Hearing. [inaudible] members and witnesses, you will need to unmute your microphone each time you wish to speak. Since members are participating from different locations at todays hearing, all recognition of members such as four questions will be in the order of subcommittee seniority. Documents for the record can be sent to kylie rogers at the email address we have provided to staff. All documents will be entered into the record at the conclusion of the hearing. The chair recognizes himself for five minutes for an opening statement. To give our digital team some notice, it is important to share with them that otherss comments will be accepted and will be entered into the record. Earlier this morning, the Supreme Court limited the epas authority to protect Public Health and the environment in the face of congressional a role that is no longer in the books and never went into effect. I am completely dismayed by this decision. I do know in the days ahead the subcommittee will study the decision and examine all options while urging the epa to take renewed action however possible to reduce Greenhouse Gas pollution. Back to the topic of the hearing, today is an opportunity to examine for topics to address waste and recycling challenges. The American Public likes recycling, but many people have concerns that what they put out does not end up being recycled. These concerns are not unfounded. Many recyclable products and up in our landfills and Plastic Waste in particular is ending up in our environment and our oceans. This subcommittee held an oversight hearing in 2020 to better understand the positions. We learned that in recent years our nations are cyclers have been under financial pressure. The closure of the chinese export market has had major impacts of the United States recycling system, causing municipalities to scale back their profitable programs, many of which are now actually costing local government money. These changing Market Conditions expose efficiencies in domestic markets, education and infrastructure that had been long overlooked as long as china was willing to accept our waste. In order to get us back on track, last years bipartisan infrastructure law, congress to recognize the the municipal recycling systems. It included a 275page appropriation for recycling and waste infrastructure brands and 75 billion for education and outreach brands. I believe these investments will be complimentary to the proposals that will be discussed today. We seek to address many of those challenges previously identified. H are 80 59, a bipartisan bill seeks to improve recycling Data Collection, harmonization, and reporting to allow us to better understand the state of our nations recycling and composting systems. Bipartisan bill from Ranking Member mckinley and representative would authorize a Pilot Program at the epa to provide assistance to approve recycling accessibility with a majority of funds going to underserved communities. Subtitles a through d b in title ix have proposed a policy to improve recycling. This includes grants for communityled zerowaste initiatives, funding for Greater Consumer education and outreach, requirements for manufacturers to design products to reduce environmental and Health Impacts, requirements for epa to standardize labeling guidelines, and the establishment of a natural deposit for task force to recommend [inaudible] similarly, hr 20 to 38 comprehensive policy solutions to reduce the production and use of Plastic Products. Today, the amount of profit Plastic Products being recycled is pitiful. We are relying more and more on plastics for packaging and other singleuse products. Many of these products are used for a few minutes before being sent to a landfill. Under the bestcase scenario, they will sit for many lifetimes. Requiring the companies that produce these to have better responsibilities for proper recycling or disposal. Several states and countries are establishing extended producer responsibility. I believe it would be wise for us to do the same. Ultimately, no single policy will fix our recycling system. Its going to take comprehensive efforts, examples of which we will discuss today. I look forward to hearing from the witnesses about the steps that congress and the epa can take to improve our nations recycling and Waste Management systems. With that, i will recognize representative mckinley, a Ranking Member of the subcommittee on environment and Climate Change, for five minutes for his opening statement. Senator mckinley . Thank you, mister chairman. S been two y ears since we had thank you for conducting this hearing. It has been two years since we had this hearing on recycling. Its good to get back to it. We know its a problem. Let me also thank our panelists that are participating here today. We have six panelists. I think we have to all underscore that we know solid waste and plastic is a problem. Whether it is newspapers, automobile tires, plastics, batteries i could go on and on and on. Its not new. None of this is new. If you are a member recycling began under the government led program. We had our papers in one. We had our garbage in another. The government was trying to change Human Behavior. They were trying to impose a change. After 60 years, 60 years of government intrusion and trying to regulate and change Human Behavior, you just mentioned that we just recycled about 23 . About 23 of all the consumable products that we use. Once again, it looks like democrats just want the government to step in one more time with two of these four pieces of legislation. They want to ban plastics. For example, of the two of the four that called for a moratorium on any environmental permits for blasting facilities, that is just another name for banning the product altogether. Mister chairman, why are we letting the free market run its course . We know that it is worth it for paper, oil, gas, and even steal. We are recycling steel. Why is congress trying to treat plastics differently . We also know, mister chairman, there are problems with recycling plastics like the cost, separation of plastics. You have to separate them by different colors. That is done by hand. You have to worry about the chemistry and the Plastic Products, the polymers that are being used. Some of them dont mix well. Different temperatures or necessary. We have a lack of recyclable facilities in rural america. Just two years ago, when we had this hearing, a witness discussed i think it came from colorado state. If we go back over our notes, i think it was colorado state. They were making advancements on biodegradable plastics rather than finding things that would break down. I think that our witness will provide us with an update on these advancements and biogradeable components. That way, we can tackle this issue rather than not everyone lives in los angeles, new york, chicago, even albany. The cities have robust recycling programs. What about small Rural Communities like hazard, kentucky or petersburg, indiana or kermit, West Virginia . These are small towns that dont have an active recycling facility. What we are doing is we will be forcing some of these legislations on increasing their cost of living. We are already facing high inflation and Higher Energy costs. Why are we trying to change their cost of living . Mister chairman, i can just say it in the time i have left. Only in washington do we think that we can legislate changes and Human Behavior. Where cycling is certainly an issue we need to deal with. It has been around for 100 years or more. The free market, using innovation, we will find another solution that does not require banning plastics. That has been something that consumers wanted. Its cheap and easy to use. It is easy to manufacture. We have to find another way to deal with it. Banning it is not the solution. Thank you, mister chairman. I yield back. Thank you. The gentleman yields. We have that recognize very busy over the last several weeks and months. So, we recognize you, chairman polo, for five minutes for your opening statement. Thank, you chairman tonko. They, the committee is considering its work on important environmental and climate issues were legislative solutions to our Nations Program and recycling system. Every day, americans are doing their part by reducing their ways and tossing views, or cycle patrols and to a ban. With a National Recycling and composting rate of only 32 , it is clear that there are major gaps in our recycling infrastructure we need to address. Im actually the cochair of the house recycling bill. Im very proud of. Its and the solving is especially important to be. Recycling is a critical tool in our tool box to reduce pollution in our communities, boost our local economies, address Climate Change, and strengthen the domestic supply chain. But the system is not working as well as it should. The system itself was up and the 2018, when china banned most Plastic Waste and mixed paper material imports, and this action prevented us from shipping recyclables overseas and require American Communities through rely on other options. This also begs the question, where recyclable material goes . It should be recycled, not sometime then landfills or ascend rated, and i would like to know today, what is being done to reduce the amount of voice that actually goes to landfills or is incinerated . And i think all this requires more funding as well. As with many programs, a recycling system is severely underfunded. The municipalities across the nation, especially small and rural towns, struggle to manage recycling programs, forcing scale backs or complete cancellations of curbside pickup. This is bad news for both recycling and the reuse side of the equation. Without adequate infrastructure to collect recyclable materials like metal, plastic, paper, cardboard, glass. Our domestic manufacturers will not be able to use these new materials in new products, and will continue to input materials. Unfortunately, congress has made a significant bipartisan infrastructure law of november, which included 300 and 50 million for recycling infrastructure and education in how and this funding was a critical step in addressing infrastructure challenges, and will improve recycling efforts across the nations. But congress has worked their, today, the subcommittee will examine for bills which will provide different illusions to our recycling challenges. One, a chart of 15 public future act, which i introduced to chairman tonko as a comprehensive approach to combatting the climate crisis, and includes a totally on weight reduction. The future act includes measures to reduce the generation of waste, including the temporary permeating newer, expanded plastic production facilities. It modernizes our nations recycling system by establishing recycling content standards. Establishing a National Deposit program, and standardizing the labeling and collecting of recyclable goods. The future act also establish grand produced by investing in communities zero waste initiatives, reduces the amount of went for waste, and improves education outreach. Many of these provisions arrive with the objectives outlined in the president s National Recycling strategy, which was released off november. Then, we have h our two to 38, the free from plastic pollution act, which includes the reduction policies to include the disposal. This pollution is often consecrated in Environmental Justice communities, and i think representative lowenthal for introducing this bill. And then, we have hr a of 59, the recycling and the compost bill act, introductory foster, and this produces data gaps in recycling and compost practices across the u. S. The south will be critical to informing policy decisions to improve recovery and boost regularity, and hr 813, the recycling infrastructure disability act. Again, a bipartisan bill led by a Ranking Member mckinley and representative cheryl, and i want to thank you, mr. Mckinley, for working on this issue. This bill establishes a pilots crew to increase access to recycling services in underserved communities struggling to keep up with increasing Waste Management romance. So, we have a lot of bills to look at. I just wanted to say, i heard what mr. Mckinley said. This is a problem in many ways, right . In other words, the towns that dont have the money, they cannot get people to recycle its a problem because we have no place to ship. Stuff ultimately, what i would like to see and i keep stressing it, we have to get a situation where we put less in landfills, we incinerate less, and we actually recycle more. And im afraid that we are getting away from that. Im hoping that we can get answers to that part of the equation today. I thank you again, chairman tonko. The gentleman yields back. The chairman that represents representative rogers, Ranking Member of the committee. Representative rodgers, you are recognized for five minutes for your opening statement,. Please thank you mister chairman. Good morning everyone. First, i want to highlight the Supreme Court decision today that confirms epa has been acting outside of Statutory Authority when issuing overreaching rules on the nations power sector. This decision is a victory for article one, legislative authority on behalf of the people and representative government. It is congress clear, constitutional authority, its our responsibility to debate and make the law. The Public Policy not elected bureaucrats in the executive branch, who often abused their power by issuing regulations that place harsh burdens on our economy and peoples livelihoods. Im pleased to see this decision. We are facing and inflation and energy crisis, with gas prices at alltime highs, trips to the Grocery Store busting the budgets of american families, like, for example, antijurists with the Washington Association of he is a fourth generation wait burrow, and he told us at a recent forum that rising gas, we are crippling farmers from the equipment to fertilizer. Unfortunately instead of working with republicans who are calling for the Biden Administration to flip the switch on American Energy production, lower the cost of food and consumer goods, and help farmers like andy, we see the democrats again turning to a radical climate agenda. We can and we should drawing in better conservation policies to promote recycling, and i share the chairmans goal to reduce the amount of product that goes to landfills or is incinerated and recycled more. However, but two democrats only lead bills today seek to ban new plastic manufacturing, and certain singleuse Plastic Products. This is an approach that will cost american jobs. It will worsen the supply chain crisis and hurt Economic Development across the country. The approaches that are proposed in these bills, banning plastics, will deprive us of lifesaving technologies like ppe, syringes, vaccine production equipment, medical gowns. Insulated packaging for transporting vaccines. These plastic based products have been critical in responding to the pandemic. Plastics are essential, and they are essential in clean energy and emission reducing technologies like insulation for homes, like waiting vehicles, winters and solar panels. Innovation has given us so much with these plastic based technologies that make our lives better. The clean future act and the break free from plastics pollution act will reduce our quality of life, hurt economic competitiveness, and make us more dependent upon china. We have seen this playbook before by the majority on this committee, and their campaign for blanket bans on new and innovative chemicals, kind of a similar approach that are essential to the manufacturing of critical goods. Whether we are promoting recycling or discouraging waste, legislation should not lead to the industrializing the United States. And not strengthening our domestic supply chains. These bills ignore that america has some of the highest Environmental Standards for manufacturing in the world. We do a cleaner, more efficiently, while also leading the world in reducing emissions. These two bills today, hr 80 59 and 81 83, address more traditional recycling and composting policies. Conserving our resources is good policy, especially if its based on innovation and free Market Investments and infrastructure. 81 83 prioritizes rural areas for a new epa Pilot Program for infrastructure grants. Rural areas are often short changed, so this rightly focuses on our infrastructure needs to enhance recycling. I would like to better understand whether a new program with additional dollars are needed, especially when we consider that with 375 million of taxpayer dollars is funded in the bipartisan infrastructure law for recycling grants. The other bipartisan bill, 80 59, the recycling and composting accountability act, seeks more data on recycling and composting in the u. S. And of concern to me is the increased federal governments influence on both of these, in both of these bills. I have concerns when the federal government goes from supplying se