STEWARD Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The STEWARD Act creates the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Program at EPA. The pilot grant program is aimed at underserved communities that lack full recycling service because distance, transportation, or insufficient materials-recovery capacity makes recycling impractical. It also requires EPA to collect data on recycling and composting rates, infrastructure capabilities, transfer stations, drop-off facilities, materials recovery facilities, and composting facilities, then report the results through a new Solid Waste Disposal Act reporting section.
Who Benefits and How
Underserved communities benefit if EPA grants help create hub-and-spoke recycling or composting systems that make residential recycling practical where existing facilities are too far away or too small. State governments, local governments, Indian Tribes, and public-private recycling partnerships can receive grant funding. Materials recovery facility operators, composting facilities, recycling infrastructure developers, and waste-management firms may benefit from new funded projects and better national data on recycling gaps.
Who Bears the Burden and How
EPA must design the pilot program within 18 months, administer grants, collect national infrastructure and performance data, and submit recurring reports. Grant recipients must implement and document infrastructure projects. States, local governments, and Indian Tribes also face data-reporting work when EPA collects information for the new composting and recycling infrastructure reports.
Key Provisions
- Creates an EPA pilot grant program for recycling infrastructure and accessibility in underserved communities.
- Provides eligibility for state governments, local governments, Indian Tribes, and public-private partnerships.
- Supports hub-and-spoke recycling and composting infrastructure, including transfer stations and materials recovery facilities.
- Requires EPA data collection on recycling rates, composting rates, facilities, infrastructure capabilities, and service gaps.
- Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require recurring reports on composting and recycling infrastructure.
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
Creates an EPA pilot grant program to improve recycling access in underserved communities and requires EPA to collect national recycling and composting infrastructure data for recurring reports under the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
Key Policy Areas
Environment, Waste Management, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
Creates an EPA pilot grant program to improve recycling access in underserved communities and requires EPA to collect national recycling and composting infrastructure data for recurring reports under the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
Policy Domains
Section 2 - Recycling infrastructure and accessibility
Identified Gains
- Underserved communities lacking recycling access
- State governments
- Local governments
- Indian Tribes
- Materials recovery facility operators
Identified Costs
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Grant recipients implementing recycling projects
Sections 3 and 4011 - Recycling and composting data
Identified Gains
- Composting facilities
- Recycling infrastructure developers
- State recycling programs
- Local recycling programs
Identified Costs
- Environmental Protection Agency
- State governments submitting recycling data
- Local governments submitting recycling data
- Indian Tribes submitting recycling data
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed SenateHeld at the desk.
Received in the House.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Received in the House.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Ordered to be reported …
Committee on Environment and Public Works. Committee consideration held. Business …
Reported by Mrs. Capito, without amendment
Passed Senate (inferred from es version)
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Environmental Protection Agency, Indian Tribes applying for recycling grants, Indian Tribes submitting recycling data
Positive-direction: Indian Tribes applying for recycling grants
Negative-direction: Environmental Protection Agency, Indian Tribes submitting recycling data
Local governments applying for recycling grants, Local governments submitting recycling data, State governments applying for recycling grants
Positive-direction: Local governments applying for recycling grants, State governments applying for recycling grants
Negative-direction: Local governments submitting recycling data, State governments submitting recycling data
Composting facilities, Materials recovery facility operators
Underserved communities lacking recycling access
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
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A facility that sorts separately collected residential recyclable material into commodities for further processing or sale.
A community without full recycling services because distance, transportation, or insufficient processing capacity makes available service impractical.
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