I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1960 
To establish national goals for the reduction and recycling of municipal 
solid waste, to address the growing problem of marine debris, to require 
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate 
regulations to attain those goals, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 22, 2015 
Mr. HONDA (for himself, Mr. FARR, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PIN-
GREE, and Ms. LOFGREN) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To establish national goals for the reduction and recycling 
of municipal solid waste, to address the growing problem 
of marine debris, to require the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regula-
tions to attain those goals, 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 ‘‘Land-Based Marine 
Debris Reduction Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds and declares the following: 
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(1) Because the United States has the largest 
Exclusive Economic Zone of all nations, it has a dis-
proportionate economic interest in a healthy ocean. 
(2) The United States has a strategic interest 
in healthy fisheries, marine ecosystems, and a strong 
ocean economy. 
(3) Solid waste is littering the Nation’s water-
ways, including streams, rivers, and lakes, most no-
tably the Great Lakes, and much of this marine de-
bris is collecting in the oceans. 
(4) An estimated 80 percent of litter that ends 
up in the oceans comes from land-based sources, and 
litter in the Nation’s waterways has numerous detri-
mental effects. 
(5) Marine debris injures wildlife, sometimes re-
sulting in death, degrades ecosystems, interferes 
with navigation, threatens public health and safety, 
and creates additional expenditures for shipping, 
fishing, tourism, and coastal communities. 
(6) Only about 46 percent of the Nation’s waste 
is recycled or composted, including through waste-to- 
energy. 
(7) Successful solid waste management requires 
creative use of the entire hierarchy of solid waste 
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management, waste reduction, recycling, waste-to- 
energy operations, and landfilling. 
(8) Recycling can play a significant role in re-
ducing municipal waste and marine debris. 
(9) The failure to recycle and reuse materials is 
a significant and unnecessary waste of important na-
tional energy and material resources. 
(10) Comprehensive, multi-material recycling 
programs represent the most cost-effective and effi-
cient method of meeting recycling goals and reduc-
ing marine debris. 
(11) The responsibility to recycle should be 
shared by all consumers of recyclable goods includ-
ing individual households, municipalities, and com-
mercial and institutional establishments. 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL GOALS FOR WASTE REDUCTION AND RE-
CYCLING. 
(a) SOURCE REDUCTION.—Congress declares it to be 
the national goal of the United States that there shall be 
no increase in the generation of solid waste sent to land-
fills above the level of solid waste generated and sent to 
landfills in the year of the enactment of this Act (as deter-
mined by the Administrator). 
(b) WASTE RECYCLING.—Congress declares it to be 
the national goal of the United States that at least 50 
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percent of the municipal solid waste stream shall be recy-
cled by the end of 2020, and 65 percent of such waste 
stream shall be recycled by the end of 2030 (as determined 
by the Administrator). 
(c) MARINE DEBRIS REDUCTION.—Congress declares 
it to be the national goal of the United States that there 
shall be no increase in the flow of marine debris into the 
ocean above the level of such flow in the year of the enact-
ment of this Act (as determined by the Administrator). 
SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator shall report 
to Congress each year the following: 
(1) The amount and composition of municipal 
solid waste generated in the United States. 
(2) The amount and composition of municipal 
solid waste generated in the United States that en-
ters the ocean. 
(3) The methods used to manage such waste. 
(4) The progress made in achieving the source 
reduction, recycling, and marine debris reduction 
goals of this Act, the impediments to the attainment 
of such goals, and recommendations on the regu-
latory or legislative initiatives necessary to attain 
such goals. 
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(b) FIRST REPORT.—The first report under this sec-
tion shall be submitted not later than 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. REPORT ON PRIMARY LEAKAGE PATHS OF MARINE 
DEBRIS INTO THE OCEAN. 
Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall provide to Congress 
a report that includes the following: 
(1) Identification of the pathways through 
which marine debris reaches the ocean, such as con-
sumer discards, flawed waste management designs, 
and infrastructural leaks, as determined in consulta-
tion with experts, including waste management, con-
sumer goods, and infrastructure experts. 
(2) Best practices that may be used at the Fed-
eral, State, and local level to reduce or eliminate 
such pathways, including methods to address 
infrastructural leaks, regulation, or economic incen-
tives. 
SEC. 6. PRODUCTS AND PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) LIST AND RECYCLING DETERMINATIONS.— 
(1) Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall de-
velop a list of categories of commonly used products 
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and packaging which are discarded into the munic-
ipal solid waste stream. With respect to each cat-
egory on the list, the Administrator shall determine 
the following: 
(A) The percentage of recovered materials 
used in the manufacture of products or pack-
aging in each category. 
(B) The source reduction and recovery effi-
ciency of products or packaging in each cat-
egory. 
(C) The percentage of products or pack-
aging in each category that is recycled upon 
discard. 
(D) The percentage of products or pack-
aging in each category that enters the ocean 
upon discard or is otherwise littered. 
(E) The life cycle environmental effects as-
sociated with the products or packaging in each 
category compared to product or packaging al-
ternatives, using standard life cycle assessment 
methodologies and categories of environmental 
impacts, including climate change, human 
health, eutrophication, acidification, water use, 
land use, and ecosystems toxicity. 
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(2) Upon completion of the list and determina-
tions required under paragraph (1), the Adminis-
trator shall identify categories of products or pack-
aging that shall be targeted for regulatory action 
under subsection (b). The Administrator shall target 
a category based upon high overall life cycle impact 
of the product or package compared to the alter-
natives, considering categories of environmental im-
pacts, recovered material content, recyclability, and 
high volume in the waste stream. 
(b) REGULATORY ACTION.—With respect to each cat-
egory of product or packaging identified under subsection 
(a)(2), the Administrator may take the following actions: 
(1) The Administrator may promulgate regula-
tions to require the manufacturer of the product or 
packaging to use recovered materials of that or an-
other category in the product or packaging. In pro-
mulgating regulations under this paragraph, the Ad-
ministrator shall, to the extent practicable, consider 
the potential life cycle impacts of requiring recovered 
material content in a product or packaging on in-
creasing greenhouse gases and water usage, current 
regulations regarding the use of recovered materials, 
and potential market disruptions to recovered mate-
rials. 
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(2) The Administrator may phase in any of the 
actions taken under paragraph (1) if the Adminis-
trator determines it to be necessary for economic 
reasons. 
SEC. 7. PACKAGING STANDARDS. 
The Administrator and the Secretary of Commerce, 
in consultation with affected industries, experts in package 
design and marketing, companies engaged in collecting 
and processing products and packages, and environmental 
organizations, shall develop a voluntary system of pack-
aging standards with respect to materials contained within 
the packaging and the recyclability of the packaging upon 
discard, which may include implementation of an existing 
labeling standard where appropriate. The standards shall 
provide that packaging that meets the standards shall be 
eligible to use a label indicating compliance with the stand-
ards for promotion and educational purposes. 
SEC. 8. REPORT ON LANDFILL CLOSURES. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress 
a report analyzing the costs and difficulties encountered 
by States and local communities in closing landfills. The 
report shall include recommendations on the types and lev-
els of Federal assistance (including technical guidance and 
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funds) that should be provided to States and local commu-
nities for such purpose. 
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. 
(2) The term ‘‘marine debris’’ is human-created 
waste that has been discharged into the coastal or 
marine environment, including any anthropogenic, 
manufactured, or processed solid material (regard-
less of size) discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in 
the environment, including all materials discarded 
into the ocean, on the shore, or brought indirectly to 
the ocean by rivers, sewage, storm water, waves, or 
wind. 
(3) The term ‘‘recovered material’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 1004 of the Solid 
Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903). 
(4) The term ‘‘recycled’’ means reused, recov-
ered, or reclaimed from solid waste through any 
means, including remanufacturing, reprocessing, and 
waste-to-energy technologies. 
Æ 
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