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Plastics-backed recycling bills move in Congress, but face partisan split

Two plastics industry-backed bills that would set national standards around recycled content in chemical recycling and recyclability labeling moved forward in Congress Sept. 16, but not before facing significant partisan divides.

The Packaging and Claims Knowledge Act and the Recycled Materials Attribution Act both passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee in divided votes and moved to the House floor, largely with support from Republicans and opposition from Democrats.

For both bills, Republican lawmakers shepherding them said national rules would help companies innovate and make confusing recycling rules clearer for consumers.

But Democrats said the two bills would preempt state governments, which traditionally have taken the lead on recycling policy in the United States, and move them ahead with their own laws around plastics waste . They called them giveaways to industries seeking weaker recycling standards.

The RMAA, which has more bipartisan support than the Pack Act, would set national standards around using mass balance accounting for measuring recycled content from plastic made with chemical recycling, while protecting consumers from fraudulent claims, said Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., one of the bill’s principal sponsors.

“We should encourage American companies to invest in new recycling technologies and manufacturing processes, without creating a system where anybody can simply slap a recycled label on a product without being able to back it up with fact,” Langworthy said. “Manufacturers operating across state lines should not have to navigate through a growing patchwork of conflicting state standards on how these claims are made.”

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* Source : https://www.plasticsnews.com/public-policy/pn-plastics-bills-face-partisan-congress/

* Edit : HANDLER