Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3944 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 11, 2020 Mr. UDALL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3944 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Break Free From 2 Plastic Pollution Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRODUCTS AND 4 PACKAGING. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 6 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 7 the following: 8 ‘‘Subtitle K—Producer Responsi- 9 bility for Products and Pack- 10 aging 11 ‘‘SEC. 12001. DEFINITIONS. 12 ‘‘In this subtitle: 13 ‘‘(1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘advi- 14 sory committee’ means an advisory committee estab- 15 lished by an Organization under section 12102(c). 16 ‘‘(2) BEVERAGE.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘beverage’ 18 means any drinkable liquid intended for human 19 oral consumption, including— 20 ‘‘(i) water; 21 ‘‘(ii) flavored water; 22 ‘‘(iii) soda water; 23 ‘‘(iv) mineral water; 24 ‘‘(v) beer; 25 ‘‘(vi) a malt beverage; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3944 IS ‘‘(vii) a carbonated soft drink; 1 ‘‘(viii) liquor; 2 ‘‘(ix) tea; 3 ‘‘(x) coffee; 4 ‘‘(xi) hard cider; 5 ‘‘(xii) fruit juice; 6 ‘‘(xiii) an energy or sports drink; 7 ‘‘(xiv) coconut water; 8 ‘‘(xv) wine; 9 ‘‘(xvi) a yogurt drink; 10 ‘‘(xvii) a probiotic drink; 11 ‘‘(xviii) a wine cooler; and 12 ‘‘(xix) any other beverage determined 13 to be appropriate by the Administrator. 14 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘beverage’ 15 does not include— 16 ‘‘(i) a drug regulated under the Fed- 17 eral Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 18 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); 19 ‘‘(ii) infant formula; or 20 ‘‘(iii) a meal replacement liquid. 21 ‘‘(3) BEVERAGE CONTAINER.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘beverage 23 container’ means a prepackaged beverage con- 24 tainer— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3944 IS ‘‘(i) made of any material, including 1 glass, plastic, metal, and multimaterial; 2 and 3 ‘‘(ii) the volume of which is not more 4 than 3 liters. 5 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘beverage 6 container’ does not include a covered product of 7 any material used to sell a prepackaged bev- 8 erage, such as— 9 ‘‘(i) a carton; 10 ‘‘(ii) a pouch; or 11 ‘‘(iii) aseptic packaging, such as a 12 drink box. 13 ‘‘(C) INCLUSION.—Notwithstanding sub- 14 paragraphs (A) and (B), for purposes of the 15 program under section 12104, the term ‘bev- 16 erage container’ includes a container for a bev- 17 erage that is not described in those subpara- 18 graphs, such as a carton, pouch, or drink box, 19 the responsible party for which elects to partici- 20 pate in the program under that section. 21 ‘‘(4) COMPOSTABLE.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘compost- 23 able’ means, with respect to a covered product, 24 that the covered product— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3944 IS ‘‘(i)(I) meets the ASTM International 1 standard specification for compostable 2 products numbered D6400 or D6868— 3 ‘‘(aa) as in effect on the date of 4 enactment of this subtitle; or 5 ‘‘(bb) as revised after the date of 6 enactment of this subtitle, if the revi- 7 sion is approved by the Administrator; 8 and 9 ‘‘(II) is labeled to reflect that the cov- 10 ered product meets a standard described in 11 subclause (I); 12 ‘‘(ii) is certified as a compostable 13 product by an independent party that is 14 approved by the Administrator; or 15 ‘‘(iii) comprises only— 16 ‘‘(I) wood without any coatings, 17 additives, or toxic substances; or 18 ‘‘(II) fiber without any coatings, 19 additives, or toxic substances. 20 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘compost- 21 able’ shall not apply to paper. 22 ‘‘(5) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en- 23 tity’ means a single family or multifamily dwelling 24 or publicly owned land (such as a sidewalk, plaza, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3944 IS and park) for which a recycling collection service is 1 provided. 2 ‘‘(6) COVERED PRODUCT.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 4 product’ means, regardless of recyclability, 5 compostability, and material type— 6 ‘‘(i) packaging; 7 ‘‘(ii) a food service product; 8 ‘‘(iii) paper; 9 ‘‘(iv) a single-use product that is not 10 subject to the prohibition under section 11 12202(c); and 12 ‘‘(v) a container for a beverage that is 13 not described in subparagraphs (A) and 14 (B) of paragraph (3), such as a carton, 15 pouch, or aseptic packaging, such as a 16 drink box, the responsible party for which 17 does not elect to participate in the pro- 18 gram under section 12104. 19 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘covered 20 product’ does not include a beverage container. 21 ‘‘(7) COVERED RETAIL OR SERVICE ESTABLISH- 22 MENT.—The term ‘covered retail or service estab- 23 lishment’ means a store, grocery store, restaurant, 24 beverage provider, vendor, hotel, motel, or other re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3944 IS tail or service establishment operating in the United 1 States. 2 ‘‘(8) FOOD SERVICE PRODUCT.—The term ‘food 3 service product’ means an item intended to deliver a 4 food product, regardless of the recyclability or 5 compostability of the item, including— 6 ‘‘(A) a utensil; 7 ‘‘(B) a straw; 8 ‘‘(C) a drink cup; 9 ‘‘(D) a drink lid; 10 ‘‘(E) a food package; 11 ‘‘(F) a food container; 12 ‘‘(G) a plate; 13 ‘‘(H) a bowl; 14 ‘‘(I) a meat tray; and 15 ‘‘(J) a food wrap. 16 ‘‘(9) ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Organization’ 17 means a Producer Responsibility Organization estab- 18 lished under section 12102(a)(1). 19 ‘‘(10) PACKAGING.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘packaging’ 21 means— 22 ‘‘(i) any package or container, regard- 23 less of recyclability or compostability; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3944 IS ‘‘(ii) any part of a package or con- 1 tainer, regardless of recyclability or 2 compostability, that includes material that 3 is used for the containment, protection, 4 handling, delivery, and presentation of 5 goods that are sold, offered for sale, or dis- 6 tributed to consumers in the United 7 States, including through an internet 8 transaction. 9 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘packaging’ 10 includes— 11 ‘‘(i) packaging intended for the con- 12 sumer market; 13 ‘‘(ii) service packaging designed and 14 intended to be used or filled at the point 15 of sale, such as carry-out bags, bulk good 16 bags, take-out bags, and home delivery 17 food service packaging; 18 ‘‘(iii) secondary packaging used to 19 group products for multiunit sale; 20 ‘‘(iv) tertiary packaging used for 21 transportation or distribution directly to a 22 consumer; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3944 IS ‘‘(v) ancillary elements hung or at- 1 tached to a product and performing a 2 packaging function. 3 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘packaging’ 4 does not include packaging— 5 ‘‘(i) used for the long-term protection 6 or storage of a product; and 7 ‘‘(ii) with a life of not less than 5 8 years. 9 ‘‘(11) PAPER.— 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘paper’ 11 means paper that is sold, offered for sale, deliv- 12 ered, or distributed to a consumer or business 13 in the United States. 14 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘paper’ in- 15 cludes— 16 ‘‘(i) newsprint and inserts; 17 ‘‘(ii) magazines and catalogs; 18 ‘‘(iii) direct mail; 19 ‘‘(iv) office paper; and 20 ‘‘(v) telephone directories. 21 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘paper’ does 22 not include— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3944 IS ‘‘(i) a paper product that, due to the 1 intended use of the paper product, could 2 become unsafe or unsanitary to recycle; or 3 ‘‘(ii) a bound book. 4 ‘‘(12) PLAN.—The term ‘Plan’ means a Prod- 5 uct Stewardship Plan described in section 12105. 6 ‘‘(13) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means a 7 Product Stewardship Program established under sec- 8 tion 12102(a)(2). 9 ‘‘(14) RECYCLABLE.—The term ‘recyclable’ 10 means, with respect to a covered product or beverage 11 container, that— 12 ‘‘(A) the covered product or beverage con- 13 tainer is economically and technically recyclable 14 in current United States market conditions; 15 ‘‘(B) United States processing capacity is 16 in operation to recycle, with the geographical 17 distribution of the capacity aligned with the 18 population of geographical regions of the 19 United States, of the total quantity of the cov- 20 ered product or beverage container— 21 ‘‘(i) for each of calendar years 2020 22 through 2024, not less than 25 percent; 23 ‘‘(ii) for each of calendar years 2025 24 through 2029, not less than 35 percent; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3944 IS ‘‘(iii) for each of calendar years 2030 1 through 2034, not less than 50 percent; 2 and 3 ‘‘(iv) for calendar year 2035 and each 4 calendar year thereafter, not less than 60 5 percent; and 6 ‘‘(C) the consumer that uses the covered 7 product or beverage container is not required to 8 remove an attached component of the covered 9 product or beverage container, such as a shrink 10 sleeve, label, or filter, before the covered prod- 11 uct or beverage container can be recycled. 12 ‘‘(15) RECYCLE.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘recycle’ 14 means the series of activities by which a cov- 15 ered product is— 16 ‘‘(i) collected, sorted, and processed; 17 and 18 ‘‘(ii)(I) converted into a raw material 19 with minimal loss of material quality; 20 ‘‘(II) used in the production of a new 21 product, including the original product; or 22 ‘‘(III) in the case of composting or or- 23 ganic recycling, productively used for soil 24 improvement. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3944 IS ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘recycle’ does 1 not include— 2 ‘‘(i) the method of sorting, processing, 3 and aggregating materials from solid waste 4 that does not preserve the original material 5 quality, and, as a result, the aggregated 6 material is no longer usable for its initial 7 purpose or product and can only be used 8 for inferior purposes or products (com- 9 monly referred to as ‘downcycling’); 10 ‘‘(ii) the use of waste— 11 ‘‘(I) as a fuel or fuel substitute; 12 ‘‘(II) for energy production; 13 ‘‘(III) for alternate operating 14 cover; or 15 ‘‘(IV) within the footprint of a 16 landfill; or 17 ‘‘(iii) the conversion of waste into al- 18 ternative products, such as chemicals, feed- 19 stocks, fuels, and energy, through— 20 ‘‘(I) pyrolysis; 21 ‘‘(II) hydropyrolysis; 22 ‘‘(III) methanolysis; 23 ‘‘(IV) gasification; 24 ‘‘(V) enzymatic breakdown; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 3944 IS ‘‘(VI) a similar technology, as de- 1 termined by the Administrator. 2 ‘‘(16) RESPONSIBLE PARTY.— 3 ‘‘(A) BEVERAGE CONTAINERS.— 4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a 5 beverage sold in a beverage container, the 6 term ‘responsible party’ means— 7 ‘‘(I) a person that engages in the 8 distribution or sale of the beverage in 9 a beverage container to a retailer in 10 the United States, including any man- 11 ufacturer that engages in that sale or 12 distribution; 13 ‘‘(II) if subclause (I) does not 14 apply, a person that engages in the 15 sale of the beverage in a beverage con- 16 tainer directly to a consumer in the 17 United States; or 18 ‘‘(III) if subclauses (I) and (II) 19 do not apply, a person that imports 20 the beverage sold in a beverage con- 21 tainer into the United States for use 22 in a commercial enterprise, sale, offer 23 for sale, or distribution in the United 24 States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:38 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3944.IS S3944 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 14 •S 3944 IS ‘‘(ii) RELATED DEFINITIONS.—In this 1 subparagraph: 2 ‘‘(I) DISTRIBUTOR.—The term 3 ‘distributor’ means a person that en- 4 gages in the sale of beverages in bev- 5 erage containers to a retailer in the 6 United States. 7 ‘‘(II) MANUFACTURER.—The 8 term ‘manufacturer’ means a person 9 bottling, canning, or otherwise filling 10 beverage containers for sale to dis- 11 tributors, importers, or retailers. 12 ‘‘(III) RETAILER.— 13 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—The 14 term ‘retailer’ means a person in 15 the United States that— 16 ‘‘(AA) engages in the 17 sale of beverages in beverage 18 containers to a consumer; or 19 ‘‘(BB) provides bev- 20 erages in beverage con- 21 tainers to a person in com- 22 merce, including provision 23 free of charge, such as at a 24 workplace or event. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22: [Text truncated for display. 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