Environment (Recycling)

The Zero Food Waste Act sets a goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2035 compared to 2015 levels. It authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award competitive grants to states, local governments, tribes, and nonprofits for projects that prevent, rescue, upcycle, or recycle food waste - such as developing waste-reduction plans, collecting data on waste generation, and implementing pricing policies to discourage landfill disposal. The bill prioritizes funding for communities of color, low-income areas, and Tribal communities disproportionately affected by environmental harm. It requires grantees to report on progress and allocates $650 million annually from 2026 to 2035 to support these efforts, with the EPA publishing yearly effectiveness reports.

The CIRCLE Act establishes a 30% tax credit for businesses investing in new or upgraded recycling infrastructure, such as facilities processing materials like electronics (computers, monitors, peripherals) and other recyclables. It directly affects businesses building or modernizing recycling operations by reducing their tax burden for qualifying equipment placed in service after 2025. A 10% domestic content bonus credit is available for investments meeting specific U.S. manufacturing requirements, and the full credit phases out gradually between 2032 and 2037, ending entirely by 2037. The bill aims to boost the U.S. recycling rate from ~30% toward the EPA’s 2030 goal of 50% by incentivizing domestic recycling capacity.

The Critical Minerals Partnership Act of 2025 establishes a framework for the U.S. to collaborate with allies and partners in building secure, resilient supply chains for critical minerals - such as those used in clean energy and defense technologies. It authorizes the State Department to lead the Minerals Security Partnership, creating a database for project information, prioritizing projects that align with U.S. security interests, and setting environmental and social standards for mining and recycling. The bill directly affects the U.S. government (through State Department actions), allied nations participating in the partnership, and private sector companies involved in critical mineral supply chains. It includes $50 million in funding for fiscal year 2026 to support these international efforts, aiming to reduce reliance on adversarial nations like China and Russia while promoting responsible development and recycling.

Strategies To Eliminate Waste and Accelerate Recycling Development Act of 2025 or the STEWARD Act of 2025 This bill establishes requirements to expand recycling and composting efforts, including by creating (1) a pilot grant program, and (2) data collection and reporting requirements. The bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a pilot program that awards grants for improving recycling accessibility in communities, particularly in underserved communities. States, local governments, Indian tribes, and public-private partnerships may apply for those grants. The bill also directs the EPA to collect data related to composting and recycling infrastructure from states, local governments, and Indian tribes. Within three years and every four years thereafter, the EPA must prepare an inventory of certain recycling facilities in the United States. The EPA must also develop a metric for determining the proportion of recyclable materials in commercial and municipal waste streams that are being diverted from a circular market. The bill allows the EPA to develop (1) a standardized estimated rate of recyclable materials that have been brought to recycling or composting facilities, and (2) an estimated national recycling rate. The EPA may use the rates and information collected to provide states, local government, and Indian tribes data and technical assistance, such as assistance to reduce their overall waste and to increase their recycling and composting rates. The bill establishes a variety of reporting requirements for the EPA and directs the Government Accountability Office to publish a report on certain federal agency activities related to recycling.

HR 4109, the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act, requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect and report detailed data on recycling and composting infrastructure across the U.S. The bill mandates reports on composting facilities, materials recovery centers (which process recyclable materials like plastic, paper, and metal), contamination rates, and barriers to expanding these programs. It also directs the EPA to develop standardized recycling rates, track end-market sales of recycled materials, and assess how much recyclable material is diverted from reuse. These reports will be submitted to Congress and used by states, local governments, and tribes to improve recycling access, reduce waste, and inform future policy decisions.

HR 3166 creates a 30% federal tax credit for homeowners who install qualified food recycling appliances or use organic waste collection services. It directly affects individual taxpayers in U.S. principal residences by covering 30% of costs for appliances that process food waste (via dehydration/size reduction) and services that collect pre-processed organic waste. The credit is capped at $300 per appliance and $120 total for services annually, expires after 2031, and prevents double benefits with other deductions. This policy aims to reduce landfill waste from household food scraps through tax incentives, effective for 2026 tax years and later.

HR 6826, the Critical Minerals Independence Act, expands a federal tax credit for advanced manufacturing to include "black mass" - the material recovered from processing spent lithium-ion batteries. The bill defines black mass as the intermediate solid material containing metals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt, before it is purified into individual components. This change directly affects battery recycling companies and manufacturers who process spent batteries, allowing them to claim the tax credit for components made from this material. The provision applies to components produced and sold after December 31, 2024.

This bill exempts facilities recycling spent petroleum catalyst for metal recovery (like vanadium) from certain waste regulations under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. It specifically removes the requirement for these facilities to comply with Boilers and Industrial Furnaces (BIF) rules, applying to thermal treatment units (e.g., roasters) and metallurgical units (e.g., furnaces) that process catalyst into intermediate products or recover metals. The exemption covers spent hydrotreating and hydrorefining catalyst (EPA hazardous wastes K171/K172) and allows third-party transfer for recycling. This aims to streamline domestic recovery of critical minerals - such as vanadium used in steel for defense and infrastructure - without adding new environmental regulations, as current air permits already enforce safeguards.

The Mining Schools Act of 2025 creates a Department of Energy grant program to fund mining education at eligible colleges and universities. It directly affects accredited mining engineering programs and specific public university departments in states with significant mining economies, aiming to recruit students and strengthen training in critical mineral extraction, environmental reclamation, and domestic supply chains. Grants - limited to 10 annually - must support curriculum focused on rare earth elements, recycling technologies, reducing environmental impacts, and meeting U.S. energy mineral needs. The program authorizes $10 million yearly for fiscal years 2026-2033, with oversight by a Mining Professional Development Advisory Board.

This bill expands tax exclusions for homeowners by adding water conservation, storm water management, and wastewater management rebates to the existing tax-free treatment for energy efficiency subsidies. It directly affects residents receiving rebates from public utilities, local governments, or storm water providers for qualifying installations like low-flow fixtures, rain barrels, or septic system upgrades (with wastewater rebates limited to principal residences). Key provisions redefine "water conservation measure" and "storm water management measure" to clarify eligible upgrades and explicitly include water utilities and storm water providers under tax-exclusion rules. The changes apply to rebates received after December 31, 2021, without altering tax treatment for prior rebates.