Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020
Latest action · Jun 11, 2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJun 11, 2020
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020
This bill sets forth requirements related to waste and recycling collection systems for a variety of products and materials, including plastics.
The bill makes certain producers of products (e.g., packaging, paper, single-use products, beverage containers, or food service products) fiscally responsible for collecting, managing, and recycling or composting the products after consumer use. In addition, the bill establishes (1) minimum percentages of products that must be reused, recycled, or composted; and (2) an increasing percentage of recycled content that must be contained in beverage containers.
Beginning on January 1, 2022, the bill phases out a variety of single-use products, such as plastic utensils. The bill also sets forth provisions to encourage the reduction of single-use products, including by establishing programs to refund consumers for returning beverage containers.
The bill creates a temporary moratorium on new or expanded permits for facilities that manufacture plastics until regulations are updated to address pollution from the facilities.
The Environmental Protection Agency must publish guidelines for a national standardized labeling system for recycling and composting receptacles. Producers must include labels on their products that are easy to read and indicate whether the products are recyclable, compostable, or reusable.
Finally, the bill establishes limitations on the export of plastic waste to other countries.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Environment and Public Works Committee | Referred Jun 11, 2020 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 11, 2020Introduced in Senate
- Jun 11, 2020Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3263 | Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020 | Related bill | Feb 11, 2020 |
| HR 5845 | Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020 | Related bill | Feb 12, 2020 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to reduce the production and use of certain single-use plastic products and packaging, to improve the responsibility of producers in the design, collection, reuse, recycling, and disposal of their consumer products and packaging, to prevent pollution from consumer products and packaging from entering into animal and human food chains and waterways, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.
- Accounting and auditing
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Advanced technology and technological innovations
- Advisory bodies
- Air quality
- Alcoholic beverages
- Alternative and renewable resources
- Aquatic ecology
- Business records
- Child health
- Civil actions and liability
- Climate change and greenhouse gases
- Congressional oversight
- Consumer affairs
- Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
- Ecology
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Environmental health
- Environmental Protection
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Environmental regulatory procedures
- Food industry and services
- Food supply, safety, and labeling
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
- Indian lands and resources rights
- Industrial facilities
- Inflation and prices
- Intergovernmental relations
- International organizations and cooperation
- Licensing and registrations
- Manufacturing
- Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
- Marine pollution
- Marketing and advertising
- Materials
- Navigation, waterways, harbors
- Oil and gas
- Performance measurement
- Pollution liability
- Public-private cooperation
- Racial and ethnic relations
- Retail and wholesale trades
- Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
- Solid waste and recycling
- State and local government operations
- State and local taxation
- Tax-exempt organizations
- Trade restrictions
- User charges and fees
- Water quality
- Water use and supply
- Worker safety and health
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 11, 2020Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
