DEEP DIVE: Environmental Leaders, Lawmakers Leverage Partnerships to Boost Recycling Capacity

**Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del) sought input from environmental leaders on programs to fund community recycling initiatives during a 22 May 2024 hearing. (Credit: EPW Committee)

Experts and a bipartisan group of lawmakers agree - recycling will have a more significant impact if collection and processing infrastructure is improved and communities are empowered by public-private partnerships to invest in programs that transform waste into reusable products that contribute to a more circular economy through extended producer responsibility (EPR).

As of 2018, the most recent year recorded in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) database on recycling and waste management, just 32% of the 292.4 million tons of municipal solid waste generated that year was composted, equivalent to 94 million tons.

The challenges for recycling entities across jurisdictions are complex - landfill capacities have been strained, reliable data is hard to come by, and food waste contributes to 58% of methane emissions in solid waste landfills.

“There's a lot of work to be done to make recycling systems as effective and efficient as possible,” said Cody Marshall, the Recycling Partnership's chief system optimization officer. “This involves rethinking how materials are produced, how packages are designed, and what happens after products are consumed.”

Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee (EPW) members sought input from environmental leaders like Marshall to better address the issues they are facing and to help fund their community recycling initiatives during a 22 May 2024 hearing, with an emphasis on educating consumers about responsible recycling and clearer, more accurate labeling of applicable products.

“I believe we should seize the opportunity in front of us to create a circular economy that protects our planet, strengthens our communities and creates jobs,” said EPW Chairman Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del). “And we must do so by collaborating across all levels of government, non-profits and the private sector.”

Review

One notable mechanism the federal government can employ to promote more efficient and sustainable recycling pickup is the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) grant program, a new initiative authorized by the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act and funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

SWIFR was created in 2020 and later funded through President Joe Biden's 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides $275 million, or $55 million annually from 2022 to 2026.

The SWIFR program offers grants to improve post-consumer materials management and infrastructure and support improvements to local post-consumer materials management. It also aims to ensure recycling programs are equipped to assist local waste management authorities in making improvements to local waste management systems.

Elizabeth Biser, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, said investments at the state level have attracted private capital that has contributed to the development of recycling programs.

One example Biser cited - Clear Path Recycling in Fayetteville, North Carolina - received $140,000 via three grants to install equipment to improve its efficiency and increase its yield, adding over 6,500 tons to its annual recycling capacity. It also leveraged $1.7 million in private investment and created 90 local jobs at its facility.

“We're leveraging a lot of private dollars by investing a little bit of state dollars,” Biser said.

Analysis

A pair of bills that passed the Senate in March were aimed at facilitating greater federal and state coordination on recycling efforts, including Carper's Recycling and Composting Accountability Act (RCAA), which improves the EPA's ability to gather data on the nation's recycling systems and explores opportunities for implementing a national composting strategy.

The Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act (RIAA), introduced by Carper, Ranking Member Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), allows the EPA to create a pilot program to improve recycling services in underserved areas.

There remains considerable work to pass the respective companion bills in the lower chamber. The House of Representatives version of RCAA was referred to the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials on 16 June 2023 and has not made it out of committee.

The House version of the RIAA was introduced 1 November 2023 and also remains in committee.

Susan Fife-Ferris, director of solid waste planning and program management for Seattle Public Utilities, urged Congress to pass both bills. She also encouraged a national EPR framework for packaging and paper products and adopting national design for recyclability standards that includes standards for post-consumer recycled content.

WRDA Update

The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), introduced by Carper, Capito, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), passed 19-0 on 22 May 2024 during an EPW business meeting.

The bill aims to provide for improvements to the rivers and harbors of the United States and foster conservation and development of water and related resources. It authorizes 81 feasibility studies and eight construction projects related to U.S. waterways.

“This bill has so many wins for the state of Nebraska,” said Sen. Pete Ricketts, (R-Ne.). “I appreciate that this bill outlines priorities for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will improve customer service, help our state build more resiliently, reduce flood risks, and promote economic growth.”

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