I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2078

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require comprehensive plans

and cooperative programs for the recycling of plastics, automobiles, and

appliances.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 11, 1993

Mr. TORRICELLI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require comprehensive plans and cooperative programs for the recycling of plastics, automobiles, and appliances.

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 Research

5 and Development Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. COOPERATIVE RECYCLING PROGRAMS.

7 (a) PLASTICS, AUTOMOBILE, AND APPLIANCE RECY8 CLING.—Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42
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1 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

2 the following new sections:

3 ‘‘SEC. 4011. PLASTICS RECYCLING.

4 ‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE PLASTICS RECYCLING

5 PLAN.—

6 ‘‘(1) INITIAL PLAN.—Not later than 180 days

7 after the date of the enactment of the Recycling Re8 search and Development Act of 1993, the Secretary

9 of Energy, acting through the Office of Conservation

10 and Renewable Energy and after consultation with

11 the persons and industries specified in subsection

12 (b)(1), shall prepare and transmit to the Congress a

13 comprehensive plastics recycling plan that includes—

14 ‘‘(A) research priorities critical to im15 proved plastics recycling;

16 ‘‘(B) identification of ongoing research in

17 industry, academia, and the Federal Govern18 ment, including research efforts carried out at

19 the National Laboratories;

20 ‘‘(C) strategies for the cooperative program

21 established under subsection (b), including tech22 nical milestones to be achieved toward specific

23 goals during each fiscal year, for all major Fed24 eral activities and projects under the program;
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1 ‘‘(D) coordination by the Secretary of En2 ergy of ongoing research projects under the

3 program established under subsection (b), in4 cluding associated or related activities such as

5 materials research.

6 ‘‘(2) UPDATED PLANS.—The Secretary of En7 ergy shall update and submit to the Congress the

8 plan prepared under paragraph (1) whenever the

9 Secretary proposes significant changes to the plan.

10 ‘‘(b) COOPERATIVE PROGRAM.—

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of En12 ergy shall establish a cooperative program with the

13 plastics industry and other appropriate persons and

14 industries with expertise in solid waste planning,

15 management and disposal, source reduction, and re16 cycling, and the recycling centers established under

17 subsection (c), to conduct joint and cooperative recy18 cling technology research and development projects,

19 including research—

20 ‘‘(A) to determine which plastic products

21 and materials are present in large amounts in

22 the solid waste stream but not currently recy23 cled in significant amounts, and how to promote

24 increased recycling of such products and mate25 rials;
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1 ‘‘(B) to develop improved methods for col2 lecting, sorting, and reclaiming plastics, includ3 ing—

4 ‘‘(i) fast, automated identification sys5 tems to identify plastic parts for accurate

6 separation;

7 ‘‘(ii) chemical, mechanical, or

8 rheological technologies to improve the

9 compatibility of plastics; and

10 ‘‘(iii) chemical or mechanical tech11 nologies to improve the quality of plastic

12 materials recovery and recycling;

13 ‘‘(C) to develop new commercial applica14 tions for recycled plastic products and materials

15 and ways to expand commercial markets for re16 cycled plastic products and materials; and

17 ‘‘(D) to develop plastics recycling methods

18 and systems that conserve energy inherent in

19 recycled plastic products and materials.

20 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.—The Sec21 retary of Energy shall, not later than 240 days after

22 the date of the enactment of the Act, solicit propos23 als to conduct the projects described in paragraph

24 (1) and may, after such solicitation, enter into

25 agreements to conduct such projects. As part of a
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1 solicitation under this paragraph, the Secretary of

2 Energy may propose specific joint and cooperative

3 projects.

4 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL FUNDING.—The Secretary of

5 Energy may provide financial assistance for a

6 project conducted under this subsection in an

7 amount that does not exceed 50 percent of the total

8 cost of the project.

9 ‘‘(c) RECYCLING CENTERS.—

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of En11 ergy shall establish 3 national recycling research and

12 development centers at institutions of higher edu13 cation to conduct research projects described in sub14 section (b).

15 ‘‘(2) GRANTS.—The Secretary of Energy shall,

16 subject to appropriations, provide a grant to each

17 center established pursuant to paragraph (1) in the

18 amount not to exceed 50 percent of the funds re19 quired by the institution to conduct its assigned ac20 tivities, with the remaining funds being provided by

21 non-Federal sources (such as the State in which the

22 center is located, the institution of higher education

23 involved, and the private sector).

24 ‘‘(d) SUPPORT.—The Secretary of Energy shall con25 duct evaluations and arrange for tests and demonstrations
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1 to support the projects and other efforts conducted under

2 this section.

3 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Energy shall

4 consult with the Administrator, the Director of the Na5 tional Institute for Standards and Technology, and the Di6 rector of the National Science Foundation in carrying out

7 this section.

8 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

9 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En10 ergy to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fis11 cal years 1994 through 1999.

12 ‘‘SEC. 4012. AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING.

13 ‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE AUTOMOBILE RECYCLING

14 PLAN.—

15 ‘‘(1) INITIAL PLAN.—Not later than 180 days

16 after the date of the enactment of the Recycling Re17 search and Development Act of 1993, the Secretary

18 of Energy, acting through the Office of Conservation

19 and Renewable Energy, shall prepare and transmit

20 to the Congress a comprehensive automobile recy21 cling plan that includes—

22 ‘‘(A) research priorities critical to im23 proved automobile recycling;

24 ‘‘(B) identification of ongoing research in

25 industry, academia, and the Federal Govern-
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1 ment, including research efforts carried out at

2 the National Laboratories;

3 ‘‘(C) strategies for the cooperative program

4 established under subsection (b), including tech5 nical milestones to be achieved toward specific

6 goals during each fiscal year, for all major Fed7 eral activities and projects under the program;

8 ‘‘(D) coordination by the Secretary of En9 ergy of ongoing research projects under the

10 program established under subsection (b), in11 cluding associated or related activities such as

12 materials research.

13 ‘‘(2) UPDATED PLANS.—The Secretary of En14 ergy shall update and submit to the Congress the

15 plan prepared under paragraph (1) whenever the

16 Secretary proposes significant changes to the plan.

17 ‘‘(b) COOPERATIVE PROGRAM.—

18 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of En19 ergy shall establish a cooperative program with the

20 automobile and automobile parts manufacturing in21 dustry, the automobile dismantling and recycling in22 dustry, the plastics industry, and other appropriate

23 persons and industries to conduct joint and coopera24 tive automobile recycling technology research and

25 development projects, including research—
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1 ‘‘(A) to determine obstacles to increased

2 recycling of automobile components and strate3 gies to overcome those obstacles;

4 ‘‘(B) to determine methods for incorporat5 ing recyclability into the planning, design, and

6 manufacture of new automobiles and the effect

7 of such methods on the volume and toxicity of

8 manufacturing waste produced;

9 ‘‘(C) to develop methods for engineering

10 more easily recyclable plastics for use in auto11 mobiles;

12 ‘‘(D) to develop new technologies for the

13 recycling of automotive shredder residue;

14 ‘‘(E) to develop environmentally preferable

15 substitutes for toxic and nonrecyclable materials

16 used in automobiles; and

17 ‘‘(F) to review automobile and automobile

18 components and parts recycling efforts and pro19 mote public awareness of these efforts.

20 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.—The Sec21 retary of Energy shall, not later than 240 days after

22 the date of the enactment of the Recycling Research

23 and Development Act of 1993, solicit proposals to

24 conduct the projects described in paragraph (1) and

25 may, after such solicitation, enter into agreements to
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1 conduct such projects. As part of a solicitation under

2 this paragraph, the Secretary of Energy may pro3 pose specific joint and cooperative projects.

4 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL FUNDING.—The Secretary of

5 Energy may provide financial assistance for a

6 project conducted under this subsection in an

7 amount that does not exceed 50 percent of the total

8 cost of the project.

9 ‘‘(d) SUPPORT.—The Secretary of Energy shall con10 duct evaluations and arrange for tests and demonstrations

11 to support the projects and other efforts conducted under

12 this subsection.

13 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Energy shall

14 consult with the Administrator, the Director of the Na15 tional Institute for Standards and Technology, and the Di16 rector of the National Science Foundation in carrying out

17 this section.

18 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

19 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En20 ergy to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fis21 cal years 1994 through 1999.

22 ‘‘SEC. 4013. APPLIANCE RECYCLING.

23 ‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE APPLIANCE RECYCLING

24 PLAN.—
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1 ‘‘(1) INITIAL PLAN.—Not later than 180 days

2 after the date of the enactment of the Recycling Re3 search and Development Act of 1993, the Secretary

4 of Energy, acting through the Office of Conservation

5 and Renewable Energy, shall prepare and transmit

6 to the Congress a comprehensive appliance recycling

7 plan that includes—

8 ‘‘(A) research priorities critical to im9 proved appliance recycling;

10 ‘‘(B) identification of ongoing research in

11 industry, academia, and the Federal Govern12 ment, including research efforts carried out at

13 the National Laboratories;

14 ‘‘(C) strategies for the cooperative program

15 established under subsection (b), including tech16 nical milestones to be achieved toward specific

17 goals during each fiscal year, for all major Fed18 eral activities and projects under the program;

19 and

20 ‘‘(D) coordination by the Secretary of En21 ergy of ongoing research projects under the

22 program established under subsection (b), in23 cluding associated or related activities such as

24 materials research.
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1 ‘‘(2) UPDATED PLANS.—The Secretary of En2 ergy shall update and submit to the Congress the

3 plan prepared under paragraph (1) whenever the

4 Secretary proposed significant changes to the plan.

5 ‘‘(b) COOPERATIVE PROGRAM.—

6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of En7 ergy shall establish a cooperative program with the

8 appliance manufacturing industry, the appliance dis9 mantling and recycling industry, the steel industry,

10 the plastics industry, and other appropriate persons

11 and industries to conduct joint and cooperative ap12 pliance recycling technology research and develop13 ment projects, including research—

14 ‘‘(A) to determine obstacles to increased

15 recycling of appliances and strategies to over16 come those obstacles;

17 ‘‘(B) to determine methods for incorporat18 ing recyclability into the planning, design, and

19 manufacture of new appliances and the effect of

20 such methods on the volume and toxicity of

21 manufacturing waste produced;

22 ‘‘(C) to develop methods for engineering

23 more easily recyclable plastics for use in appli24 ances;
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1 ‘‘(D) to develop new technologies for the

2 recycling of appliance shredder residue;

3 ‘‘(E) to develop environmentally preferable

4 substitutes for toxic and nonrecyclable materials

5 used in appliances; and

6 ‘‘(F) to review appliance recycling efforts

7 and promote public awareness of these efforts.

8 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.—The Sec9 retary of Energy shall, not later than 240 days after

10 the date of the enactment of the Recycling Research

11 and Development Act of 1993, solicit proposals to

12 conduct the projects described in paragraph (1) and

13 may, after such solicitation, enter into agreements to

14 conduct such projects. As part of a solicitation under

15 this paragraph, the Secretary of Energy may pro16 pose specific joint and cooperative projects.

17 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL FUNDING.—The Secretary of

18 Energy may provide financial assistance for a

19 project conducted under this subsection in an

20 amount that does not exceed 50 percent of the total

21 cost of the project.

22 ‘‘(d) SUPPORT.—The Secretary of Energy shall con23 duct evaluations and arrange for tests and demonstrations

24 to support the projects and other efforts conducted under

25 this section.
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1 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Energy shall

2 consult with the Administrator, the Director of the Na3 tional Institute for Standards and Technology, and the Di4 rector of the National Science Foundation in carrying out

5 this section.

6 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

7 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En8 ergy to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fis9 cal years 1994 through 1999.’’.

10 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table

11 of contents for subtitle D of such Act (contained in section

12 1001) is amended by adding at the end the following new

13 items:

‘‘Sec. 4011. Plastics recycling.

‘‘Sec. 4012. Automobile recycling.

‘‘Sec. 4013. Appliance recycling.’’.

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