Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7228 To provide for a coordinated Federal program to accelerate plastics waste reduction and support recycling research and development for the eco- nomic and national security of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2020 Ms. STEVENS (for herself, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. LUCAS, and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To provide for a coordinated Federal program to accelerate plastics waste reduction and support recycling research and development for the economic and national security of the United States, 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 ‘‘Plastic Waste Reduc- 4 tion and Recycling Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7228.IH H7228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7228 IH (1) It is estimated that global production of 1 plastic has increased from 2,000,000 tons of plastic 2 per year in 1950 to 400,000,000 tons per year 3 today, and of the 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic 4 ever produced globally, 6.3 billion metric tons has 5 become plastic waste. 6 (2) The United States has failed to invest in 7 the development of domestic recycling markets, tech- 8 nology and materials to make the recycling process 9 more available and efficient, and as a result, the 10 United States recycles only 9 percent of its plastic 11 waste. 12 (3) For more than 2 decades, the United States 13 and other developed nations sold and exported 14 106,000,000 metric tons of recyclable plastics to 15 China, but in 2018 China issued a ban on contami- 16 nated United States plastics. 17 (4) Following the 2018 China ban, more and 18 more United States communities are sending recy- 19 clable items to landfills or incinerators. 20 (5) As recycling programs have moved toward 21 single-stream curbside recycling, more recyclable 22 items are mixed with non-recyclable items, resulting 23 in fewer potentially recyclable items actually being 24 recycled and turned into new, valuable products. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7228.IH H7228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7228 IH (6) The resin identification coding system in 1 use today has not been substantially updated since 2 its creation in 1988. 3 (7) Characterizing the type and recyclability of 4 different types of plastics in use today requires up- 5 dated standards. 6 (8) Separating and processing the many dif- 7 ferent types of plastics as well as the heterogenous 8 materials containing multiple layers of different 9 plastic types commonly in use today will require new 10 sorting and recycling technologies. 11 (9) There are currently limited private or public 12 investments in advanced recycling technologies and 13 other technologies to reduce the amount and impact 14 of plastic waste. 15 (10) The Federal Government can play an im- 16 portant role in supporting research and development 17 and facilitating standards, tools, and technologies 18 needed across the different stages of the plastics 19 production and recycling ecosystem. 20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act: 22 (1) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 23 means the Interagency Committee established or 24 designated under section 5. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7228.IH H7228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7228 IH (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 1 the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 2 Policy. 3 (3) PARTICIPATING AGENCIES.—The term 4 ‘‘participating agencies’’ means the agencies under 5 section 5(c). 6 (4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 7 the Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Program 8 established under section 4. 9 (5) MARINE DEBRIS.—The term ‘‘marine de- 10 bris’’ has the meaning provided in the Marine De- 11 bris Act (33 U.S.C. 1956). 12 SEC. 4. PLASTIC WASTE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING PRO- 13 GRAM. 14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSES.—The Director, 15 acting through the Committee and each of the partici- 16 pating agencies, shall establish and implement a program 17 to be known as the ‘‘Plastic Waste Reduction and Recy- 18 cling Program’’. The purposes of the Program shall be 19 to— 20 (1) improve the global competitiveness of the 21 United States plastics recycling industry; 22 (2) ensure United States leadership in plastic 23 waste reduction and recycling research and innova- 24 tion; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7228.IH H7228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7228 IH (3) support United States leadership in the de- 1 velopment of national and international standards 2 for advanced plastics and plastic recycling; 3 (4) mitigate any harmful effects of plastic waste 4 on the environment. 5 (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the Pro- 6 gram, the Director, acting through the Committee and 7 each of the participating agencies, shall carry out activities 8 that include the following: 9 (1) Supporting research, development, and dem- 10 onstration of advanced plastics technologies opti- 11 mized for recyclability, plastics recycling tech- 12 nologies, bio-based plastics, biodegradable plastics, 13 remediation, including bioremediation of plastic 14 waste, recyclability and remediation of plastic-based 15 textiles, and environmental impacts of plastic waste. 16 (2) Supporting and facilitating public-private 17 partnerships to leverage knowledge and resources to 18 accelerate research, development, and demonstration 19 in advanced plastics, plastics recycling, plastic waste 20 remediation and other areas consistent with the pur- 21 poses of this Act. 22 (3) Interagency planning and coordination of 23 Federal research and development of plastic waste 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7228.IH H7228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7228 IH reduction and recycling technologies and plastic 1 waste remediation. 2 (4) Promoting research collaboration with inter- 3 national partners, as appropriate. 4 SEC. 5. COORDINATION BY INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE. 5 (a) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—Not later than 180 6 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, 7 acting through the National Science and Technology 8 Council, shall establish or designate an Interagency Com- 9 mittee to coordinate Federal programs and activities in 10 support of plastic waste reduction and recycling and plas- 11 tic waste remediation research and development under the 12 Program. 13 (b) CO-CHAIRS.—The Committee shall be co-chaired 14 by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 15 Policy or designee and a representative from an agency 16 participating in the Committee, as selected by the Director 17 of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. 18 (c) AGENCY PARTICIPATION.—The Committee shall 19 include representatives from— 20 (1) the National Institute of Standards and 21 Technology; 22 (2) the National Science Foundation; 23 (3) the Department of Energy; 24 (4) the Environmental Protection Agency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7228.IH H7228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7228 IH (5) the Department of Transportation; 1 (6) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 2 ministration; 3 (7) the Department of Agriculture; and 4 (8) any other Federal agency as considered ap- 5 propriate by the Director of the Office of Science 6 and Technology Policy. 7 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall— 8 (1) provide for interagency coordination of Fed- 9 eral plastics reduction and recycling and plastic 10 waste remediation research, development, and dem- 11 onstration, standards development, and education 12 and training activities and programs of Federal de- 13 partments and agencies undertaken pursuant to the 14 Program; 15 (2) develop definitions for the following terms 16 to guide the activities of the Program— 17 (A) recycle; 18 (B) recyclability; 19 (C) remediation; 20 (D) advanced recycling; 21 (E) advanced plastics; 22 (F) biobased plastics; 23 (G) biodegradable plastics; 24 (H) microplastic; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7228.IH H7228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7228 IH (I) nanoplastic; and 1 (J) pyroplastic; 2 (3) develop and update every 3 years a strategic 3 plan, to be made publicly available, for plastic waste 4 reduction and recycling and plastic waste remedi- 5 ation that— 6 (A) establishes goals, priorities, and 7 metrics for guiding and evaluating the activities 8 of the Program; and 9 (B) describes— 10 (i) how the Program will determine 11 and prioritize areas of plastic waste reduc- 12 tion and recycling and plastic waste reme- 13 diation for Federal research investments; 14 (ii) the Program’s support for long- 15 term funding for interdisciplinary plastic 16 waste reduction and recycling research, de- 17 velopment, demonstration, standards devel- 18 opment, education, and public outreach ac- 19 tivities; 20 (iii) how Federal agencies partici- 21 pating in the Program will collaborate with 22 industry and with local governments, as 23 appropriate; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7228.IH H7228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7228 IH (iv) how the program will help move 1 the results of research out of the labora- 2 tory and into commercial or municipal ap- 3 plication; and 4 (C) with respect to the previous 3 years, 5 provides a summary of— 6 (i) federally funded plastic waste re- 7 duction and recycling and plastic waste re- 8 mediation research, development, and dem- 9 onstration; 10 (ii) the adoption of advanced plastics 11 reduction and recycling technologies by 12 Federal, State, and local governments and 13 private entities; and 14 (iii) other related activities for the 15 previous 3 years; and 16 (4) consider input from universities, State and 17 local governments, scientific societies, and public, 18 private and nonprofit plastic recycling manufactur- 19 ers and organizations in the development of the 20 goals, priorities and metrics required under para- 21 graph (3)(A). 22 (e) TERMINATION.—The Interagency Committee 23 shall terminate 10 years after the date on which the Com- 24 mittee is established under subsection (a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7228.IH H7228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7228 IH SEC. 6. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH- 1 NOLOGY. 2 As part of the Program, the Director of National In- 3 stitute of Standards and Technology shall— 4 (1) establish a science program for character- 5 ization of plastic properties before, during, and after 6 recycling and manufacturing, development of classi- 7 fication systems, and creation of new data tools, 8 techniques, and processes to advance plastics engi- 9 neering and post-consumer plastic recycling and 10 manufacturing; 11 (2) develop innovations for effective and effi- 12 cient measures for processing plastics, including 13 films and textiles, collected for recycling, while con- 14 sidering existing waste streams and future new ma- 15 terials; 16 (3) provide the metrology basis for standards 17 development for plastic sorting infrastructure, proc- 18 essing technologies, classification systems, including 19 for biobased plastics, and recycling by design; 20 (4) develop a clearinghouse to collect and sup- 21 port dissemination of tools, guidelines and standards 22 developed under this section; 23 (5) consult with appropriate stakeholder groups 24 to promote adoption and implementation of such 25 guidelines and standards, including diverse manufac- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7228.IH H7228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7228 IH turing and industry groups, such as packaging, in- 1 cluding food packaging, agriculture, transportation, 2 textile and fashion; 3 (6) support plastics recycling research collabo- 4 ration and coordinate standards development, as ap- 5 propriate, with other agencies, State and local gov- 6 ernments, nonprofit organizations, academia, private 7 sector, and international partners; and 8 (7) establish a program for measurements, 9 methods and standards to assess the environmental 10 impacts of plastics waste, including marine debris, 11 and plastic particles and fibers. 12 SEC. 7. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. 13 As part of the Program, the National Science Foun- 14 dation shall— 15 (1) support multidisciplinary basic research on 16 advanced plastics that are designed for recyclability 17 or biodegradation, on plastic waste remediation, on 18 advanced recycling technologies for different plastics, 19 and on composting and compostable plastics, and on 20 plastic waste valorization; 21 (2) support multidisciplinary research on the 22 environmental and biological effects of plastic waste, 23 and particularly the formation, transport and bio- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7228.IH H7228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7228 IH accumulation of nano- and micro-plastics relevant to 1 plastics recycling and plastic waste remediation; 2 (3) support, as appropriate, development of 3 interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate cur- 4 riculum and instructional materials relevant to plas- 5 tics recycling and plastic waste remediation; 6 (4) support research experiences for under- 7 graduate students relevant to plastics recycling and 8 plastic waste remediation; and 9 (5) support plastics recycling research collabo- 10 rations, as appropriate, with other agencies, State 11 and local governments, nonprofit organizations, aca- 12 demia, private sector, and international partners. 13 SEC. 8. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY. 14 As part of the Program, the Secretary of Energy 15 shall— 16 (1) support integrated research, development, 17 demonstration, and commercial application for— 18 (A) chemical and bio-inspired plastic recy- 19 cling, including research on the potential envi- 20 ronmental im [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]