WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 7, 2021) – Representatives Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) and Larry Bucshon (R-IN) this week introduced the bipartisan Realizing the Economic Opportunities and Values of Expanding Recycling (RECOVER) Act (HR 2357). The American Chemistry Council welcomed the legislation and issued the following statement, which may be attributed to Joshua Baca, ACC’s vice president of plastics:
“The American Chemistry Council is pleased to see bipartisan efforts to strengthen recycling like the RECOVER Act. We strongly support this legislation, which would provide $500 million in federal matching grants over five years to state and local governments to modernize recycling infrastructure for all materials. We commend Representatives Cárdenas and Bucshon for their initiative in introducing the RECOVER Act and encourage Congress to support the legislation.
“Making funding available to state and local governments will be critical to grow recycling in this country. In 2018, America’s plastic makers set a goal to recycle, recover, or reuse 100% of plastic packaging in the U.S. by 2040. Similarly, the U.S. EPA last November set a goal increase the national recycling rate for all materials to 50% by 2030. These goals can only be met if we strengthen our nation’s recycling infrastructure.
“To help meet our recycling goal, we released a Roadmap to Reuse, a framework that outlines steps to grow recycling and recovery in the U.S., including improved and sustained public outreach to reduce confusion and help Americans recycle better. We also released guiding principles for eliminating plastic waste that can help shape legislation and other actions to grow recycling and recovery of plastics. An important component of both the Roadmap and guiding principles is investment in recycling infrastructure.
“Since July 2017, the private sector has announced 66 projects in mechanical and advanced recycling in the U.S. valued at $5.5 billion. These projects have the potential to divert over 9 billion pounds of waste from landfills each year. This private investment, coupled with the public investment made available by the RECOVER Act, will further increase recycling in the U.S. and help us achieve a circular economy for plastics.”
