The STEWARD Act was championed by chairman Shelley Moore Capito, ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse, and Senator John Boozman.
Having secured unanimous committee approval on 5 February, the legislation aims to monitor textile waste in conjunction with other materials.
Commending the committee, American Circular Textiles (ACT) emphasised the historical neglect of textiles in federal recycling initiatives and expressed optimism about the committee’s acknowledgment of the necessity for enhanced data collection.
This development could potentially pave the way for circular strategies within the textile industry. ACT is keen to collaborate with legislators to integrate textiles into broader discussions aimed at fortifying a sustainable manufacturing ecosystem within the US.
ACT said: “This bipartisan effort is a critical step toward improving our nation’s recycling and composting infrastructure in rural and underserved areas, ensuring greater accessibility and transparency in waste management data.
“The STEWARD Act combines previous legislation aimed at improving recycling infrastructure and accountability measures for packaging, plastics, and organic materials. While the infrastructure provisions focus on these traditional recycling streams, the bill takes an important first step for textile recycling through new data collection requirements.”
ACT added: “This data collection component marks a significant milestone in bringing visibility to textile waste management challenges at the national level.”
The pilot grant programme
The STEWARD Act aims to enhance recycling efforts by establishing the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Program within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The pilot grant programme provides competitive grants ranging from $500,000 to $15m for projects aimed at improving recycling infrastructure through a hub-and-spoke model.
It focuses on communities with limited access to materials recovery facilities.
Additionally, it supports projects that increase the number of transfer stations, expand curbside recycling programmes, and lower collection and transportation costs.
The STEWARD Act amalgamates prior legislative efforts that focused on refining recycling infrastructure and introducing accountability for the management of packaging, plastics, and organic materials. In addition to these traditional recycling streams, the bill marks a pioneering step for textile recycling by implementing new data collection requirements.
Extensive data collection and reporting
A key feature of the STEWARD Act is the modernisation of recycling and composting data collection. It sets forth standardised metrics to evaluate and advance waste management systems across the country.
The EPA is empowered to gather and scrutinise data on market trends, processing rates of materials, and the efficacy of curbside recycling programmes. It also tackles accessibility issues related to these programmes.
Furthermore, the bill introduces metrics to monitor the diversion of materials from landfills, promotes voluntary data-sharing alliances with states, and offers technical support to state and local governments aimed at enhancing recycling and composting rates. The EPA is also directed to conduct an assessment of national composting capabilities, examining infrastructure, regulatory hurdles, costs, and industry patterns.
Wide-ranging support
The STEWARD Act also enjoys robust support from a wide array of stakeholders. Notable corporations such as PepsiCo, Unilever, and General Mills have expressed their backing, along with major trade associations including the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.
