To establish a pilot grant program to improve recycling accessibility, to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out certain activities to collect and disseminate data on recycling and composting programs in the United States, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed SenateReported by Mrs. Capito, without amendment
Passed Senate (inferred from es version)
Mrs. Capito (for herself, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Boozman) introduced …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates the "STEWARD Act" with two main components: (1) A pilot grant program ($30M/year) for recycling infrastructure in underserved communities using a "hub-and-spoke" model with transfer stations, and (2) Requirements for EPA to collect and report national data on recycling and composting programs, materials recovery facilities, and end-market sales.
Who Benefits and How
Underserved communities without recycling access benefit from new infrastructure grants ($500K-$15M per grant). Recycling industry benefits from data on end markets and facility inventory. State/local governments gain technical assistance on improving recycling rates. Public-private partnerships are eligible for grants.
Who Bears the Burden and How
EPA bears administrative costs (5% of program funding) and responsibility for data collection and reporting. Grant recipients must provide 5% cost share. Federal taxpayers fund $30M/year for grants plus $4M/year for data collection.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes $30M/year (FY2025-2029) for recycling infrastructure pilot grants
- 70% of grants reserved for underserved communities
- Grants range from $500K to $15M with 95% federal cost share
- Requires EPA inventory of materials recovery facilities every 4 years
- Requires national recycling rate estimation and reporting
- Requires GAO reports on federal agency recycling through 2033
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes a pilot grant program to improve recycling accessibility in underserved communities, requires EPA to collect and report data on recycling and composting programs nationwide, and authorizes $34 million through FY2029.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Address recycling access gaps through targeted infrastructure investment and improved national data collection"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "administrator"
- → Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
- "administrator"
- → Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
- "comptroller_general"
- → Comptroller General of the United States
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Community without access to full recycling services due to cost-prohibitive transportation/distance or insufficient materials recovery facility capacity
Dedicated facility where residential recyclables are sorted into commodities for further processing
Activities during which recyclable materials are processed into specification-grade commodities and consumed as raw-material feedstock in manufacturing
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.
Learn more about our methodology