ZERO WASTE Act
Bill: H.R.2101 | Sponsor: Rep. Omar, Ilhan (D-MN)
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Zeroing Excess, Reducing Organic Waste, And Sustaining Technical Expertise Act or the ZERO WASTE Act
This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish grant programs for reducing waste.
Specifically, the EPA must establish a program to award grants to nonprofit organizations and state, local, and tribal governments for projects that utilize specified zero-waste practices. Zero-waste means the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without (1) burning or otherwise destroying embodied energy; and (2) a discharge to land, water, or air that results in adverse human health or environmental effects.
In addition, the EPA must establish a program to award grants for developing and implementing new requirements that reduce the amount of waste disposed of in landfills.

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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Zeroing Excess, Reducing Organic 
Waste, And Sustaining Technical Expertise Act'' or the ``ZERO WASTE 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Except as otherwise provided, in this Act:
            (1) Adaptive management practice.--The term ``adaptive 
        management practice'' means, with respect to use of a grant 
        under this Act, the integration 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 behaviors to 
        improve outcomes.
            (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental 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 business are 
                carried out in the United States.
            (4) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a single unit of State, local, or Tribal 
                government;
                    (B) a partnership of multiple units of State, 
                local, or Tribal government;
                    (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 animals; and
                    (B) is treated in a specialized facility designed 
                to recycle organic material.
            (9) Recycle; recycling.--The terms ``recycle'' and 
        ``recycling'' have the meanings given those terms in section 
        12001 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (as added by this title).
            (10) Reuse.--The term ``reuse''--
                    (A) means--
                            (i) using a product, packaging, or material 
                        more than once for the same or a new function 
                        without requiring additional processing;
                            (ii) repairing a product, packaging, or 
                        material in such a way that extends its useful 
                        lifetime;
                            (iii) sharing or renting a product, 
                        packaging, or material in such a way that 
                        extends its useful lifetime; or
                            (iv) selling or donating a product, 
                        packaging, or material in such a way that 
                        extends its useful lifetime; and
                    (B) does not include incineration.
            (11) Single-use product.--The term ``single-use product''--
                    (A) means a consumer product that is designed to be 
                disposed of, recycled, or otherwise discarded after a 
                single use; and
                    (B) does not include--
                            (i) medical equipment, devices, or other 
                        products determined by the Secretary of Health 
                        and Human Services to necessarily be made of 
                        plastic for the protection of public health;
                            (ii) a personal hygiene product that, due 
                        to the intended use of the product, could 
                        become unsafe or unsanitary to recycle, such as 
                        a diaper; and
                            (iii) packaging that is--
                                    (I) for any product described in 
                                subparagraph (A); or
                                    (II) used for the shipment of 
                                hazardous materials that is prohibited 
                                from being composed of used materials 
                                under section 178.509 or 178.522 of 
                                title 49, Code of Federal Regulations 
                                (as in effect on the date of enactment 
                                of this Act).
            (12) Source reduction.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``source reduction'' 
                means an activity or process that reduces the 
                generation of waste at its source, before it can enter 
                into commerce or the environment.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``source reduction'' 
                includes--
                            (i) the redesign of products or materials 
                        such that they can be reused, rather than 
                        disposed of;
                            (ii) the design and manufacture of products 
                        or materials with minimal packaging intended 
                        for disposal;
                            (iii) an activity or process that reduces 
                        the amount of waste generated during a 
                        manufacturing process;
                            (iv) an activity or process that reduces or 
                        eliminates the use of materials that are not 
                        able to be recycled without degrading the 
                        quality of the material; and
                            (v) any other activity or process that 
                        reduces the weight, volume, or toxicity of 
                        products or materials.
                    (C) Exclusion.--The term ``source reduction'' does 
                not include an activity or process used after a product 
                or material has become waste, such as incineration.
            (13) Source separation.--The term ``source separation''--
                    (A) means the separation of solid waste by material 
                or commodity type prior to collection, such as 
                separation into recyclable and non-recyclable materials 
                or by recyclable commodity; and
                    (B) does not require the use of technologies 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 incinerated, including reuse and recycling.
            (15) Zero-emissions vehicle.--The term ``zero-emissions 
        vehicle'' means a vehicle that produces 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 recovery of products, 
        packaging, and materials without--
                    (A) burning or otherwise destroying embodied 
                energy; and
                    (B) a discharge to land, water, or air that results 
                in adverse human health or environmental effects.
            (17) Zero-waste practice.--The term ``zero-waste practice'' 
        means a practice used to help achieve zero-waste, including the 
        use of source reduction.

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 receiving a 
                grant under this section may use such grant to carry 
                out a project to construct, expand, or modernize 
                infrastructure required for organics recycling, 
                including any facility, machinery, or equipment 
                required for the collection and processing of organic 
                material on a city-wide or county-wide scale.
                    (B) Requirements.--Each project carried out under 
                this paragraph shall result in increased capacity--
                            (i) to collect and process residential and 
                        commercial organic material, including through 
                        source separation of organic material; and
                            (ii) to generate environmentally beneficial 
                        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 receiving a 
                grant under this section may use such grant to carry 
                out a project that enables the recycling or reuse of 
                electronic devices at the end of their useful lifetime, 
                including--
                            (i) constructing, expanding, or modernizing 
                        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--
                                    (I) that provides compensation for 
                                used electronics; and
                                    (II) under which such compensation 
                                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 
                                determined appropriate by the 
                                Administrator.
            (3) Source reduction.--
                    (A) In general.--An eligible entity receiving 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 
                redevelopment to reduce byproducts, packaging, and 
                other outputs.
                    (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 
                                operated; 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 byproducts; or
                                    (III) increased volume of 
                                byproducts compared with the original 
                                practice.
            (4) Market development.--
                    (A) In general.--An eligible entity receiving 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 commodities, or 
                        refurbished goods; and
                            (ii) as applicable, encourages or enables 
                        investment in domestically owned and operated 
                        manufacturing capacity with respect to the list 
                        in clause (i).
                    (B) Requirements.--Each project carried out under 
                this section--
                            (i) shall target easily or commonly 
                        recycled materials which are disproportionately 
                        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 
                                requirements;
                                    (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 
                                products; or
                                    (IV) any applicable recycled 
                                product procurement laws and expanded 
                                sustainable government purchasing 
                                requirements, as identified by the 
                                Administrator.
            (5) Zero-emissions collection vehicles.--An eligible entity 
        receiving a grant under this section may use such grant to 
        carry out a project to purchase, operate, and maintain zero-
        emissions vehicles 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 develop 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 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 requirements that prohibit organic 
        waste from being sent to landfills.
    (c) Definition of Eligible Entity.--In this section, 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 eligible to receive 
        a grant under this Act, an eligible entity shall submit to the 
        Administrator an application at such time and in such form as 
        the Administrator 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).
            (2) Additional application criteria for nonprofit 
        organization.--In the case of an application 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 Administrator may 
                require.
    (b) Priority Factors.--In awarding grants under this Act, the 
Administrator shall give priority to any eligible 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;
            (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, offered to individuals who 
        experience barriers to employment, as determined by the 
        Administrator;
            (3) will use such grant to carry out source reduction 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 investment in 
        infrastructure or other resources to achieve source reduction 
        and waste prevention targets set by the local unit of 
        government that is responsible 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
            (8) will incorporate multi-stakeholder involvement, 
        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, environmental 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 
effectiveness 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 provide an opportunity for 
eligible entities and other relevant stakeholders to share their 
experience and expertise in implementing zero-waste practices.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Grants for Zero-Waste Projects.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out section 3 $150,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2022 through 2031, to remain available until expended.
    (b) Grants for Landfill Diversion.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out section 4 $250,000,000 for the period of 
fiscal years 2022 through 2031, to remain available until expended.
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