Recycling infrastructure and accessibility improvements

(a) Definitions In this section: (1) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (2) Curbside recycling The term curbside recycling means the process by which residential recyclable materials are picked up curbside. (3) Eligible entity The term eligible entity means— (A) a State (as defined in section 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903)); (B) a unit of local government; (C) an Indian Tribe; and (D) a public-private partnership or entities seeking to establish a public-private partnership. (4) Indian Tribe The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). (5) Materials recovery facility (A) In general The term materials recovery facility means a dedicated facility where primarily residential recyclable materials, which are diverted from disposal by a generator and collected separately from municipal solid waste, are mechanically or manually sorted into commodities for further processing into specification-grade commodities for sale to end users. (B) Exclusion The term materials recovery facility does not include a solid waste management facility that may process municipal solid waste to remove recyclable materials. (6) Pilot grant program The term pilot grant program means the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Program established under subsection (b). (7) Recyclable material The term recyclable material means a material that is obsolete, previously used, off-specification, surplus, or incidentally produced for processing into a specification-grade commodity for which a reuse market currently exists or is being developed. (8) Transfer station The term transfer station means a facility that— (A) receives and consolidates recyclable material from curbside recycling or drop-off facilities; and (B) loads the recyclable material onto tractor trailers, railcars, or barges for transport to a distant materials recovery facility or another recycling-related facility. (9) Underserved community The term underserved community means a community, including an unincorporated area, without access to full recycling services because— (A) transportation, distance, or other reasons render utilization of available processing capacity at an existing materials recovery facility cost prohibitive; or (B) the processing capacity of an existing materials recovery facility is insufficient to manage the volume of recyclable materials produced by that community. (b) Establishment Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a pilot grant program, to be known as the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Program, to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to improve recycling accessibility in a community or communities within the same geographic area. (c) Goal The goal of the pilot grant program is to fund eligible projects that will significantly improve accessibility to recycling systems through investments in infrastructure in underserved communities through the use of a hub-and-spoke model for recycling infrastructure development. (d) Applications To be eligible to receive a grant under the pilot grant program, an eligible entity shall submit to the Administrator an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Administrator may require. (e) Considerations In selecting eligible entities to receive a grant under the pilot grant program, the Administrator shall consider— (1) whether the community or communities in which the eligible entity is seeking to carry out a proposed project has curbside recycling; (2) whether the proposed project of the eligible entity will improve accessibility to recycling services in a single underserved community or multiple underserved communities; and (3) (A) if the eligible entity is a public-private partnership, the financial health of the private entity seeking to enter into that public-private partnership; or (B) if the eligible entity is seeking to establish a public-private partnership, the financial health of the private entities that would participate in the public-private partnership. (f) Priority In selecting eligible entities to receive a grant under the pilot grant program, the Administrator shall give priority to eligible entities seeking to carry out a proposed project in a community in which there is not more than 1 materials recovery facility within a 75-mile radius of that community. (g) Use of funds An eligible entity awarded a grant under the pilot grant program may use the grant funds for projects to improve recycling accessibility in communities, including in underserved communities, by— (1) increasing the number of transfer stations; (2) expanding curbside recycling collection programs where appropriate; and (3) leveraging public-private partnerships to reduce the costs associated with collecting and transporting recyclable materials in underserved communities. (h) Prohibition on use of funds An eligible entity awarded a grant under the pilot grant program may not use the grant funds for projects relating to recycling education programs. (i) Minimum and maximum grant amount A grant awarded to an eligible entity under the pilot grant program shall be in an amount— (1) not less than $500,000; and (2) not more than $15,000,000. (j) Set-Aside The Administrator shall set aside not less than 70 percent of the amounts made available to carry out the pilot grant program for each fiscal year to award grants to eligible entities to carry out a proposed project or program in a single underserved community or multiple underserved communities. (k) Federal share The Federal share of the cost of a project or program carried out by an eligible entity using grant funds shall be not more than 95 percent. (l) Report Not later than 2 years after the date on which the first grant is awarded under the pilot grant program, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report describing the implementation of the pilot grant program, which shall include— (1) a list of eligible entities that have received a grant under the pilot grant program; (2) the actions taken by each eligible entity that received a grant under the pilot grant program to improve recycling accessibility with grant funds; and (3) to the extent information is available, a description of how grant funds received under the pilot grant program improved recycling rates in each community in which a project or program was carried out under the pilot grant program. (m) Authorization of appropriations (1) In general There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the pilot grant program $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029, to remain available until expended. (2) Administrative costs and technical assistance Of the amounts made available under paragraph (1), the Administrator may use up to 5 percent— (A) for administrative costs relating to carrying out the pilot grant program; and (B) to provide technical assistance to eligible entities applying for a grant under the pilot grant program.