

24 (B) the importance of the proper disposal

25 of municipal wastes;
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1 (C) the benefits of recycling and

2 composting; and

3 (D) methods to encourage voluntary recy4 cling and composting activities.

5 (2) FORMAT.—In conducting the outreach pro6 gram described in paragraph (1), the Director of

7 Recycling Research and Information may—

8 (A) organize and conduct workshops with

9 interested groups;

10 (B) develop educational materials and pro11 vide them to secondary school students;

12 (C) record public service announcements

13 for radio and television broadcast and develop

14 print advertisements for newspapers, maga15 zines, and other publications;

16 (D) distribute leaflets, posters, and other

17 materials;

18 (E) encourage employers and labor organi19 zations to include appropriate educational mate20 rials in their in-house publications; and

21 (F) provide technical assistance and other

22 information to schools, governments, and com23 munity groups wishing to conduct educational

24 programs on waste disposal, recycling, and

25 composting.
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1 (3) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM.—The Di2 rector of Recycling Research and Information shall

3 begin implementation of the outreach program not

4 later than one year after the date of the enactment

5 of this Act.

6 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

7 are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of Recy8 cling Research and Information appointed pursuant to

9 this section, for making grants and carrying out other ac10 tivities authorized by this section, not more than

11 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996,

12 1997, 1998, and 1999.

13 SEC. 5. RECYCLING RATE REQUIREMENTS FOR RECYCLA14 BLE PRODUCTS.

15 (a) REQUIRED RECYCLING RATES FOR RECYCLABLE

16 PRODUCTS.—Each manufacturer of a recyclable product

17 designated by the Secretary under subsection (b) shall—

18 (1) during 1993 and 1994, recycle, or provide

19 for the recycling of, at least 25 percent of the prod20 ucts manufactured during each of those years by the

21 manufacturer;

22 (2) during 1995, 1996, and 1997, recycle, or

23 provide for the recycling of, at least 50 percent of

24 the products manufactured during each of those

25 years by the manufacturer; and
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1 (3) during 1998 and each year thereafter, make

2 a good faith effort to recycle, or provide for the recy3 cling of, at least 75 percent of the products manu4 factured during each such year by the manufacturer.

5 (b) DESIGNATION OF RECYCLABLE PRODUCTS.—Not

6 later than one year after the date of the enactment of this

7 Act, the Secretary shall prescribe regulations to designate

8 products as recyclable products for purposes of this sec9 tion. A product shall be designated as recyclable if it may

10 feasibly be recycled, as determined by the Secretary.

11 (c) PENALTY.—A person may not manufacture, dur12 ing a calendar year, a recyclable product designated by

13 the Secretary under subsection (b) unless, during the pre14 ceding calendar year, the product is recycled at the recy15 cling rate required under subsection (a). Any person who

16 violates this section is subject to a civil penalty assessed

17 by the Secretary of not more than $5,000 for each offense.

18 SEC. 6. RECYCLABLE SUBSTITUTE REQUIREMENTS FOR

19 NONRECYCLABLE PRODUCTS.

20 (a) PROHIBITION.—After December 31, 1994, a per21 son may not manufacture a nonrecyclable product des22 ignated by the Secretary under subsection (b) if a recycla23 ble substitute is readily available for such product, as de24 termined by the Secretary.
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1 (b) DESIGNATION OF NONRECYCLABLE PROD2 UCTS.—Not later than two years after the date of the en3 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe regula4 tions to designate products as nonrecyclable products for

5 purposes of this section. A product shall be designated as

6 nonrecyclable if it is not technically or economically fea7 sible to be recycled in a recycling program, as determined

8 by the Secretary. The Secretary may require that an ap9 propriate label be displayed on any product designated as

10 nonrecyclable under the regulations, for purposes of in11 forming consumers that the product is nonrecyclable. The

12 Secretary may not require such labels to be displayed any

13 earlier than January 1, 1994.

14 (c) PENALTY.—Any person who violates this section

15 is subject to a civil penalty assessed by the Secretary of

16 not more than $5,000 for each offense.

17 SEC. 7. RECYCLING SEALS OF APPROVAL.

18 (a) DESIGN.—The Secretary shall design labels for

19 display on—

20 (1) recyclable products, as designated under

21 section 5(b); and

22 (2) products containing a certain percentage of

23 recycled post-consumer materials.

24 (b) APPLICATION FOR USE OF LABELS.—Persons

25 who manufacture products for which the Secretary has de-
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1 signed labels under subsection (a) may apply to the Sec2 retary for permission to display the labels on their prod3 ucts.

4 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe

5 regulations to carry out this section.

6 SEC. 8. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT OF RECYCLED

7 GOODS.

8 Section 6002 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42

9 U.S.C. 6962) is amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘SEC. 6002. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT.

11 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION OF SECTION.—This section ap12 plies for a fiscal year to the following entities:

13 ‘‘(1) A Federal agency if, during any one of the

14 5 fiscal years preceding such fiscal year, the Federal

15 agency has procured procurement items the price of

16 which in the aggregate exceeds $10,000.

17 ‘‘(2) Any other entity, including a State, a po18 litical subdivision of a State, or a contractor, if such

19 entity uses funds appropriated to a Federal agency

20 to which this section applies for procurement of any

21 procurement item.

22 ‘‘(b) PROCUREMENT SUBJECT TO OTHER LAW.—

23 This section does not apply to a procurement by a Federal

24 agency described in subsection (a)(1) if such procurement

25 is subject to regulations of the Administrator under sec-
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1 tion 6004 (as promulgated before the date of the enact2 ment of this section under comparable provisions of prior

3 law), but only to the extent that this section is inconsistent

4 with such regulations.

5 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Each procuring agency

6 which procures any items designated in guidelines pre7 pared pursuant to subsection (e) shall procure such items

8 composed of the highest percentage of recovered materials

9 practicable (and in the case of paper, the highest percent10 age of post-consumer materials). The decision not to pro11 cure such items shall be based on a determination that

12 such procurement items—

13 ‘‘(A) are not reasonably available within a rea14 sonable period of time;

15 ‘‘(B) fail to meet the performance standards set

16 forth in the applicable specifications; or

17 ‘‘(C) are only available at an unreasonable

18 price.

19 In the case of a failure to procure such items, the procur20 ing agency shall make public the specific reasons for its

21 failure to do so.

22 ‘‘(2) During the 10-year period beginning on the date

23 of enactment of the Recyclable Materials Technology and

24 Markets Development Act, a Federal agency shall not de25 termine under paragraph (1)(C) that a price is unreason-
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1 able unless it exceeds by more than 10 percent the price

2 of items not meeting the agency’s minimum recovered ma3 terials content standards. The Administrator may extend

4 such 10-year time period on an item-by-item basis.

5 ‘‘(d) SPECIFICATIONS.—Within 1 year after the date

6 of publication of guidelines under subsection (e), or the

7 date on which an agency first becomes a procuring agency

8 that has the responsibility for drafting or reviewing speci9 fications for procurement items designated in such guide10 lines, such procuring agency shall—

11 ‘‘(1) eliminate from procurement specifications

12 any exclusion of recovered materials;

13 ‘‘(2) in the case of paper and paper products,

14 eliminate any specification which is not absolutely

15 essential relating to brightness, speck count, and

16 ground wood content;

17 ‘‘(3) eliminate from such specifications any re18 quirement that items be manufactured from virgin

19 materials; and

20 ‘‘(4) assure that such specifications, as well as

21 internal agency policies and procedures, require the

22 use of recovered materials to the maximum extent

23 possible without jeopardizing the intended end use of

24 the item.
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1 ‘‘(e) GUIDELINES.—(1) The Administrator shall pre2 pare, and from time-to-time revise, guidelines for the use

3 of procuring agencies in complying with the requirements

4 of this section. In fulfilling the requirements of this sub5 section, the Secretary shall consult with the Administrator

6 of General Services and the Public Printer. Such guide7 lines shall, at a minimum—

8 ‘‘(A) designate those items which are or can be

9 produced with recovered materials and whose pro10 curement by procuring agencies will carry out the

11 objectives of this section;

12 ‘‘(B) set forth recommended practices and pro13 cedures with respect to the procurement of recovered

14 materials and items containing such materials and

15 with respect to certification by vendors of the per16 centage of recovered materials used;

17 ‘‘(C) provide information concerning the avail18 ability, relative price, and performance of such mate19 rials and items; and

20 ‘‘(D) establish standards pursuant to subsection

21 (f) specifying the minimum level of post-consumer

22 materials and other recovered materials in the pro23 cured item.
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1 ‘‘(2) In making the designation under paragraph

2 (1)(A), the Administrator shall consider, but is not limited

3 to, the following:

4 ‘‘(A) The availability of items described in such

5 paragraph.

6 ‘‘(B) The impact of the procurement of such

7 items by procuring agencies on the volume of solid

8 waste which must be treated, incinerated, stored, or

9 disposed of.

10 ‘‘(C) The economic and technological feasibility

11 of producing and using such items.

12 ‘‘(D) Other uses for such recovered materials.

13 ‘‘(E) The impact of the procurement of such

14 items by procuring agencies on recycling and pro15 curement practices of nongovernmental entities.

16 ‘‘(f) GUIDELINES FOR CERTAIN ITEMS.—At a mini17 mum, the Administrator shall—

18 ‘‘(1) not later than 180 days after the date of

19 the enactment of the Recyclable Materials Tech20 nology and Markets Development Act, revise existing

21 guidelines for the procurement of paper and paper

22 products containing post-consumer materials and

23 other recovered materials;

24 ‘‘(2) not later than 1 year after the date of the

25 enactment of such Act, issue guidelines for the pro-
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1 curement and use of waste glass in the construction

2 of highways, roadways, and other paved surfaces;

3 ‘‘(3) not later than 1 year after the date of the

4 enactment of such Act, issue guidelines for the pro5 curement and use of discarded tires and other rub6 ber scrap in the construction of highways, roadways,

7 and other paved surfaces, in roofing, and in other

8 nonroadway applications;

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

10 enactment of such Act, issue guidelines for the pro11 curement and use of compost, fertilizers, and other

12 soil amendments made from yard waste and food

13 waste;

14 ‘‘(5) not later than 18 months after the date of

15 the enactment of such Act, issue guidelines for the

16 procurement and use of containers and packaging

17 and other durable and nondurable goods made from

18 aluminum scrap, ferrous scrap, plastic scrap, and

19 waste glass; and

20 ‘‘(6) not later than 2 years after the date of the

21 enactment of such Act, issue guidelines for at least

22 3 additional categories of items, as well as others as

23 may be deemed appropriate.

24 ‘‘(g) REVIEW OF MINIMUM CONTENT STANDARD

25 GUIDELINES.—No later than 4 years after the issuance
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1 of guidelines under subsection (e), and every 4 years

2 thereafter, the Administrator shall review, and to the ex3 tent practicable, increase, the minimum content standards

4 described in paragraph (1)(D) of that subsection.

5 ‘‘(h) VERIFICATION PROCEDURES.—After consulta6 tion with appropriate recycling industries, and public or

7 private organizations that set specifications or test meth8 ods for recovered materials, the Administrator shall de9 velop verification procedures useful in ascertaining the

10 percentage of post-consumer materials and other recov11 ered materials in a commodity.

12 ‘‘(i) IMPLEMENTATION AND COORDINATION.—The

13 Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy shall advise

14 the Administrator on coordinating the guidelines under

15 this section with other policies for Federal procurement.

16 The Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, in

17 consultation with the Administrator of General Services

18 Administration, shall report every two years to Congress

19 on actions taken by Federal agencies and the progress

20 made in the implementation of this section.

21 ‘‘(j) AFFIRMATIVE PROCUREMENT PROGRAM.—(1)

22 Within 1 year after the date of publication of applicable

23 guidelines under subsection (e), or the date on which an

24 agency first becomes a procuring agency, whichever is

25 later, each procuring agency shall develop an affirmative
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1 procurement program which will assure that items com2 posed of recovered materials will be purchased to the max3 imum extent practicable and which is consistent with ap4 plicable provisions of Federal procurement law.

5 ‘‘(2) Each affirmative procurement program required

6 under this subsection shall, at a minimum, include the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(A) A recovered materials preference program.

9 Such program shall apply to the Federal agency and

10 to each entity, including a State, a political subdivi11 sion of a State, or a contractor, that receives funds

12 appropriated to such Federal agency for procure13 ment of any procurement item.

14 ‘‘(B) An agency promotion program to promote

15 the preference program adopted under subparagraph

16 (A).

17 ‘‘(C) A program for requiring certification of

18 the minimum recovered materials content actually

19 used, or, where appropriate, to be used, and reason20 able verification procedures for such certifications.

21 ‘‘(D) An annual review and monitoring of the

22 effectiveness of the agency’s affirmative procurement

23 program.

24 ‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (2)(C), manufactur25 ers of items shall be required to provide to vendors certifi-
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1 cations of the minimum recovered materials content actu2 ally used, or to be used.

3 ‘‘(4) For purposes of paragraph (2)(D), each Federal

4 agency shall prepare an annual report describing the agen5 cy’s affirmative procurement program and a review of its

6 effectiveness. Such reports shall be submitted simulta7 neously to the Administrator and the Administrator for

8 Federal Procurement Policy, who shall make them avail9 able to the public. At a minimum, such reports shall in10 clude—

11 ‘‘(A) a description of actions taken to delete

12 discriminatory specifications and internal policies

13 and procedures, and actions taken to revise such

14 specifications, policies, and procedures, pursuant to

15 subsection (d);

16 ‘‘(B) information on the amount and value of

17 items which contain recovered materials and items

18 which contain only virgin materials that are pro19 cured or contracted for by the agency;

20 ‘‘(C) an assessment of the effectiveness of the

21 agency’s promotion program;

22 ‘‘(D) an assessment of remaining technical, eco23 nomic, institutional, and legal barriers to procure24 ment of items containing recovered materials;

25 ‘‘(E) response of bidders; and
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1 ‘‘(F) compliance by grantees and contractors of

2 the agency.

3 ‘‘(k) STATE PLANS.—Each plan prepared by a State

4 pursuant to section 4003 of this Act shall describe actions

5 taken by the State to comply with this section.

6 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

7 ‘‘(1) The term ‘recovered materials’ means ma8 terials which—

9 ‘‘(A) have a known use, reuse, or recycling

10 potential;

11 ‘‘(B) can be feasibly used, reused, or recy12 cled; and

13 ‘‘(C) have been diverted or removed from

14 the solid waste stream for sale, use, reuse, or

15 recycling (whether or not such materials require

16 separation and processing).

17 ‘‘(2) The term ‘post-consumer materials’ means

18 only those products generated by a consumer which

19 have been made available for sale or have served

20 their intended end-uses and have been separated or

21 diverted from solid waste for the purpose of collec22 tion, recycling, and disposition. The term does not

23 include waste generated during production of an

24 end-product.’’.
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1 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

2 For the purposes of this Act:

3 (1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad4 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

5 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

6 of Commerce.

7 (3) The term ‘‘post-consumer materials’’ means

8 only those products generated by a consumer which

9 have been made available for sale or have served

10 their intended end-uses and have been separated or

11 diverted from solid waste for the purpose of collec12 tion, recycling, and disposition. The term does not

13 include waste generated during production of an

14 end-product.

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