Recycling and Composting Accountability Act
The Recycling and Composting Accountability Act would give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a formal role in expanding and assessing recycling and composting across the United States. It establishes detailed definitions for key terms (like compost, compostable material, recyclable material, and processing), and it amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the EPA to produce a comprehensive, Congress-focused report on composting and recycling infrastructure. The bill also requires ongoing data collection and reporting about recycling/composting programs, materials recovery facilities (MRFs), barriers to program success, contamination rates, and end markets for recycled and composted products. In addition, it creates a regular program of oversight data from federal agencies about their recycling/composting performance and procurement of recycled or compostable materials, and it requires a metric and study on how much recyclable material is diverted from a circular economy. The act authorizes funding ($4 million per year for 2025–2029) and includes protections against unfunded mandates and disclosure of confidential information.
Key Points
- 1The bill adds SEC. 4011 to the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the EPA to prepare and publish a nationwide report on composting and recycling infrastructure. This includes definitions, a formal inventory of materials recovery facilities, program descriptions, costs, barriers, contamination rates, and an assessment of end-markets for recyclables and compostables, with a peer-reviewed or data-driven approach and a two-year Congress-facing report deadline.
- 2It mandates an inventory of materials recovery facilities every 4 years (starting within 3 years of enactment) and requires descriptions of the types of materials these facilities process (including plastics types, packaging formats, paper, metals, glass, etc.) and exports/dispositions of those materials.
- 3The act requires collaboration with States, local governments, and Indian Tribes to gather data on:
- 4- the number and types of recycling/composting programs,
- 5- materials accepted and participation rates,
- 6- barriers to access,
- 7- inbound contamination and capture rates,
- 8- and the costs and benefits of programs.
- 9It directs the Comptroller General to issue a biannual public report (through 2033) detailing federal agency recycling/composting rates and procurement of recyclable/compostable materials, including quantities and types of products purchased under federal guidelines, and to identify promotion opportunities for these activities.
- 10It requires a metric for diversion from a circular market and a one-year-after-metric study to analyze how much recyclable material has been diverted over the previous 10 years, with data on specific materials and how diversion affects recycling rates and consumer prices.
- 11It authorizes $4 million per year (fiscal years 2025–2029) to implement the Act and its amendments, and provides protections that prevent unfunded mandates on states/tribes and confidentiality protections for collected information.