Advocacy

Senate Committee Approves Recycling & Composting Bills; EPA Assistant Administrator Nomination

The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved two recycling and composting related bills during a committee meeting on April 7, while also moving forward the nomination of a key EPA appointee.

The Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act would establish a pilot rural recycling program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), while the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act would require the EPA to collect and distribute data on recycling and composting rates across the country. Both bills were voted out of committee and can now be considered by the full Senate.

SWANA has publicly supported the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act in order to provide federal support to expand the collection of recyclables in underserved areas.

During the same meeting, the committee voted to move forward the nomination of Dr. Carlton Waterhouse as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) of the US Environmental Protection Agency. This oversees the Office of Resource Conversation and Recovery which handles non-hazardous waste management and sustainable materials management programs within EPA.

Dr. Waterhouse has spoken at multiple SWANA events, including most recently at WASTECON® in Orlando, Florida. His nomination can now be considered by the full Senate, though it has previously been held up due to objections by Senators in regards to other EPA issues in their states.