Recycling and Composting Accountability 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. Short title This Act may be cited as the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act 2. Definitions (a) In general In this Act: (1) Administrator The term Administrator (2) Circular market The term circular market (3) Compost The term compost (A) is manufactured through the controlled aerobic, biological decomposition of biodegradable materials; (B) has been subjected to medium and high temperature organisms, which— (i) significantly reduce the viability of pathogens and weed seeds; and (ii) stabilize carbon in the product such that the product is beneficial to plant growth; and (C) is typically used as a soil amendment, but may also contribute plant nutrients. (4) Compostable material The term compostable material (A) wood; (B) agricultural crops; (C) paper; (D) certified compostable products associated with organic waste; (E) other organic plant material; (F) marine products; (G) organic waste, including food waste and yard waste; and (H) such other material that is composed of biomass that can be continually replenished or renewed, as determined by the Administrator. (5) Composting facility The term composting facility (6) Indian Tribe The term Indian Tribe 25 U.S.C. 5304 (7) Materials recovery facility (A) In general The term materials recovery facility (B) Exclusion The term materials recovery facility (8) Recyclable material The term recyclable material (9) Recycling The term recycling (A) during which recyclable materials are processed into specification-grade commodities, and consumed as raw-material feedstock, in lieu of virgin materials, in the manufacturing of new products; (B) that may include sorting, collection, processing, and brokering; and (C) that result in subsequent consumption by a materials manufacturer, including for the manufacturing of new products. (10) State The term State 42 U.S.C. 6903 (b) Definition of processing In paragraphs (7), (8), and (9) of subsection (a), the term processing (1) transforms a recyclable material into a specification-grade commodity; and (2) may occur in multiple steps, with different steps, including sorting, occurring at different locations. 3. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) recycling and composting conserve resources, protect the environment, and are important to the United States economy; (2) the United States recycling and composting infrastructure encompass each of the entities that collect, process, broker, and consume recyclable materials and compostable materials sourced from commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential sources; (3) the residential segment of the United States recycling and composting infrastructure is facing challenges from— (A) confusion over what materials are recyclable materials or compostable materials; (B) reduced export markets; (C) growing, but still limited, domestic end markets; and (D) an ever-changing and heterogeneous supply stream; (4) in some areas, recycling and composting infrastructure is in need of revitalization; and (5) in an effort to address those challenges, the United States must use a combination of tactics to improve recycling and composting in the United States. 4. Report on composting infrastructure capabilities The Administrator, in consultation with States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes, shall— (1) prepare a report, or expand work under the National Recycling Strategy to include data, describing the capability of the United States to implement a national composting strategy for compostable materials for the purposes of reducing contamination rates for recycling, including— (A) an evaluation of existing Federal, State, and local laws that may present barriers to implementation of a national composting strategy; (B) (i) an evaluation of existing composting programs of States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes; and (ii) a description of best practices based on those programs; (C) an evaluation of existing composting infrastructure in States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes for the purposes of estimating cost and approximate land needed to expand composting programs; and (D) a study of the practices of manufacturers and companies that are moving to using compostable packaging and food service ware for the purpose of making the composting process the end-of-life use of those products; and (2) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, submit the report prepared under paragraph (1) to Congress. 5. Report on Federal agency recycling practices Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter until 2033, the Comptroller General of the United States, in consultation with the Administrator, shall make publicly available a report describing— (1) the total annual recycling and composting rates reported by all Federal agencies; (2) the total annual percentage of products containing recyclable material, compostable material, or recovered materials purchased by all Federal agencies, including— (A) the total quantity of procured products containing recyclable material or recovered materials listed in the comprehensive procurement guidelines published under section 6002(e) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6962(e) (B) the total quantity of compostable material purchased; (3) recommendations for updating— (A) the comprehensive procurement guidelines published under section 6002(e) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6962(e) (B) the environmentally preferable purchasing program established under section 6604(b)(11) of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C. 13103(b)(11) (4) the activities of each Federal agency that promote recycling or composting. 6. Improving data and reporting (a) Inventory of materials recovery facilities Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the Administrator, in consultation with States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes, shall— (1) prepare an inventory of public and private materials recovery facilities in the United States, including— (A) the number of materials recovery facilities in each unit of local government in each State; and (B) a description of the materials that each materials recovery facility can process, including— (i) in the case of plastic, a description of— (I) the types of accepted resin, if applicable; and (II) the packaging or product format, such as a jug, a carton, or film; (ii) food packaging and service ware, such as a bottle, cutlery, or a cup; (iii) paper; (iv) aluminum, such as an aluminum beverage can, food can, aerosol can, or foil; (v) steel, such as a steel food or aerosol can; (vi) other scrap metal; (vii) glass; or (viii) any other material not described in any of clauses (i) through (vii) that a materials recovery facility can process; and (2) submit the inventory prepared under paragraph (1) to Congress. (b) Establishment of a comprehensive baseline of data for the United States recycling system The Administrator, in consultation with States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes, shall determine, with respect to the United States— (1) the number of community curbside recycling and composting programs; (2) the number of community drop-off recycling and composting programs; (3) the types and forms of materials accepted by each community curbside recycling, drop-off recycling, or composting program; (4) the number of individuals with access to recycling and composting services to at least the extent of access to disposal services; (5) the number of individuals with barriers to accessing recycling and composting services to at least the extent of access to disposal services; (6) the inbound contamination and capture rates of community curbside recycling, drop-off recycling, or composting programs; (7) where applicable, other available recycling or composting programs within a community, including store drop-offs; and (8) the average costs and benefits to States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes of recycling and composting programs. (c) Standardization of recycling reporting rates (1) Collection of rates (A) In general The Administrator may use amounts made available under section 9 to biannually collect from each State the nationally standardized rate of recyclable materials in that State that have been successfully diverted from the waste stream and brought to a materials recovery facility or composting facility. (B) Confidential or proprietary business information Information collected under subparagraph (A) shall not include any confidential or proprietary business information, as determined by the Administrator. (2) Use Using amounts made available under section 9, the Administrator may use the rates collected under paragraph (1) to further assist States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes— (A) to reduce the overall waste produced by the States and units of local government; and (B) to increase recycling and composting rates. (d) Report on end markets (1) In general The Administrator, in consultation with States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes, shall— (A) provide an update to the report submitted under section 306 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act ( Public Law 116–224 (i) the total, in dollars per ton, domestic sales of bales of recyclable materials; and (ii) the total, in dollars per ton, international sales of bales of recyclable materials; (B) prepare a report on the end-market sale of compost from all compostable materials collected from households and publicly available compost drop-off centers, including the total, in dollars per ton, of domestic sales of compostable materials; and (C) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, submit to Congress the update to the report prepared under subparagraph (A) and the report prepared under subparagraph (B). (2) Confidential or proprietary business information Information collected under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) shall not include any confidential or proprietary business information, as determined by the Administrator. 7. Study on the diversion of recyclable materials from a circular market (a) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall develop a metric for determining the proportion of recyclable materials in commercial and municipal waste streams that are being diverted from a circular market. (b) Study; report Not later than 1 year after the development of a metric under subsection (a), the Administrator shall conduct a study of, and submit to Congress a report on, the proportion of recyclable materials in commercial and municipal waste streams that, during each of the 10 calendar years preceding the year of submission of the report, were diverted from a circular market. (c) Data The report under subsection (b) shall provide data on specific recyclable materials, including aluminum, plastics, paper and paperboard, textiles, and glass, that were prevented from remaining in a circular market through disposal or elimination, and to what use those specific recyclable materials were lost. (d) Evaluation The report under subsection (b) shall include an evaluation of whether the establishment or improvement of recycling programs would— (1) improve recycling rates; or (2) reduce the quantity of recyclable materials being unutilized in a circular market. 8. Voluntary guidelines The Administrator shall— (1) in consultation with States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes, develop, based on the results of the studies, reports, inventory, and data determined under sections 4 through 7, and provide to States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes, through the Model Recycling Program Toolkit or a similar resource, best practices that the States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes may use to enhance recycling and composting, including— (A) labeling techniques for containers of waste, compostable materials, and recycling, with the goal of creating consistent, readily available, and understandable labeling across jurisdictions; (B) pamphlets or other literature readily available to constituents; (C) primary and secondary school educational resources on recycling; (D) web and media-based campaigns; and (E) guidance for the labeling of recyclable materials and compostable materials that minimizes contamination and diversion of those materials from waste streams toward recycling and composting systems; and (2) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, submit to Congress a report describing the best practices developed under paragraph (1). 9. Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out this Act, to remain available until expended.

Summary: Recycling and Composting Accountability Act This bill establishes data collection and reporting requirements concerning composting and recycling programs. Specifically, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must issue several reports related to composting and recycling, including a report on the capability of the United States to implement a national composting strategy in order to reduce contamination rates for recycling. The EPA must also inventory certain facilities that recycle residential materials and describe the materials that the facilities can process; collect data related to curbside and drop-off recycling and composting programs in order to establish a comprehensive baseline of data for the U.S. recycling system; and develop and disseminate best practices that states, local governments, and Indian tribes may use to enhance recycling and composting. The EPA must also develop a metric for determining the proportion of recyclable materials in commercial and municipal waste streams that is being diverted from circular markets, which are markets that utilize industrial processes and economic activities to enable post-industrial and post-consumer materials used in those processes and activities to maintain their highest values for as long as possible. After developing the metric, the EPA must then study the proportion of recyclable materials in such waste streams that were diverted from those markets in the prior ten years. Finally, the Government Accountability Office must report on the recycling practices of federal agencies.