125th Morrison Congress

2nd Session

H.R. 125-010

Title of the Bill: National Recycling Act

Main Author(s): Ashley Lin

Co-Sponsor(s):

BE IT ENACTED BY THE MORRISON CONGRESS

1 SECTION 1: Findings
2 Congress makes the following findings:
3 1) Americans generated 254.1 million tons of municipal trash and
4 recycled/composted 87 million tons, equivalent to 34.3%. (ii)
5 2) In 2013, cities have spent $5 billion on landfill fees alone. (iii)
6 3) 94% of US has some type of recycling programs available: 30% have
7 curbside collections, 43% have curbside and drop off centers, 21% have drop
8 off programs. (ii)
9 4) A sample survey by Pew Research Center stated 28% Americans say their
10 local community strongly encourage recycling, 22% dont encourage, and the
11 rest moderately encourage. (ii)
12 5) America has 9800 municipal recycling centers with varying regulations for
material collection and reimbursement. (iii)
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6) Most recycling machines that were built in the 1990s are out-of-date to the
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current volume and type of waste. (iii)
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7) In California alone, nearly 200 recycling centers have been closed in the past
16 two years because of the lack of state funding. (iv)
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19 SECTION 2: Purpose
20 The purpose of this bill is to establish a national standard for recycling regulations
21 that have previously only been handled by local jurisdiction or private non-profit
22 companies.
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24 SECTION 3: General Provisions
25 1. Establish better programs to articulate the benefits of recycling programs through
26 school and local jurisdiction to curb the current apathetic mindsets of Americans.
27 2. Since a majority of the current recycling options are voluntary, federal government
28 will partner with state jurisdiction to implement a national mandatory recycling
29 laws. Theses laws will strengthen curbside collection by dictating that trash
30 containers cannot exceed the 10% limit on municipal solid waste. Recyclable
31 items will be separated into corresponding containers to be inspected by the local
32 jurisdiction. Those who exceed the limit or incorrectly recycle municipal solid
33 waste will be given a warning and a week allowance, then a fine if not corrected.
34 3. Provide more state funding for local collection centers, rejuvenating current
35 recycling machines and setting a standard amount of money for reimbursement.
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37 SECTION 4: Definitions
38 Curbside programs: an arrangement to collect recycled garbage as voluntarily sorted
39 into assigned containers outside of homes or businesses
Municipal waste: everyday items (like product packaging, furniture, grass clippings,
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food, etc) from homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses. This excludes
 41 construction debris, wastewater treatment waste, or non-hazardous industrial
42 waste
43 Recovery: recycling and composting, but not burning to produce energy
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Works Cited:
(i) http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-bottle-bill-reform-20170602-story.html
(ii) http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/07/perceptions-and-realities-of-recycling-
vary-widely-from-place-to-place/
(iii) https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2015/04/recycling-america