S3127-118

Introduced

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 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.

118th Congress Introduced Oct 25, 2023

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

What This Bill Does

This 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 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., changes federal law or congressional policy affecting importers, exporters, and commercial firms. The main policy domain is Trade, Government Operations, Transportation.

Who Benefits and How

importers, exporters, and commercial firms may benefit from new authority, funding, eligibility, regulatory clarity, or reduced risk created by the bill.

Who Bears the Burden and How

federal implementing agencies, importers, exporters, and commercial firms may take on implementation duties, reporting obligations, compliance costs, or oversight responsibilities.

Key Provisions

  • Section S1: 1. Short title; table of contents This Act may be cited as the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2023. The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
  • Section id2c220329ff2f4c018bf868ae24cbc896: 101. Extended responsibility for beverage containers and packaging The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the...
  • Section idf02d75b4c0e04c97ab2210345371deee: 12001. Definitions In this subtitle: The term advisory committee means an advisory committee established by the Administrator under section 12106(a). The term...
  • Section id24d5286c47d8402b8e0b0118e92b986c: 12101. Extended responsibility Except as provided in subsection (b), effective beginning on February 1, 2025, each producer of a covered product or beverage...
  • Section id736f5d5d2b394251b244ce6588469663: 12102. Producer Responsibility Organizations For each category of covered products or beverage containers sold, distributed, or imported into the United States...

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

This 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 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., changes federal law or congressional policy affecting importers, exporters, and commercial firms.

Key Policy Areas

Trade, Government Operations, Transportation

Primary Purpose

This 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 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., changes federal law or congressional policy affecting importers, exporters, and commercial firms.

Policy Domains

Trade Government Operations Transportation

Whole bill

Identified Gains
  • importers, exporters, and commercial firms
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: is
importers, exporters, and commercial firms: ,
Identified Costs
  • federal implementing agencies
  • importers, exporters, and commercial firms
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: is
federal implementing agencies: ,
importers, exporters, and commercial firms: ,

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Oct 25, 2023

Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Durbin, …

Impact analysis is available but no clear stakeholder effects identified. View clause-level analysis →

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Trade Government Operations Transportation
Actor Mappings
"the_commission"
→ The commission identified in the operative section
"the_administrator"
→ The Administrator identified in the operative section
"secretary_of_treasury"
→ Secretary of the Treasury
"secretary_of_transportation"
→ Secretary of Transportation
"secretary_of_health_and_human_services"
→ Secretary of Health and Human Services

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

8 terms
"small plastic bottle" §id2c220329ff2f4c018bf868ae24cbc896

a plastic bottle or container that— has a capacity of less than 6 ounces

"eligible State" §id3e30f73d674a44e79319aa1f95c479d4

a State that— has in effect, before the date of enactment of this subtitle, a beverage container law the requirements of which are substantially similar to the requirements relating to beverage containers under this part, as determined by the Administrator

"cumulative impacts" §id609cb81e14e1469a90b310aaf896a430

any exposure, public health or environmental risk, or other effect occurring in a specific geographical area, including from an emission or release— including— environmental pollution released— routinely

"single-use plastic" §idb5365d1c9f1649928b26e3104faaee2d

a plastic product or packaging that— is routinely disposed of, recycled, or otherwise discarded after a single use

"small plastic bottle" §idd95a1d5e5f4f4683a7f95ae146d52056

a plastic bottle or container that— has a capacity of less than 6 ounces

"single-use plastic bag" §idee0f43a9360f444884495a79875ddcb4

a carryout bag that— is made of plastic

"toxic substance" §idf02d75b4c0e04c97ab2210345371deee

any substance, mixture, or compound that— may cause— personal injury or disease to humans through ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through any body surface

"resin maker" §idfb51e488e39741a88250d4a8d6d35aca

an entity that— transforms petrochemical gas and liquids into ethylene and propylene for later conversion into plastic polymers

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

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