Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2024

118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1189 AN ACT To establish a pilot grant program to improve recycling accessibility, 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 2 † S 1189 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recycling Infrastruc- 2 ture and Accessibility Act of 2024’’. 3 SEC. 2. RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE AND ACCESSIBILITY 4 PROGRAM. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 8 mental Protection Agency. 9 (2) CURBSIDE RECYCLING.—The term 10 ‘‘curbside recycling’’ means the process by which 11 residential recyclable materials are picked up 12 curbside. 13 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 14 ty’’ means— 15 (A) a State (as defined in section 1004 of 16 the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 17 6903)); 18 (B) a unit of local government; 19 (C) an Indian Tribe; and 20 (D) a public-private partnership. 21 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 22 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 23 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 24 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 25 (5) MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITY.— 26 3 † S 1189 ES (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘materials 1 recovery facility’’ means a recycling facility 2 where primarily residential recyclables, which 3 are diverted from disposal by a generator and 4 collected separately from municipal solid waste, 5 are mechanically or manually sorted into com- 6 modities for further processing into specifica- 7 tion-grade commodities for sale to end users. 8 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘materials re- 9 covery facility’’ does not include a solid waste 10 management facility that may process munic- 11 ipal solid waste to remove recyclable materials. 12 (6) PILOT GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot 13 grant program’’ means the Recycling Infrastructure 14 and Accessibility Program established under sub- 15 section (b). 16 (7) RECYCLABLE MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘recy- 17 clable material’’ means obsolete, previously used, off- 18 specification, surplus, or incidentally produced mate- 19 rial for processing into a specification-grade com- 20 modity for which a market exists. 21 (8) TRANSFER STATION.—The term ‘‘transfer 22 station’’ means a facility that— 23 4 † S 1189 ES (A) receives and consolidates recyclable 1 material from curbside recycling or drop-off fa- 2 cilities; and 3 (B) loads the recyclable material onto trac- 4 tor trailers, railcars, or barges for transport to 5 a distant materials recovery facility or another 6 recycling-related facility. 7 (9) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.—The term 8 ‘‘underserved community’’ means a community, in- 9 cluding an unincorporated area, without access to 10 full recycling services because— 11 (A) transportation, distance, or other rea- 12 sons render utilization of available processing 13 capacity at an existing materials recovery facil- 14 ity cost prohibitive; or 15 (B) the processing capacity of an existing 16 materials recovery facility is insufficient to 17 manage the volume of recyclable materials pro- 18 duced by that community. 19 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 18 months 20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 21 shall establish a pilot grant program, to be known as the 22 ‘‘Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Program’’, to 23 award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities 24 5 † S 1189 ES to improve recycling accessibility in a community or com- 1 munities within the same geographic area. 2 (c) GOAL.—The goal of the pilot grant program is 3 to fund eligible projects that will significantly improve ac- 4 cessibility to recycling systems through investments in in- 5 frastructure in underserved communities through the use 6 of a hub-and-spoke model for recycling infrastructure de- 7 velopment. 8 (d) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 9 under the pilot grant program, an eligible entity shall sub- 10 mit to the Administrator an application at such time, in 11 such manner, and containing such information as the Ad- 12 ministrator may require. 13 (e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting eligible entities 14 to receive a grant under the pilot grant program, the Ad- 15 ministrator shall consider— 16 (1) whether the community or communities in 17 which the eligible entity is seeking to carry out a 18 proposed project has curbside recycling; 19 (2) whether the proposed project of the eligible 20 entity will improve accessibility to recycling services 21 in a single underserved community or multiple un- 22 derserved communities; and 23 6 † S 1189 ES (3) if the eligible entity is a public-private part- 1 nership, the financial health of the private entity 2 seeking to enter into that public-private partnership. 3 (f) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to receive 4 a grant under the pilot grant program, the Administrator 5 shall give priority to eligible entities seeking to carry out 6 a proposed project in a community in which there is not 7 more than 1 materials recovery facility within a 75-mile 8 radius of that community. 9 (g) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity awarded a 10 grant under the pilot grant program may use the grant 11 funds for projects to improve recycling accessibility in 12 communities, including in underserved communities, by— 13 (1) increasing the number of transfer stations; 14 (2) expanding curbside recycling collection pro- 15 grams where appropriate; and 16 (3) leveraging public-private partnerships to re- 17 duce the costs associated with collecting and trans- 18 porting recyclable materials in underserved commu- 19 nities. 20 (h) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible 21 entity awarded a grant under the pilot grant program may 22 not use the grant funds for projects relating to recycling 23 education programs. 24 7 † S 1189 ES (i) MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—A 1 grant awarded to an eligible entity under the pilot grant 2 program shall be in an amount— 3 (1) not less than $500,000; and 4 (2) not more than $15,000,000. 5 (j) SET-ASIDE.—The Administrator shall set aside 6 not less than 70 percent of the amounts made available 7 to carry out the pilot grant program for each fiscal year 8 to award grants to eligible entities to carry out a proposed 9 project or program in a single underserved community or 10 multiple underserved communities. 11 (k) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 12 of a project or program carried out by an eligible entity 13 using grant funds shall be not more than 95 percent. 14 (l) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 15 on which the first grant is awarded under the pilot grant 16 program, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a re- 17 port describing the implementation of the pilot grant pro- 18 gram, which shall include— 19 (1) a list of eligible entities that have received 20 a grant under the pilot grant program; 21 (2) the actions taken by each eligible entity that 22 received a grant under the pilot grant program to 23 improve recycling accessibility with grant funds; and 24 8 † S 1189 ES (3) to the extent information is available, a de- 1 scription of how grant funds received under the pilot 2 grant program improved recycling rates in each com- 3 munity in which a project or program was carried 4 out under the pilot grant program. 5 (m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 7 appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the 8 pilot grant program $30,000,000 for each of fiscal 9 years 2025 through 2029, to remain available until 10 expended. 11 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND TECHNICAL 12 ASSISTANCE.—Of the amounts made available under 13 paragraph (1), the Administrator may use up to 5 14 percent— 15 (A) for administrative costs relating to car- 16 rying out the pilot grant program; and 17 (B) to provide technical assistance to eligi- 18 ble entities applying for a grant under the pilot 19 grant program. 20 Passed the Senate March 12, 2024. Attest: Secretary. 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1189 AN ACT To establish a pilot grant program to improve recycling accessibility, and for other purposes.