Congress Should Expand Recycling Infrastructure

Congress has finally approved bipartisan infrastructure legislation and that is great news. But now is not the time to call it a day. There is more work to be done, including on the subject of recycling infrastructure. This is of particular importance to me as a mayor. I know firsthand why recycling infrastructure is important. Without it, we are wasting an opportunity to make a real environmental and economic impact.

There is strong public support for investments in recycling infrastructure. A recent survey of more than 2,000 respondents conducted by YouGov found that 71 percent support investing in expanding/improving recycling infrastructure to reduce waste going into landfills and 76 percent support expanding the U.S. domestic recycling program. What’s more, 88 percent agree there are economic benefits to recycling and 89 percent agree there are environmental benefits to recycling.

Local leaders have been working diligently to expand recycling opportunities for many years. Now, we want to partner with the federal government to ensure we have adequate infrastructure in place to meet our communities’ growing recycling demands. We need to collaborate on a path forward that leads to growth and innovation in our recycling infrastructure and catapults America into becoming the world’s leader in this critical industry.

As a good first step, the recently approved bipartisan infrastructure legislation includes $275 million for grants under the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act for municipalities to expand their recycling systems. These grants can be provided to states to support improvements to local post-consumer materials management, including municipal recycling programs. They may also go to units of local government, Indian Tribes, and public water systems to support improvements in reducing and removing plastic waste and post-consumer materials, including microplastics and microfibers, from drinking water or sources of drinking water. The legislation also includes $75 million ($15 million per year for fiscal years 2022 – 2026) for RECYCLE Act grants to educate consumers on the importance of recycling. These grants can be used to improve the effectiveness of residential and community recycling programs through public education and outreach.

Again, this is an important first step. But more needs to be done. When an issue like this bipartisan in the current political environment, we can and must do more. Additional legislation must be pursued to achieve environmental justice and climate equity through the expansion of domestic recycling programs, particularly in disadvantaged communities that lack sufficient recycling infrastructure. According to the Recycling Partnership, 40 percent of Americans lack equitable recycling. We have to build on this bipartisan momentum to make that right.

All communities — large and small — deserve to reap the benefits of recycling. Recycling helps control future waste costs and increases the lifespan of materials that would otherwise end up in regional landfills. This in turn reduces the cost of transportation to landfills outside local regions and the stress of this transport on our traditional infrastructure such as roads and bridges. In addition, recycling provides marketable goods, which reduces costs of packaging for consumers. It’s a win-win.

With passage of this historic bipartisan legislation, real improvements can now be made. But it shouldn’t be the last word on the issue. Lawmakers must make recycling infrastructure a top priority moving forward. Communities across the country are depending on them to do so.

Steve Benjamin, the Mayor of Columbia, S.C., was President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors from 2018-2019.