## Bill seeks to improve recycling data
_By Jake Thomas, Resource Recycling_
A Congressional subcommittee is considering a measure that could significantly change how recycling data is recorded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, potentially helping manufacturers make better use of recyclable commodities and helping collection programs to become more efficient.
On June 27, the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a hearing on the [discussion draft of a bill][1] that would allow the EPA to gather more complete data on how recyclable commodities are captured and how manufacturers are using them.
The bill, which has not yet been formally introduced, suggests in its findings section that manufacturers could become more competitive by using recycled feedstock, which is less energy-intensive than virgin sources. However, the bill notes that there's a big hurdle that needs to be overcome before this can happen:
"Current Environmental Protection Agency recycling data do not provide adequate information on the uses of recyclable materials after they are collected in various municipal collection systems and thus do not present an adequate picture of the amount of recyclable material available to manufacturers for reuse in their processes, or the cost and energy savings resulting from the use of recyclable materials in manufacturing processes," reads the bill.
"Improved data would lead to more informed decision-making among policy makers and governmental officials, and would help private sector users of recyclables increase their use of recyclable materials."
The bill would direct the EPA -- with the help of the departments of Energy and Commerce, trade associations, local governments, environmental groups and other entities - to produce a detailed report on what's being collected for recycling, how it's being collected and what's being done with it. The report could shed light on contamination and what's available for manufacturers.
Specifically, the report required by the bill would look into the following:
* How much material is being recovered by different collection systems (i.e. single-, dual- or multi-stream).
* How much recycled material manufacturers are using and how these materials are recovered.
* The tonnage of recyclable materials that are disposed of in landfills after being recovered.
* The energy consumed, and costs incurred, to collect various recyclables.
The bill mentions that the information used in the report will be provided voluntarily. It also states that the government is not granted authority by the legislation to regulate recycling goals, energy use goals, and recycling and collection programs.
John Skinner, the executive director and CEO of the Solid Waste Association of North America, says that the bill is a good effort that could produce better data that will give manufacturers a sense of what material is out there, while giving suppliers more information about the end uses of collected recyclables.
"There seems to be a disconnect on those numbers," he says. "People feel if they had better data, the suppliers and the users would be in a better position to work with each other."
Fran McPoland, Washington insider and environmental advisor for the 100% Recycled Paperboard Alliance, told _Resource Recycling_ that the bill was largely spearheaded by the Glass Packaging Institute with input from the Recycling Roundtable, a group that represents various recycling industries.
McPoland says that currently the EPA has restrictions on how it can collect data and the bill seeks to free its hands. "It's designed to determine where the material is going because there are gaps between what gets collected and what [gets recycled]," she says.
Some material collected for recycling might be sent to landfill or another use due to contamination, says McPoland. The legislation will allow the EPA to get a better handle on how often this happens, she says.
"One of the things we're really excited about is that this is one of the first hearings probably in 15 or 17 years specifically on [municipal solid waste], and we really hope that it engages Congress as well as the EPA in a dialogue about the needs of the various sectors in the industry," she says.
_Resource Recycling_ will be back next week with further reporting on this bill, including dialogue from this week's testimony on Capitol Hill.
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[1]: http://republicans.energycommerce.house.gov/Media/file/Hearings/Environment/20120627/BILLS-112hr-PIH-IncreasingManufacturingThroughImprovedRecycling.pdf
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