H.R. 4109 — Recycling and Composting Accountability Act

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) Administrator as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; (2) compost as a product manufactured through controlled aerobic biological decomposition of biodegradable materials that reduces pathogens and weed seeds, stabilizes carbon, and benefits plant growth; (3) compostable material as feedstocks for compost such as wood, agricultural crops, paper products, certified compostable products, organic plant material, food and yard waste, and other renewable biomass; (4) Indian Tribe as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); (5) recyclable material as obsolete, used, off-specification, surplus, or incidentally produced material processed into specification-grade commodities with an existing or developing reuse market; (6) recycling as processing recyclable materials into specification-grade commodities used as feedstock in lieu of virgin materials to manufacture new products; and (7) State as defined in section 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903). It further defines processing, for recyclable materials and recycling, as any mechanical, manual, or other method transforming such materials into specification-grade commodities, potentially in multiple steps at different locations.

This section adds a new section 4011 to Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.) to direct the EPA Administrator to (1) submit to Congress, not later than 2 years after enactment, a report evaluating barriers to composting strategies, describing composting infrastructure and programs of states, localities, and Indian tribes (as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304), estimating costs and land needs for expansion, and reviewing manufacturer practices for compostable packaging; (2) submit to Congress, not later than 3 years after enactment and every 4 years thereafter, an inventory of materials recovery facilities (MRFs) by state and their processing capabilities for specified materials (e.g., plastics by resin type and format, food packaging, paper, metals, glass); (3) collaborate with states, localities, and Indian tribes to estimate nationwide recycling and composting program details, including access and barriers for individuals, contamination and capture rates, and average costs and benefits; and (4) use funds under the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act to biannually collect voluntary data from states and develop standardized state-level and national recycling rates for materials diverted to MRFs or composting facilities.

This section requires the Comptroller General of the United States, not later than two years after the date of enactment and every two years thereafter until 2033, to make publicly available a report that—(1) details or estimates (A) the total annual recycling and composting rates reported by all federal agencies and (B) the total annual percentage of products containing recyclable material, compostable material, or recovered materials purchased by all federal agencies, including the total quantity of products with recyclable or recovered materials listed in the comprehensive procurement guidelines under section 6002(e) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6962(e)) (i.e., items that procuring agencies must prioritize for highest practicable recovered materials content) and the total quantity of compostable material purchased; (2) identifies activities of each federal agency that promote recycling or composting; and (3) identifies activities that federal agencies could carry out to further promote recycling or composting.

This section directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop, not later than one year after enactment, a metric for determining the proportion of recyclable materials in commercial and municipal waste streams diverted from a circular market (i.e., prevented from reuse or recycling). Not later than one year after developing the metric, the Administrator must submit to Congress a report analyzing such diversions over the preceding 10 calendar years—including data on aluminum, plastics, paper and paperboard, textiles, and glass diverted through disposal or elimination and their lost uses—and evaluating whether establishing or improving recycling programs would (1) improve recycling rates, (2) reduce unutilized recyclable materials in the circular market, and (3) affect consumer prices for products using recycled materials.

This section (1) prohibits the Administrator or Secretary of Commerce from exercising authority under this Act if it would impose an unfunded mandate on a state, unit of local government, or Indian Tribe; and (2) directs nondisclosure of information collected under this Act that qualifies for exemption under section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code (i.e., Freedom of Information Act exemptions).