I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2101 
To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to award 
grants for projects that are consistent with zero-waste practices, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 19, 2021 
Ms. OMAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency to award grants for projects that are consistent 
with zero-waste practices, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Zeroing Excess, Re-
ducing Organic Waste, And Sustaining Technical Exper-
tise Act’’ or the ‘‘ZERO WASTE Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
Except as otherwise provided, in this Act: 
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(1) ADAPTIVE
MANAGEMENT
PRACTICE.—The 
term ‘‘adaptive management practice’’ means, with 
respect to use of a grant under this Act, the integra-
tion of project design, management, and monitoring 
to identify the impacts and outcomes of such use of 
a grant as they arise for purposes of adjusting be-
haviors to improve outcomes. 
(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
(3) DOMESTICALLY OWNED AND OPERATED.— 
The term ‘‘domestically owned and operated’’ means, 
with respect to a business— 
(A) the headquarters of such a business is 
located within the United States; and 
(B) the primary operations of such a busi-
ness are carried out in the United States. 
(4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) a single unit of State, local, or Tribal 
government; 
(B) a partnership of multiple units of 
State, local, or Tribal government; 
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(C) one or more units of State, local, or 
Tribal government in coordination with for- 
profit or nonprofit organizations; or 
(D) one or more nonprofit organizations. 
(5) EMBODIED ENERGY.—The term ‘‘embodied 
energy’’ means energy that was used to create a 
product or material. 
(6) ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE
COMMUNITY.— 
The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ has 
the meaning given that term in section 601. 
(7) LIVING
WAGE.—The term ‘‘living wage’’ 
means the minimum income necessary to allow a 
person working 40 hours per week to afford the cost 
of housing, food, and other material necessities. 
(8) 
ORGANICS
RECYCLING.—The 
term 
‘‘organics recycling’’ means the biological process by 
which organic material— 
(A) is biologically converted to compost 
that is not harmful to humans, plants, or ani-
mals; and 
(B) is treated in a specialized facility de-
signed to recycle organic material. 
(9) RECYCLE; RECYCLING.—The terms ‘‘recy-
cle’’ and ‘‘recycling’’ have the meanings given those 
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(A) means the separation of solid waste by 
material or commodity type prior to collection, 
such as separation into recyclable and non-recy-
clable materials or by recyclable commodity; 
and 
(B) does not require the use of tech-
nologies that sort mixed municipal solid waste 
into recyclable and non-recyclable materials. 
(14) WASTE PREVENTION.—The term ‘‘waste 
prevention’’ means any method to reduce the 
amount of materials disposed of in landfills or incin-
erated, including reuse and recycling. 
(15) ZERO-EMISSIONS
VEHICLE.—The term 
‘‘zero-emissions vehicle’’ means a vehicle that pro-
duces zero emissions of— 
(A) greenhouse gases; 
(B) criteria pollutants; and 
(C) hazardous air pollutants. 
(16) ZERO-WASTE.—The term ‘‘zero-waste’’ 
means the conservation of all resources by means of 
responsible production, consumption, reuse, and re-
covery of products, packaging, and materials with-
out— 
(A) burning or otherwise destroying em-
bodied energy; and 
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(B) a discharge to land, water, or air that 
results in adverse human health or environ-
mental effects. 
(17) ZERO-WASTE PRACTICE.—The term ‘‘zero- 
waste practice’’ means a practice used to help 
achieve zero-waste, including the use of source re-
duction. 
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR ZERO-WASTE PROJECTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 
and carry out a program to award grants, on a competitive 
basis, to eligible entities to carry out projects described 
in subsection (b). 
(b) GRANT USE.— 
(1) ORGANICS RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re-
ceiving a grant under this section may use such 
grant to carry out a project to construct, ex-
pand, or modernize infrastructure required for 
organics recycling, including any facility, ma-
chinery, or equipment required for the collection 
and processing of organic material on a city- 
wide or county-wide scale. 
(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Each project car-
ried out under this paragraph shall result in in-
creased capacity— 
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(i) to collect and process residential 
and commercial organic material, including 
through source separation of organic mate-
rial; and 
(ii) to generate environmentally bene-
ficial byproducts, such as compost with 
added nutritional content. 
(C) MIXED-WASTE COMPOSTING.—A grant 
received under this paragraph may not be used 
to support the collection or processing of mixed- 
waste composting. 
(2) ELECTRONIC WASTE RECYCLING.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re-
ceiving a grant under this section may use such 
grant to carry out a project that enables the re-
cycling or reuse of electronic devices at the end 
of their useful lifetime, including— 
(i) constructing, expanding, or mod-
ernizing infrastructure and technology; 
(ii) research and development; and 
(iii) product refurbishment. 
(B) REQUIREMENTS.—A project carried 
out under this paragraph— 
(i) may not include an electronic 
waste buy-back program— 
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(I) that provides compensation 
for used electronics; and 
(II) under which such compensa-
tion may be applied as a credit toward 
the purchase of new electronics; and 
(ii) shall be carried out by an eligible 
entity that is certified to recycle electronics 
by an organization that is accredited by— 
(I) the National Accreditation 
Board of the American National 
Standards Institute; 
(II) the American Society of 
Quality; or 
(III) another accrediting body de-
termined appropriate by the Adminis-
trator. 
(3) SOURCE REDUCTION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re-
ceiving a grant under this section may use such 
grant to carry out a project relating to source 
reduction, which such project may include, in 
accordance with subparagraph (B), carrying out 
product or manufacturing redesign or redevel-
opment to reduce byproducts, packaging, and 
other outputs. 
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(B) REDESIGN
AND
REDEVELOPMENT.— 
An eligible entity may only carry out a project 
described in subparagraph (A)(ii) if— 
(i) the applicable manufacturer— 
(I) is domestically owned and op-
erated; and 
(II) pays a living wage; and 
(ii) the redesign or redevelopment 
does not result in— 
(I) higher toxicity of the product 
or byproducts; 
(II) 
more 
complicated 
recyclability of the product or byprod-
ucts; or 
(III) increased volume of byprod-
ucts compared with the original prac-
tice. 
(4) MARKET DEVELOPMENT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re-
ceiving a grant under this section may use such 
grant to carry out a project that— 
(i) creates market demand for source 
reduction, sorted recyclable commodities, 
goods made of sorted recyclable commod-
ities, or refurbished goods; and 
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(ii) as applicable, encourages or en-
ables investment in domestically owned and 
operated manufacturing capacity with re-
spect to the list in clause (i). 
(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Each project car-
ried out under this section— 
(i) shall target easily or commonly re-
cycled materials which are disproportion-
ately disposed of in landfills or incinerated; 
(ii) shall reduce the volume, weight, or 
toxicity of waste and waste byproducts; 
and 
(iii) may not conflict with— 
(I) minimum-content laws, such 
as post-consumer recycled content re-
quirements; 
(II) beverage container deposits; 
(III) programs funded through 
retail fees for specific products or 
classes of products that use such fees 
to collect, treat, or recycle such prod-
ucts; or 
(IV) 
any 
applicable 
recycled 
product procurement laws and ex-
panded sustainable government pur-
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chasing requirements, as identified by 
the Administrator. 
(5) ZERO-EMISSIONS COLLECTION VEHICLES.— 
An eligible entity receiving a grant under this sec-
tion may use such grant to carry out a project to 
purchase, operate, and maintain zero-emissions vehi-
cles used to collect material for recycling or organics 
recycling. 
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR LANDFILL DIVERSION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 
and carry out a program to award grants, on a competitive 
basis, to eligible entities to develop and implement new 
requirements, as described in subsection (b), that reduce 
the amount of waste disposed of in landfills. 
(b) GRANT USE.— 
(1) TIPPING FEES.—An eligible entity receiving 
a grant under this section may use such grant to de-
velop and implement zero-waste practices that are 
accompanied by permanent increases in tipping, 
gate, or disposal fees imposed on the disposal of 
waste at landfills. 
(2) CURBSIDE COMPOSTING COLLECTION.—An 
eligible entity receiving a grant under this section 
may use such grant to support the implementation 
of State programs that mandate the availability of 
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curbside collection of material for organics recycling 
for all single-family and multifamily residential 
households. 
(3) LANDFILL DIVERSION.—An eligible entity 
receiving a grant under this section may use such 
grant to support the implementation of statewide re-
quirements that prohibit organic waste from being 
sent to landfills. 
(c) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a single unit of 
State government or a relevant State agency. 
SEC. 5. GRANT APPLICATIONS. 
(a) APPLICATION.— 
(1) CRITERIA FOR ALL APPLICANTS.—To be eli-
gible to receive a grant under this Act, an eligible 
entity shall submit to the Administrator an applica-
tion at such time and in such form as the Adminis-
trator requires, which shall include demonstrating 
that the eligible entity— 
(A) has set specific source reduction or 
waste prevention targets; and 
(B) will carry out a project that meets the 
applicable project requirements under section 
3(b) or 4(b). 
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(2) ADDITIONAL
APPLICATION
CRITERIA
FOR 
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—In the case of an ap-
plication from an eligible entity that is a nonprofit 
organization, the application shall include— 
(A) a letter of support for the proposed 
project from— 
(i) a local unit of government; or 
(ii) another nonprofit organization 
that— 
(I) has a demonstrated history of 
undertaking work in the geographic 
region where the proposed project is 
to take place; and 
(II) is not involved in the project 
being proposed; and 
(B) any other information the Adminis-
trator may require. 
(b) PRIORITY FACTORS.—In awarding grants under 
this Act, the Administrator shall give priority to any eligi-
ble entity that— 
(1) with respect to an eligible entity that is a 
State or unit of local government, has statutorily 
committed to implementing one or more zero-waste 
practices; 
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(2) demonstrates how use of such grant could 
lead to the creation of new jobs that pay a living 
wage and are, to the greatest extent practicable, of-
fered to individuals who experience barriers to em-
ployment, as determined by the Administrator; 
(3) will use such grant to carry out source re-
duction or waste prevention in schools; 
(4) will use such grant to employ an adaptive 
management practice to identify, prevent, or address 
any negative environmental consequences of a 
project proposed to be carried out with a grant 
under this Act; 
(5) has a demonstrated need for additional in-
vestment in infrastructure or other resources to 
achieve source reduction and waste prevention tar-
gets set by the local unit of government that is re-
sponsible for waste management and recycling in the 
geographic area; 
(6) will use such grant to develop an innovative 
or new technology or strategy for source reduction 
and waste prevention; 
(7) demonstrates how receiving the grant will 
encourage further investment in source reduction 
and waste prevention activities; or 
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(8) will incorporate multi-stakeholder involve-
ment, including nonprofit, commercial, and public 
sector partners, in carrying out a project using such 
grant. 
(c) REQUIREMENT.—Of the amount made available 
pursuant to section 8(a), not less than 75 percent shall 
be allocated to projects that serve, or are located in, envi-
ronmental justice communities. 
SEC. 6. REPORTING. 
Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this 
Act shall submit to the Administrator a report, at such 
time and in such form as the Administrator may require, 
on the results of the project carried out with such grant, 
and such report shall include any relevant data requested 
by the Administrator for purposes of tracking the effec-
tiveness of the programs established under section 3(a) 
and 4(b). 
SEC. 7. ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 
In each of calendar years 2022 through 2030, the 
Administrator shall convene an annual conference to pro-
vide an opportunity for eligible entities and other relevant 
stakeholders to share their experience and expertise in im-
plementing zero-waste practices. 
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