Federal Recycling and Composting Accountability Act

The USCC has provided comments and testimony on a new bill,  just being introduced by Sen. Tom Carper (Delaware) and Sen. John Boozman (Arkansas), that would put federal focus onto collecting data on existing recycling and composting infrastructure in the U.S.
As discussed in a hearing on February 2, the bill would:

• Require the federal government to report on the capability of a national composting strategy by
• Evaluating federal, state and local laws that provide barriers to compost infrastructure
• Compiling a list of the current status of state and local composting and recycling programs
• An assessment of land needed and cost of expanding infrastructure of composting
• Study of compostable products and potential labeling and education needs
• Contamination rates of curbside and drop-off recycling and composting programs
• Study of end markets for recyclables and compost

“We’ve been gratified to work with the staff of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on this bill,” said Frank Franciosi, Executive Director. “The committee members are committed to a bipartisan path for expanding composting and recycling infrastructure, and it is good to see the holistic approach to diverting materials from the waste stream and ensuring the resulting products are part of a circular economy.”
 
Franciosi said this bill complements The Compost Act (or the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization, which USCC and the Compost Infrastructure Coalition believe may be able to carry earmarks for USDA compost infrastructure funding).  Quantifying at a federal level the broad picture of composting as a waste diversion activity.  USCC has already launched the collection of data for a national study on the compost manufacturing industry, and  was successful in securing a NAICS (National American Industry Classification System) stand-alone code for “Compost Manufacturing”(325315)  that will ensure collection of Census Bureau data on the industry as well.