House Passes Amendment to Develop National Recycling Strategy

During floor consideration, the House of Representatives unanimously passed an amendment led by U.S. Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who represents Michigan’s 11th District and is the chair of the House Subcommittee on Research & Technology, in H.R. 3055, the Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act.

The amendment, which was co-sponsored by Rep. Kim Schrier, who represents Washington’s eighth district, instructs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prioritize funding to develop a national recycling strategy to ensure the long-term economic and environmental viability of local recycling programs.

“After learning about the rising costs and challenges of maintaining local recycling programs in Southeast Michigan, I have been working to bring attention to the recycling crisis that is unfolding in communities around the country,” said Stevens in a statement. “Our federal government cannot ignore this issue. Plastic use is skyrocketing, and our domestic recycling infrastructure is unequipped to keep up, especially in light of China’s new policy to ban the import of most post-consumer recyclable materials, including plastics, which the U.S. and other developing countries have been shipping there for the past 25 years. I look forward to working with the EPA and other federal agencies to create a national strategy to ensure long-term stability for local recycling programs.”