With the November elections behind us, it is time for House leadership and the House Energy and Commerce Committee to immediately pass two bipartisan recycling-related measures during the remaining weeks of the 117th Congress. Both are critical steps to boost recycling rates, improve America’s recycling infrastructure and reduce consumer confusion about recycling. The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) and its members support recycling legislation that ensures a sound recycling system that benefits the environment and the economy.
The two bills are the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act (H.R. 8183) and the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act (H.R. 8059).
WCC supports the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act (H.R. 8059). This bill will provide critical data to improve existing recycling programs and evaluate future recycling policies. Introduced by Reps. David McKinley (R-WV) and Mikie Sherrill (D-WV), H.R. 8059 would require the Environmental Protection Agency to collect, maintain and publish data on recycling and composting rates across the country. This will provide accurate tracking of recycling and composting performance at the national and state level. Recycling solutions require uniformity between national and state recycling data to build a collection, recycling and reuse system based on what works and what doesn’t work.
WCC also supports the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act (H.R. 8183), which provides grants for projects that make recycling programs more accessible to rural and disadvantaged communities. Metal can manufacturers need recycled materials to make new can sheets to maintain international competitiveness. This bill, introduced by Reps. Joe Neguse (D-CO), Tim Burchett (R-TN) and Bill Foster (D-IL), will help those communities put in place the infrastructure, education, accessibility and markets to recover and recycle today’s and tomorrow’s packaging materials.
H.R. 8183 and H.R. 8059 will improve recycling rates at households and businesses, but neither addresses beverage containers consumed on the go, in places such as parks, beaches and road trips, where recycling garbage cans may not be available. Consumers who see the value of their beverage containers will choose to recycle them, rather than leave them on the ground or throw them away. Incentivizing consumers to recycle their empty cans can be achieved through a recycling rebate program, also commonly known as a beverage container redemption program.
WCC wants Congress to introduce and pass recycling reimbursement legislation that would increase the recycling rate of all packaging materials and incentivize consumers to recycle their beverage containers. Recycling rebates have a proven track record of reducing waste and providing clean materials that serve as recycled content in new beverage containers. These programs reduce greenhouse gas emissions because new beverage containers use more recovered material. And by encouraging recycling, these programs also create more jobs than when beverage containers are landfilled. More importantly, 90% of Americans who already have access to recycling rebates and 81% of consumers nationwide support the programs.
Visit https://www.recyclingrefundswork.org/ for more information on recycling rebates.
81% OF AMERICANS SUPPORT RECYCLING REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAMS
CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO INCREASE METAL PACKAGING RECYCLING RATES IN SUFFOLK
RECYCLING ALUMINUM IMPROVES THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE U.S.
U.S. ALUMINUM CAN PRODUCERS TO PUSH FOR DEPOSIT LEGISLATION
ALUPRO LAUNCHES AEROSOL RECYCLING CAMPAIGN IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
ALUMINIUM PACKAGING RECYCLING RATE ON TRACK TO EXCEED 2021 TARGET
CONSUMERS AROUND THE WORLD WANT TO RECYCLE MORE, SAYS AMCOR
Europeans want to recycle more
