Technological watch

WASHINGTON (December 3, 2020) – On December 3, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) submitted comments on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's draft National Recycling Strategy. ACC welcomed the Strategy and issued the following statement, which may be attributed to Joshua Baca, ACC's vicepresident of plastics:

“We commend EPA for leading the development of a National Recycling Strategy to advance the recycling system in the U.S. A comprehensive recycling strategy will provide the structure and direct much-needed resources to improve recycling across this country and help address plastic waste in the environment. As a signatory to the America Recycles Pledge, we look forward to collaborating with EPA to support and build upon its National Recycling Strategy.

“We also applaud EPA’s recently announced National Recycling Goal aimed at increasing the national recycling rate for all materials to 50% by 2030. This aligns with America’s Plastic Makers’® goal that 100% of plastic packaging in the U.S. is recycled, recovered, or reused by 2040. To support the delivery of solutions to meet this goal, we introduced our Roadmap to Reuse and Guiding Principles, aimed to accelerate the elimination of plastic waste and create a more circular economy for plastics.

“ACC looks forward to helping lead action on the development of the Strategy but urges EPA to consider the additional strategic recommendations, as outlined in our comments to the Agency:

• Incorporate advanced recycling in all three of the strategy objectives, especially the role it will play in creating new markets for post-use plastics.
• Add a new objective on increasing collection.
• Develop a more harmonized federal approach on education and standards to align the recycling interests of diverse communities across the United States.
• Update the EPA waste hierarchy to be inclusive of all recycling processes and collaborate with other key federal agencies, such as the Department of Energy.
• Work with Congress on policies that will enable private sector funding for recycling infrastructure while developing a broader federal strategy.

“ACC appreciates the strong work to rightly prioritize recycling by Administrator Wheeler and develop this strategy and we look forward to working with the Biden Administration to continue to build upon this strategic framework.”