Legislation & Regulations

Senate passes recycling, composting legislation

The Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act (S.B. 3742) and the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act (S.B. 3743) passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous votes July 28 and have been sent to the House of Representatives.

The Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2022, introduced by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a pilot grant program for improving recycling accessibility in communities. The EPA would be able to award grants to states, local governments, Indian tribes or public-private partnerships if the bill becomes law.

The Composting Accountability Act, introduced by Sen. Tom Carper, establishes data collection and reporting requirements for recycling and composting programs, including EPA reporting on the capability of implementing a national composting strategy to reduce contamination rates for recycling.

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, says it has been working with staff of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Carper and ranking member Capito on these bills to improve rural recycling accessibility and recycling/composting data collection.

“We thank Senate leadership for bringing these bills up under unanimous consent and urge the House of Representatives to move swiftly to pass these bills on suspension as well,” NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith says.

Read more at https://bit.ly/3Ah43Af.