Sponsors (3)
The bill directs modest, targeted federal grants and standardized data tools to expand recycling infrastructure and market visibility—particularly for underserved communities—but progress may be limited by modest overall funding, setup delays, reporting burdens, exclusions (like outreach), and remaining local cost pressures that could shift burdens to taxpayers and local governments.
Low-income, rural, urban, and Tribal communities gain improved access to recycling through hub-and-spoke infrastructure grants (grants up to $15M), reducing collection and transport costs and prioritizing areas that lack nearby materials-recovery facilities.
States, tribes, and localities receive standardized data and technical assistance to estimate and improve recycling rates, helping them plan programs and compete for funding more effectively.
Reporting of end-market sales (dollars/ton) plus inventories and a diversion metric create market and infrastructure intelligence that can identify capacity gaps, guide targeted investments, and help develop domestic markets and revenues for processors.
Low-resourced jurisdictions and communities may still struggle to afford required matching funds because the federal share cap (up to 95%) can leave gaps that local governments, tribes, or nonprofits must fill.
Because the program is a pilot with an estimated 18-month setup period, underserved communities will face delayed relief — grants won't flow immediately and projects may be postponed.
States, tribes, and localities face new reporting and coordination requirements without guaranteed funding support; the authorized $4M/year for data/reporting is modest and may be insufficient to cover nationwide burdens, straining budgets and staff.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Establishes an EPA pilot grant program to expand recycling hub‑and‑spoke infrastructure for underserved communities and requires new EPA data, inventories, and market reports on recycling and composting.
Introduced January 30, 2025 by Shelley Moore Capito · Last progress November 20, 2025
Creates a new EPA pilot grant program to build and expand recycling “hub-and-spoke” infrastructure, prioritizing projects that serve underserved communities, and authorizes funding for EPA to collect data and produce inventories and reports on recycling and composting capacity. Grants will range from $500,000 to $15 million, with at least 70% of annual grant dollars reserved for projects serving underserved communities and a federal cost-share capped at 95%. Requires EPA to develop and publish inventories, market reports, biannual estimated recycling rates, a diversion metric, and studies on composting and contamination; provides modest annual authorizations for grants and EPA implementation; protects certain business information and bars EPA/Commerce from imposing unfunded mandates under these provisions.