RECOVER Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2357 To establish the Recycling Infrastructure Program within the Environmental Protection Agency, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 5, 2021 Mr. CA´RDENAS (for himself and Mr. BUCSHON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To establish the Recycling Infrastructure Program within the Environmental Protection Agency, and for other pur- poses. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Realizing the Economic Opportunities and Value of Ex- 5 panding Recycling Act’’ or the ‘‘RECOVER Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. Recycling Infrastructure Program. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2357 IH Sec. 4. Reports. Sec. 5. Funding. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 2 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 3 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 4 mental Protection Agency. 5 (2) CURBSIDE RECYCLABLES.—The term 6 ‘‘curbside recyclables’’ means those recyclable mate- 7 rials that a municipality or recycling service provider 8 collects separately from municipal solid waste. 9 (3) CURBSIDE RECYCLING.—The term 10 ‘‘curbside recycling’’ means the process by which 11 residential recyclable materials are picked up 12 curbside. 13 (4) DROP-OFF FACILITY.—The term ‘‘drop-off 14 facility’’ means a site to drop off recyclable mate- 15 rials. 16 (5) MATERIAL RECOVERY FACILITY.—The term 17 ‘‘material recovery facility’’ means a facility 18 equipped for the sorting of recyclable materials. 19 (6) RECYCLABLE MATERIAL.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘recyclable 21 material’’ means a material that can be col- 22 lected, separated, processed, or otherwise de- 23 rived from a waste stream for recycling. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2357 IH (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘recyclable 1 material’’ includes— 2 (i) ferrous metal; 3 (ii) nonferrous metal, such as alu- 4 minum; 5 (iii) plastic; 6 (iv) glass; 7 (v) paper; 8 (vi) fiber; 9 (vii) paperboard; 10 (viii) household electronics; 11 (ix) tires; 12 (x) rubber; 13 (xi) consumer packaging; and 14 (xii) consumer durables, such as auto- 15 mobiles and refrigerators. 16 (7) RECYCLING.—The term ‘‘recycling’’ means 17 the process of collecting, sorting, and processing re- 18 cyclable materials for reuse, use as a feedstock, or 19 use in manufacturing or assembling a product, but 20 does not include use of recyclable materials for elec- 21 tricity or steam generation. 22 (8) RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM.— 23 The term ‘‘Recycling Infrastructure Program’’ 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2357 IH means the program that may be established pursu- 1 ant to section 3(a). 2 (9) RECYCLING OPERATION.—The term ‘‘recy- 3 cling operation’’ means an operation that processes 4 recyclable materials from residential, industrial, or 5 commercial operations through various manufac- 6 turing stages, including separating, shredding, 7 grinding, crushing, media separation, shearing, or 8 baling. 9 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State, 10 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 11 Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of 12 the United States. 13 SEC. 3. RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM. 14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator may es- 15 tablish a program, to be known as the Recycling Infra- 16 structure Program, to award financial assistance to 17 States, local governments, and tribal governments, on a 18 competitive basis, to support and expand the recycling in- 19 frastructure and recycling programs in such States, local 20 governments, and tribal governments. 21 (b) ELIGIBLE USE OF FUNDS.—A State, local gov- 22 ernment, or tribal government may use financial assist- 23 ance received under the Recycling Infrastructure Program 24 for projects and programs— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2357 IH (1) to— 1 (A) expand recycling infrastructure by ex- 2 panding or supporting recycling-related tech- 3 nology or infrastructure that— 4 (i) increases recycling or collection 5 rates; 6 (ii) expands curbside recycling collec- 7 tion programs where appropriate; 8 (iii) expands other collection points 9 and landfill avoidance programs; 10 (iv) improves the quality of recyclable 11 material that is separated from solid 12 waste; 13 (v) improves sorting and separation of 14 recyclable materials; 15 (vi) delivers increased high-quality 16 feedstocks for use in manufacturing; or 17 (vii) encourages the use of recyclable 18 materials in new products; 19 (B) transition curbside recycling programs 20 to more efficient collection practices where nec- 21 essary; 22 (C) enhance the performance of curbside 23 recycling and other recycling programs; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2357 IH (D) promote public space recycling pro- 1 grams; 2 (E) develop rural recycling systems; or 3 (F) develop and implement variable rate 4 (commonly referred to as ‘‘pay-as-you-throw’’) 5 funding programs in which the pricing struc- 6 ture for which the fee for solid waste collection 7 increases as the amount of solid waste in- 8 creases; or 9 (2) relating to— 10 (A) consumer education, that— 11 (i) identify how to recycle and what is 12 recyclable; or 13 (ii)(I) highlights the importance of re- 14 cycling; 15 (II) promotes strategies to im- 16 prove recyclable material quality; and 17 (III) is designed to increase recy- 18 cling participation and the amount of 19 materials collected; 20 (B) marketing opportunities for recyclable 21 materials in the United States; or 22 (C) education and training for recycling 23 operators. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2357 IH (c) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELIGIBILITY.— 1 In order to be eligible to receive financial assistance under 2 the Recycling Infrastructure Program— 3 (1) for a project or program described in para- 4 graph (1) or (2) of subsection (b), a State, local gov- 5 ernment, or tribal government shall— 6 (A) submit to the Administrator an appli- 7 cation at such time, in such manner, and con- 8 taining such information as the Administrator 9 may require; 10 (B) be in compliance with subtitle D of the 11 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et 12 seq.); and 13 (C) have, or will have, a method of track- 14 ing and demonstrating progress on State-wide, 15 local government-wide, or tribal government- 16 wide recycling rates, and agree to demonstrate 17 such progress to the Administrator, in a man- 18 ner the Administrator determines appropriate, 19 not later than two years after receipt of such fi- 20 nancial assistance; and 21 (2) for a project or program described in para- 22 graph (1) of subsection (b)— 23 (A) a State, local government, or tribal 24 government shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2357 IH (i) have or will have— 1 (I) legal, financial, and technical 2 capacity to carry out the project or 3 program, including the safety and se- 4 curity aspects of the project or pro- 5 gram; 6 (II) satisfactory continuing con- 7 trol over the use of the equipment or 8 facilities used during the project or 9 program, with a defined plan for its 10 use after program assistance has 11 ended; 12 (III) the technical and financial 13 capacity to maintain new and existing 14 equipment and facilities used for the 15 project or program; and 16 (IV) advisors providing guidance 17 on the terms and structure of the 18 project or program that are inde- 19 pendent from investors in the project 20 or program; 21 (ii) demonstrate that the project or 22 program shall encourage, to the maximum 23 extent feasible, as determined by local poli- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2357 IH cies, criteria, and decision making, the par- 1 ticipation of private enterprise; and 2 (iii) demonstrate that the project or 3 program is supported by an acceptable de- 4 gree of local financial commitment (includ- 5 ing evidence of stable and dependable fi- 6 nancing sources); and 7 (B) a local government or tribal govern- 8 ment shall— 9 (i) provide for the collection of at 10 least 5 types of recyclable materials; and 11 (ii) own, operate, or contract to han- 12 dle, operate, or sell to— 13 (I) a curbside recyclables collec- 14 tion program; 15 (II) a redemption center, drop-off 16 facility, or transfer station for 17 recyclables; or 18 (III) a material recovery facility. 19 (d) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 20 (1) PRIORITY.—In awarding financial assist- 21 ance to States, local governments, and tribal govern- 22 ments under the Recycling Infrastructure Program, 23 the Administrator shall give priority to States, local 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2357 IH governments, and tribal governments that propose to 1 use the assistance to— 2 (A) expand recycling access and collection 3 of recyclable materials to underserved areas; 4 (B) modernize existing technology; 5 (C) use innovative technology; 6 (D) enhance curbside recycling and other 7 collection; or 8 (E) reduce contamination of recyclable ma- 9 terials. 10 (2) APPLICABILITY.—Nothing in this sub- 11 section supersedes the applicability of other require- 12 ments of Federal law (including regulations). 13 (e) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.— 14 (1) AMOUNT.—The amount of the Federal fi- 15 nancial assistance used for a project or program de- 16 scribed in subsection (b) shall not exceed 50 percent 17 of the total cost of the project or program. 18 (2) SUPPLANT.—Federal financial assistance 19 under this Act shall not be used to supplant or 20 repay other financial assistance. 21 (f) STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL PERMITS.—The pro- 22 vision of financial assistance with respect to a project or 23 program described in subsection (b) shall not— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2357 IH (1) alter any obligation to obtain any required 1 State, local, or tribal permit or approval with respect 2 to the project or program; or 3 (2) otherwise supersede any State, local, or 4 tribal law (including any regulation) applicable to 5 the construction or operation of the project or pro- 6 gram. 7 SEC. 4. REPORTS. 8 (a) STATE, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND TRIBAL GOV- 9 ERNMENT REPORTS.—Each State, local government, or 10 tribal government receiving financial assistance during a 11 fiscal year under the Recycling Infrastructure Program 12 shall submit to the Administrator, not later than 12 13 months after receiving such assistance, a report for such 14 fiscal year, in accordance with such requirements as the 15 Administrator may prescribe. 16 (b) EPA REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 17 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub- 18 mit to Congress a report on measures taken towards im- 19 plementing this Act that includes a list of States, local 20 governments, and tribal governments receiving financial 21 assistance under the Recycling Infrastructure Program. 22 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 24 priated to carry out this Act— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2357 IH (1) $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, to re- 1 main available until expended; 2 (2) $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, to re- 3 main available until expended; 4 (3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2023, to re- 5 main available until expended; 6 (4) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, to remain 7 available until expended; and 8 (5) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, to remain 9 available until expended. 10 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Administrator may use 11 for the administration of this Act such funds as the Ad- 12 ministrator determines necessary for each of fiscal years 13 2021 through 2025. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2357.IH H2357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS