Senate Committee Explores Circular Economy in Recent Hearing | Article

The United States produces the most trash in the world per capita, with the average person producing about five pounds of trash per day in 2018. About 50 percent of that comes from plastic, food, and paper waste. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, only 8.7 percent of plastic is recycled and 4.1 percent of food is composted. Paper boasts the highest recycling rate, at 65 percent.

On September 22, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing, The Circular Economy as a Concept for Creating a More Sustainable Future, to discuss how to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in ecosystems or landfills. The circular economy describes a system in which materials after use are treated as valuable commodities that can be reused, repaired, recycled, or remanufactured instead of thrown away. While plastic waste was a particular focus during the hearing, members and witnesses also discussed recycling paper, food, and battery waste.

The Recycling Challenge

The recycling industry faces a number of challenges, which were discussed during the hearing. Ranking Member Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) spoke about the mounting need to process waste domestically, but stated that there is a lack of demand for recycled materials in the United States. Witness Roberta Elias, director of policy and government affairs at the World Wildlife Fund, highlighted that the current recycling system “simply cannot process the sheer volume of stuff” and is disjointed across 20,000 municipalities with varying requirements and performance levels.

Another barrier to recycling brought up during the hearing is the lack of access to recycling facilities in rural communities. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) stated that in his state, “it is estimated that nearly 70 percent of households do not have access to curbside recycling.”

Focus on Recycling Education

Several witnesses supported educating consumers about what is recyclable before waste enters residential recycling bins. Elias pointed out the current recycling system is “inaccessible and way too confusing,” which leads to the public not understanding what is recyclable. North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Elizabeth Biser emphasized the importance of recycling education by saying, “The more we can engage our residents in how they are recycling correctly, the less contamination, and that leads to lower cost for the local recycling programs.”

To help the public better understand recycling, Brian Hawkinson, executive director of recycled fiber at the American Forest and Paper Association, and William Johnson, chief lobbyist of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, recommended that Congress pass the RECYCLE Act (S.2941), which funds grants toward local public education and outreach programs on recycling.

Extended Producer Responsibility

Extended producer responsibility (EPR)—a policy approach that holds manufacturers and distributors responsible for recycling, reusing, or repairing products that are difficult to recycle or contain toxic elements—was raised as one potential solution to increase recycling rates. Elias cited state deposit return programs (a.k.a. bottle bills), a type of EPR, as a proven method for increasing the recycling of PET plastic bottles and recommended implementing a national program to increase recycling rates across the country. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) pointed out that states with the highest recycling rates, such as Maine and Oregon, have implemented deposit return programs.

The Road Ahead

Emphasizing that waste reduction must be prioritized before waste reuse and recycling, Biser noted in her written testimony that “one of the best ways to reduce waste is to prevent it from happening in the first place.” Similarly, while Elias lauded the passage of bills to address marine debris, including the bipartisan Save Our Seas Act (P.L. 115-265) and Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (P.L. 116-224), she hoped the hearing would “set the stage for refinement and passage of smart policies and incentives—to emphasize reduction, reuse, and refill systems and set the stage for a circular economy.”

To learn more about waste issues, check out EESI’s related resources: