With COVID-19 taking its toll on recycling, the Senate made an effort to breathe new life into the federal discussion. On June 17, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) held an oversight hearing on “Responding to the Challenges Facing Recycling in the United States.”
The hearing began with an opening statement from Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), the Chairman of the Committee. He noted that, in the aftermath of the implementation of China’s National Sword policy in 2018, which all but ended imports of recyclable paper and plastics, “local governments have had to decide to increase users’ fees or end, suspend, or scale back their programs.” He also touched on challenges including the prevalence of recyclables ending up in landfills and ongoing concerns related to contamination.
