Advocacy

House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Recycling Legislation

On June 30, the US House Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held a hearing to consider several bills to repair and improve our nation’s recycling system. A letter from SWANA urging action on the "Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2022" was sent to Subcommittee Chairman Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Ranking Member David McKinley (R-WV). SWANA supports this legislation, which would establish a pilot rural recycling program at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The "Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2022" was introduced in the House by Representatives David McKinley (R-WV) and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ). Companion legislation in the U.S. Senate has already been approved by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Other legislation addressed during the hearing included the "Recycling and Composting Accountability Act," "CLEAN Future Act," and the "Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021." The hearing recording, witness testimony, and legislation considered can all be viewed on the Committee webpage.

Government of Canada Single-Use Plastics Ban

The Government of Canada released its final regulations to prohibit single-use plastics on June 20, including:

• Checkout bags
• Cutlery
• Food service ware made from or containing problematic plastics that are hard to recycle
• Ring carriers
• Stir sticks
• Straws (with some exceptions).

The ban on the manufacture and import of these harmful single-use plastics will come into effect in December 2022. To provide businesses in Canada with enough time to transition and to deplete their existing stocks, the sale of these items will be prohibited as of December 2023. The government will also prohibit the export of plastics in the six categories by the end of 2025.

In addition, the Government has released two guidance documents to accompany the regulations, the Single-use Plastics Prohibitions Regulations – Guidance for selecting alternatives and Single-use Plastics Prohibitions Regulations – Technical guidelines.

SWANA Requests Regulatory Impact Analysis for PFAS CERCLA Designation

SWANA joined a letter on June 15 to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan requesting the Agency engage with stakeholders and prepare a regulatory impact analysis before issuing a draft proposal to designate Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). EPA is expected to propose this rule soon.

The letter asks EPA to prepare a thorough regulatory impact analysis of its proposed action, similar to what was done for the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rulemaking and other major, definitional rules. This request is in addition to the solid waste industry’s advocacy for Congress to protect landfills and other passive receivers from liability related to PFAS contamination.

SWANA also joined a letter to EPA in response to its proposal to revise the regulatory definition of volatile organic compounds (VOC) under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to exclude certain hydrofluorocarbon compounds. That letter urged EPA to avoid using this rule to review PFAS compounds, particularly regarding properties that are not related to the VOC exemption program. 

EPA Seeks Input to Inform New Waste Prevention, Reuse, and Recycling Grant Programs and Initiatives

On June 9, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published three requests for information to obtain feedback from a wide array of stakeholders to develop each of the new waste prevention, reuse, and recycling initiatives funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The SWANA Core Advocacy Group and a special working group established at SOAR 2022 are guiding SWANA's response to EPA's request for information. If your organization intends to submit comment or you would like to participate in SWANA's comment submission, please contact Jesse Maxwell at jmaxwell@swana.org. 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides EPA $375 million to develop several new initiatives including the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) grant program and the Recycling Education and Outreach grant program. Through the requests for information, EPA is asking all interested individuals and organizations to share their perspectives on resources, opportunities, and barriers related to waste prevention, and reuse and recycling programs. 

SWANA & Oceans Caucus Foundation Host Congressional Briefing on Recycling

SWANA and the Oceans Caucus Foundation hosted a briefing on May 26 for staff on Capitol Hill on implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Recycling Strategy and 50% recycling goal. The panel discussion explored the state of recycling in the United States and how EPA’s Strategy and recycling goals can be best achieved through local, state, and federal action.

The panel represented both public and private stakeholders, and all echoed similar and important messaging. The panel included Allison Trulock, NewGen Strategies and Solutions; Ashley Krug, Missouri Department of Environmental Services; Elizabeth Roe, Eco Partners, Inc; and David Allaway, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

"Misleading labels, inconsistent collection and poor communication have led to mass confusion on how to recycle," Allaway pointed out. One of the many key challenges that contamination presents is that it literally shuts recycling facilities down due to non-recyclable materials clogging or breaking machinery and even starting fires, with the main culprits being plastic bags and batteries. Panelists pointed out that this is a huge problem and costs facilities valuable time and, more importantly, money. Contamination was a main culprit behind the infamous National Sword Policy, launched in 2017 by the Government of China to monitor and more stringently review recyclable waste imports. 40% of recycled materials that were sent to China as exports contained materials not recycled properly.

Ashley and Elizabeth both mentioned how public education is a big part of the solution. The public is often confused about what their local recycling program accepts and doesn’t accept. There is also not equal access to robust recycling programs where "the same access in cities is not the same in rural areas." The reality that different communities have different rules and access complicates the issue, but industry does as well. There need to be rules about what materials can have a recycling symbol since some plastics and materials are recyclable in one area but not another.

The panel also pointed out that recycling not only reverts waste from landfills but is good for the environment and economy. “When you’re reusing materials, you’re also conserving energy and water,” said Allison. She also made the point that for every 10,000 tons of waste removed, 6 jobs are created, while for every 10,000 tons of recycling removed, 36 jobs are created.

Investing in the U.S. recycling infrastructure is essential to reach the U.S. recycling goal but also to keep up with the current and future waste streams in the U.S. Success will require continued buy-in from all stakeholder groups and an emphasis on Reduce and Reuse, followed by Recycle.

EPA Issues Four PFAS Drinking Water Health Advisory Levels

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released four drinking water health advisories for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as part of the Agency’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap. These are non-regulatory levels that indicate the level of drinking water contamination below which adverse health effects are not expected to occur. EPA’s lifetime health advisories also take into account other potential sources of exposure to these PFAS beyond drinking water (for example, food, air, consumer products, etc.).

The updated advisory levels for PFOA and PFOS are based on new science and consider lifetime exposure. The previous levels for the two compounds had been set at 70 ppt but are now near zero and below EPA’s ability to detect at this time. The GenX chemicals and PFBS health advisory levels are being issued for the first time and are well above the level of detection. 

The agency’s new health advisories provide technical information that federal, state, and local agencies can use to inform actions to address PFAS in drinking water, including water quality monitoring, optimization of existing technologies that reduce PFAS, and strategies to reduce exposure to these substances.

EPA is moving forward with proposing a PFAS National Drinking Water Regulation in Fall 2022. As EPA develops this proposed rule, the agency is also evaluating additional PFAS beyond PFOA and PFOS and considering actions to address groups of PFAS. The interim health advisories are meant to provide guidance to states, Tribes, and water systems prior to the regulation going into effect.