Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2238 To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to reduce the production and use of certain single-use plastic products and packaging, to improve the responsibility of producers in the design, collection, reuse, recycling, and disposal of their consumer products and packaging, to prevent pollu- tion from consumer products and packaging from entering into animal and human food chains and waterways, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 26, 2021 Mr. LOWENTHAL (for himself, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. NORTON, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. EVANS, Mr. KIL- DEE, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. LEVIN of California, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. JONES, Mr. KILMER, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CASE, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. JACOBS of California, Mr. TRONE, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. COHEN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. NEWMAN, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. CRIST, Ms. MENG, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. LURIA, Mrs. TRAHAN, Ms. CHU, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. PA- NETTA, Mr. DELGADO, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. KAHELE, Mr. KEATING, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. ROY- BAL-ALLARD, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. WILD, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. DEAN, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, and Ms. OMAR) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Foreign Affairs, for a pe- riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2238 IH A BILL To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to reduce the pro- duction and use of certain single-use plastic products and packaging, to improve the responsibility of producers in the design, collection, reuse, recycling, and disposal of their consumer products and packaging, to prevent pollution from consumer products and packaging from entering into animal and human food chains and water- ways, 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 ‘‘Break Free From 4 Plastic Pollution Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRODUCTS AND 6 PACKAGING. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 8 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 9 the following: 10 ‘‘Subtitle K—Producer Responsi- 11 bility for Products and Pack- 12 aging 13 ‘‘SEC. 12001. DEFINITIONS. 14 ‘‘In this subtitle: 15 ‘‘(1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘advi- 16 sory committee’ means an advisory committee estab- 17 lished by an Organization under section 12102(c). 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2238 IH ‘‘(2) BEVERAGE.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘beverage’ 2 means any drinkable liquid intended for human 3 oral consumption, including— 4 ‘‘(i) water; 5 ‘‘(ii) flavored water; 6 ‘‘(iii) soda water; 7 ‘‘(iv) mineral water; 8 ‘‘(v) beer; 9 ‘‘(vi) a malt beverage; 10 ‘‘(vii) a carbonated soft drink; 11 ‘‘(viii) liquor; 12 ‘‘(ix) tea; 13 ‘‘(x) coffee; 14 ‘‘(xi) hard cider; 15 ‘‘(xii) fruit juice; 16 ‘‘(xiii) an energy or sports drink; 17 ‘‘(xiv) coconut water; 18 ‘‘(xv) wine; 19 ‘‘(xvi) a yogurt drink; 20 ‘‘(xvii) a probiotic drink; 21 ‘‘(xviii) a wine cooler; and 22 ‘‘(xix) any other beverage determined 23 to be appropriate by the Administrator. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2238 IH ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘beverage’ 1 does not include— 2 ‘‘(i) a drug regulated under the Fed- 3 eral Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 4 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); 5 ‘‘(ii) infant formula; or 6 ‘‘(iii) a meal replacement liquid. 7 ‘‘(3) BEVERAGE CONTAINER.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘beverage 9 container’ means a prepackaged beverage con- 10 tainer— 11 ‘‘(i) made of any material, including 12 glass, plastic, metal, and multimaterial; 13 and 14 ‘‘(ii) the volume of which is not more 15 than 3 liters. 16 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘beverage 17 container’ does not include a covered product of 18 any material used to sell a prepackaged bev- 19 erage, such as— 20 ‘‘(i) a carton; 21 ‘‘(ii) a pouch; or 22 ‘‘(iii) aseptic packaging, such as a 23 drink box. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2238 IH ‘‘(C) INCLUSION.—Notwithstanding sub- 1 paragraphs (A) and (B), for purposes of the 2 program under section 12104, the term ‘bev- 3 erage container’ includes a container for a bev- 4 erage that is not described in those subpara- 5 graphs, such as a carton, pouch, or drink box, 6 the responsible party for which elects to partici- 7 pate in the program under that section. 8 ‘‘(4) COMPOSTABLE.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 10 graph (B), the term ‘compostable’ means, with 11 respect to a covered product, that the covered 12 product— 13 ‘‘(i)(I) meets the ASTM International 14 standard specification for compostable 15 products numbered D6400 or D6868— 16 ‘‘(aa) as in effect on the date of 17 enactment of this subtitle; or 18 ‘‘(bb) as revised after the date of 19 enactment of this subtitle, if the revi- 20 sion is approved by the Administrator; 21 and 22 ‘‘(II) is labeled to reflect that the cov- 23 ered product meets a standard described in 24 subclause (I); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2238 IH ‘‘(ii) is certified as a compostable 1 product by an independent party that is 2 approved by the Administrator; or 3 ‘‘(iii) comprises only— 4 ‘‘(I) wood without any— 5 ‘‘(aa) coatings; 6 ‘‘(bb) additives; or 7 ‘‘(cc) effective beginning on 8 February 1, 2023, toxic sub- 9 stances; or 10 ‘‘(II) natural fiber without any— 11 ‘‘(aa) coatings; 12 ‘‘(bb) additives; or 13 ‘‘(cc) effective beginning on 14 February 1, 2023, toxic sub- 15 stances. 16 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term 17 ‘compostable’ shall not apply to— 18 ‘‘(i) paper; or 19 ‘‘(ii) effective beginning on February 20 1, 2023, any covered product that contains 21 a toxic substance. 22 ‘‘(5) COVERED PRODUCT.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2238 IH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 1 product’ means, regardless of recyclability, 2 compostability, and material type— 3 ‘‘(i) packaging; 4 ‘‘(ii) a food service product; 5 ‘‘(iii) paper; 6 ‘‘(iv) a single-use product that is not 7 subject to the prohibition under section 8 12202(c); and 9 ‘‘(v) a container for a beverage that is 10 not described in subparagraphs (A) and 11 (B) of paragraph (3), such as a carton, 12 pouch, or aseptic packaging, such as a 13 drink box, the responsible party for which 14 does not elect to participate in the pro- 15 gram under section 12104. 16 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘covered 17 product’ does not include a beverage container. 18 ‘‘(6) COVERED RETAIL OR SERVICE ESTABLISH- 19 MENT.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 21 graph (B), the term ‘covered retail or service 22 establishment’ means— 23 ‘‘(i) any restaurant; or 24 ‘‘(ii) any business that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2238 IH ‘‘(I) sells food, alcohol, or any 1 other good or product to the public at 2 retail; or 3 ‘‘(II) elects to comply with the 4 requirements under, as applicable— 5 ‘‘(aa) section 12201; or 6 ‘‘(bb) section 12202. 7 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.— 8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 9 retail or service establishment’ does not in- 10 clude any entity described in subparagraph 11 (A) if the State, or any local government 12 or political subdivision thereof, in which 13 that entity is located has been granted a 14 waiver pursuant to clause (ii). 15 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—The Administrator 16 shall prescribe regulations providing for 17 the waiver of the application of section 18 12201 or 12202 with respect to any State, 19 or any local government or political sub- 20 division thereof, that has enacted require- 21 ments that are similar to the requirements 22 imposed under that section. 23 ‘‘(7) FOOD SERVICE PRODUCT.—The term ‘food 24 service product’ means an item intended to deliver a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2238 IH food product, regardless of the recyclability or 1 compostability of the item, including— 2 ‘‘(A) a utensil; 3 ‘‘(B) a straw; 4 ‘‘(C) a drink cup; 5 ‘‘(D) a drink lid; 6 ‘‘(E) a food package; 7 ‘‘(F) a food container; 8 ‘‘(G) a plate; 9 ‘‘(H) a bowl; 10 ‘‘(I) a meat tray; and 11 ‘‘(J) a food wrap. 12 ‘‘(8) MICROFIBER.—The term ‘microfiber’ 13 means a particle that— 14 ‘‘(A) has a fibrous shape; 15 ‘‘(B) is less than 5 millimeters in any di- 16 rection; and 17 ‘‘(C) is released at any point during the 18 full life cycle of a textile, including production, 19 use, cleaning, recycling, and disposal. 20 ‘‘(9) ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Organization’ 21 means a Producer Responsibility Organization estab- 22 lished under section 12102(a)(1). 23 ‘‘(10) PACKAGING.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2238 IH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘packaging’ 1 means— 2 ‘‘(i) any package or container, regard- 3 less of recyclability or compostability; and 4 ‘‘(ii) any part of a package or con- 5 tainer, regardless of recyclability or 6 compostability, that includes material that 7 is used for the containment, protection, 8 handling, delivery, and presentation of 9 goods that are sold, offered for sale, or dis- 10 tributed to consumers in the United 11 States, including through an internet 12 transaction. 13 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘packaging’ 14 includes packaging described in subparagraph 15 (A) that is— 16 ‘‘(i) intended for the consumer mar- 17 ket; 18 ‘‘(ii) service packaging designed and 19 intended to be used or filled at the point 20 of sale, such as carry-out bags, bulk good 21 bags, take-out bags, and home delivery 22 food service packaging; 23 ‘‘(iii) secondary packaging used to 24 group products for multiunit sale; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2238 IH ‘‘(iv) tertiary packaging used for 1 transportation or distribution directly to a 2 consumer; and 3 ‘‘(v) ancillary elements hung or at- 4 tached to a product and performing a 5 packaging function. 6 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘packaging’ 7 does not include packaging described in sub- 8 paragraph (A) that is— 9 ‘‘(i) used for the long-term protection 10 or storage of a product; and 11 ‘‘(ii) with a life of not less than 5 12 years. 13 ‘‘(11) PAPER.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘paper’ 15 means paper that is sold, offered for sale, deliv- 16 ered, or distributed to a consumer or business 17 in the United States. 18 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘paper’ in- 19 cludes— 20 ‘‘(i) newsprint and inserts; 21 ‘‘(ii) magazines and catalogs; 22 ‘‘(iii) direct mail; 23 ‘‘(iv) office paper; and 24 ‘‘(v) telephone directories. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2238 IH ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘paper’ does 1 not include— 2 ‘‘(i) a paper product that, due to the 3 intended use of the paper product, could 4 become unsafe or unsanitary to recycle; or 5 ‘‘(ii) a bound book. 6 ‘‘(12) PLAN.—The term ‘Plan’ means a Prod- 7 uct Stewardship Plan described in section 12105. 8 ‘‘(13) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means a 9 Product Stewardship Program established under sec- 10 tion 12102(a)(2). 11 ‘‘(14) RECYCLABLE.—The term ‘recyclable’ 12 means, with respect to a covered product or beverage 13 container, that— 14 ‘‘(A) the covered product or beverage con- 15 tainer can be economically and technically recy- 16 cled in current United States market condi- 17 tions; 18 ‘‘(B) United States processing capacity is 19 in operation to recycle, with the geographical 20 distribution of the capacity aligned with the 21 population of geographical regions of the 22 United States, of the total quantity of the cov- 23 ered product or beverage container— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2238.IH H2238 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2238 IH ‘‘(i) for each of calendar years 2021 1 through 2024, not less than 25 percent; 2 ‘‘(ii) for each of calendar years 2025 3 through 2029, not less than 35 percent; 4 ‘‘(iii) for each of calendar years 2030 5 through 2034, not less than 50 percent; 6 and 7 ‘‘(iv) for calendar year 2035 and each 8 calendar year thereafter, not less than 60 9 percent; 10 ‘‘(C) the consumer that uses the covered 11 product or beverage container is not required to 12 remove an attached component of the covered 13 product or beverage container, such as a shrink 14 sleeve, label, or filter, before the covered prod- 15 uct or beverage container can be recycled; and 16 ‘‘(D) effective beginning on February 1, 17 2023, the covered product or beverage container 18 does not contain a toxic substance. 19 ‘‘(15) RECYCLE.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘recycle’ 21 means the series of activities by which a cov- 22 ered product is— 23 ‘‘(i) collect [Text truncated for display. 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