ZERO WASTE Act

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- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Zeroing Excess, Re- 4 ducing Organic Waste, And Sustaining Technical Exper- 5 tise Act’’ or the ‘‘ZERO WASTE Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 7 Except as otherwise provided, in this Act: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2101 IH (1) ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE.—The 1 term ‘‘adaptive management practice’’ means, with 2 respect to use of a grant under this Act, the integra- 3 tion of project design, management, and monitoring 4 to identify the impacts and outcomes of such use of 5 a grant as they arise for purposes of adjusting be- 6 haviors to improve outcomes. 7 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 9 mental Protection Agency. 10 (3) DOMESTICALLY OWNED AND OPERATED.— 11 The term ‘‘domestically owned and operated’’ means, 12 with respect to a business— 13 (A) the headquarters of such a business is 14 located within the United States; and 15 (B) the primary operations of such a busi- 16 ness are carried out in the United States. 17 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 18 ty’’ means— 19 (A) a single unit of State, local, or Tribal 20 government; 21 (B) a partnership of multiple units of 22 State, local, or Tribal government; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2101 IH (C) one or more units of State, local, or 1 Tribal government in coordination with for- 2 profit or nonprofit organizations; or 3 (D) one or more nonprofit organizations. 4 (5) EMBODIED ENERGY.—The term ‘‘embodied 5 energy’’ means energy that was used to create a 6 product or material. 7 (6) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 8 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ has 9 the meaning given that term in section 601. 10 (7) LIVING WAGE.—The term ‘‘living wage’’ 11 means the minimum income necessary to allow a 12 person working 40 hours per week to afford the cost 13 of housing, food, and other material necessities. 14 (8) ORGANICS RECYCLING.—The term 15 ‘‘organics recycling’’ means the biological process by 16 which organic material— 17 (A) is biologically converted to compost 18 that is not harmful to humans, plants, or ani- 19 mals; and 20 (B) is treated in a specialized facility de- 21 signed to recycle organic material. 22 (9) RECYCLE; RECYCLING.—The terms ‘‘recy- 23 cle’’ and ‘‘recycling’’ have the meanings given those 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2101 IH terms in section 12001 of the Solid Waste Disposal 1 Act (as added by this title). 2 (10) REUSE.—The term ‘‘reuse’’— 3 (A) means— 4 (i) using a product, packaging, or ma- 5 terial more than once for the same or a 6 new function without requiring additional 7 processing; 8 (ii) repairing a product, packaging, or 9 material in such a way that extends its 10 useful lifetime; 11 (iii) sharing or renting a product, 12 packaging, or material in such a way that 13 extends its useful lifetime; or 14 (iv) selling or donating a product, 15 packaging, or material in such a way that 16 extends its useful lifetime; and 17 (B) does not include incineration. 18 (11) SINGLE-USE PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘single- 19 use product’’— 20 (A) means a consumer product that is de- 21 signed to be disposed of, recycled, or otherwise 22 discarded after a single use; and 23 (B) does not include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2101 IH (i) medical equipment, devices, or 1 other products determined by the Sec- 2 retary of Health and Human Services to 3 necessarily be made of plastic for the pro- 4 tection of public health; 5 (ii) a personal hygiene product that, 6 due to the intended use of the product, 7 could become unsafe or unsanitary to recy- 8 cle, such as a diaper; and 9 (iii) packaging that is— 10 (I) for any product described in 11 subparagraph (A); or 12 (II) used for the shipment of 13 hazardous materials that is prohibited 14 from being composed of used mate- 15 rials under section 178.509 or 16 178.522 of title 49, Code of Federal 17 Regulations (as in effect on the date 18 of enactment of this Act). 19 (12) SOURCE REDUCTION.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘source re- 21 duction’’ means an activity or process that re- 22 duces the generation of waste at its source, be- 23 fore it can enter into commerce or the environ- 24 ment. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2101 IH (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘source re- 1 duction’’ includes— 2 (i) the redesign of products or mate- 3 rials such that they can be reused, rather 4 than disposed of; 5 (ii) the design and manufacture of 6 products or materials with minimal pack- 7 aging intended for disposal; 8 (iii) an activity or process that re- 9 duces the amount of waste generated dur- 10 ing a manufacturing process; 11 (iv) an activity or process that reduces 12 or eliminates the use of materials that are 13 not able to be recycled without degrading 14 the quality of the material; and 15 (v) any other activity or process that 16 reduces the weight, volume, or toxicity of 17 products or materials. 18 (C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘source reduc- 19 tion’’ does not include an activity or process 20 used after a product or material has become 21 waste, such as incineration. 22 (13) SOURCE SEPARATION.—The term ‘‘source 23 separation’’— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2101 IH (A) means the separation of solid waste by 1 material or commodity type prior to collection, 2 such as separation into recyclable and non-recy- 3 clable materials or by recyclable commodity; 4 and 5 (B) does not require the use of tech- 6 nologies that sort mixed municipal solid waste 7 into recyclable and non-recyclable materials. 8 (14) WASTE PREVENTION.—The term ‘‘waste 9 prevention’’ means any method to reduce the 10 amount of materials disposed of in landfills or incin- 11 erated, including reuse and recycling. 12 (15) ZERO-EMISSIONS VEHICLE.—The term 13 ‘‘zero-emissions vehicle’’ means a vehicle that pro- 14 duces zero emissions of— 15 (A) greenhouse gases; 16 (B) criteria pollutants; and 17 (C) hazardous air pollutants. 18 (16) ZERO-WASTE.—The term ‘‘zero-waste’’ 19 means the conservation of all resources by means of 20 responsible production, consumption, reuse, and re- 21 covery of products, packaging, and materials with- 22 out— 23 (A) burning or otherwise destroying em- 24 bodied energy; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2101 IH (B) a discharge to land, water, or air that 1 results in adverse human health or environ- 2 mental effects. 3 (17) ZERO-WASTE PRACTICE.—The term ‘‘zero- 4 waste practice’’ means a practice used to help 5 achieve zero-waste, including the use of source re- 6 duction. 7 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR ZERO-WASTE PROJECTS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 9 and carry out a program to award grants, on a competitive 10 basis, to eligible entities to carry out projects described 11 in subsection (b). 12 (b) GRANT USE.— 13 (1) ORGANICS RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re- 15 ceiving a grant under this section may use such 16 grant to carry out a project to construct, ex- 17 pand, or modernize infrastructure required for 18 organics recycling, including any facility, ma- 19 chinery, or equipment required for the collection 20 and processing of organic material on a city- 21 wide or county-wide scale. 22 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—Each project car- 23 ried out under this paragraph shall result in in- 24 creased capacity— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2101 IH (i) to collect and process residential 1 and commercial organic material, including 2 through source separation of organic mate- 3 rial; and 4 (ii) to generate environmentally bene- 5 ficial byproducts, such as compost with 6 added nutritional content. 7 (C) MIXED-WASTE COMPOSTING.—A grant 8 received under this paragraph may not be used 9 to support the collection or processing of mixed- 10 waste composting. 11 (2) ELECTRONIC WASTE RECYCLING.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re- 13 ceiving a grant under this section may use such 14 grant to carry out a project that enables the re- 15 cycling or reuse of electronic devices at the end 16 of their useful lifetime, including— 17 (i) constructing, expanding, or mod- 18 ernizing infrastructure and technology; 19 (ii) research and development; and 20 (iii) product refurbishment. 21 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A project carried 22 out under this paragraph— 23 (i) may not include an electronic 24 waste buy-back program— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2101 IH (I) that provides compensation 1 for used electronics; and 2 (II) under which such compensa- 3 tion may be applied as a credit toward 4 the purchase of new electronics; and 5 (ii) shall be carried out by an eligible 6 entity that is certified to recycle electronics 7 by an organization that is accredited by— 8 (I) the National Accreditation 9 Board of the American National 10 Standards Institute; 11 (II) the American Society of 12 Quality; or 13 (III) another accrediting body de- 14 termined appropriate by the Adminis- 15 trator. 16 (3) SOURCE REDUCTION.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re- 18 ceiving a grant under this section may use such 19 grant to carry out a project relating to source 20 reduction, which such project may include, in 21 accordance with subparagraph (B), carrying out 22 product or manufacturing redesign or redevel- 23 opment to reduce byproducts, packaging, and 24 other outputs. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2101 IH (B) REDESIGN AND REDEVELOPMENT.— 1 An eligible entity may only carry out a project 2 described in subparagraph (A)(ii) if— 3 (i) the applicable manufacturer— 4 (I) is domestically owned and op- 5 erated; and 6 (II) pays a living wage; and 7 (ii) the redesign or redevelopment 8 does not result in— 9 (I) higher toxicity of the product 10 or byproducts; 11 (II) more complicated 12 recyclability of the product or byprod- 13 ucts; or 14 (III) increased volume of byprod- 15 ucts compared with the original prac- 16 tice. 17 (4) MARKET DEVELOPMENT.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re- 19 ceiving a grant under this section may use such 20 grant to carry out a project that— 21 (i) creates market demand for source 22 reduction, sorted recyclable commodities, 23 goods made of sorted recyclable commod- 24 ities, or refurbished goods; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2101 IH (ii) as applicable, encourages or en- 1 ables investment in domestically owned and 2 operated manufacturing capacity with re- 3 spect to the list in clause (i). 4 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—Each project car- 5 ried out under this section— 6 (i) shall target easily or commonly re- 7 cycled materials which are disproportion- 8 ately disposed of in landfills or incinerated; 9 (ii) shall reduce the volume, weight, or 10 toxicity of waste and waste byproducts; 11 and 12 (iii) may not conflict with— 13 (I) minimum-content laws, such 14 as post-consumer recycled content re- 15 quirements; 16 (II) beverage container deposits; 17 (III) programs funded through 18 retail fees for specific products or 19 classes of products that use such fees 20 to collect, treat, or recycle such prod- 21 ucts; or 22 (IV) any applicable recycled 23 product procurement laws and ex- 24 panded sustainable government pur- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2101 IH chasing requirements, as identified by 1 the Administrator. 2 (5) ZERO-EMISSIONS COLLECTION VEHICLES.— 3 An eligible entity receiving a grant under this sec- 4 tion may use such grant to carry out a project to 5 purchase, operate, and maintain zero-emissions vehi- 6 cles used to collect material for recycling or organics 7 recycling. 8 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR LANDFILL DIVERSION. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 10 and carry out a program to award grants, on a competitive 11 basis, to eligible entities to develop and implement new 12 requirements, as described in subsection (b), that reduce 13 the amount of waste disposed of in landfills. 14 (b) GRANT USE.— 15 (1) TIPPING FEES.—An eligible entity receiving 16 a grant under this section may use such grant to de- 17 velop and implement zero-waste practices that are 18 accompanied by permanent increases in tipping, 19 gate, or disposal fees imposed on the disposal of 20 waste at landfills. 21 (2) CURBSIDE COMPOSTING COLLECTION.—An 22 eligible entity receiving a grant under this section 23 may use such grant to support the implementation 24 of State programs that mandate the availability of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:17 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2101.IH H2101 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 2101 IH curbside collection of material for organics recycling 1 fo [Text truncated for display. 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