,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #djej ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #be1 #bjai,ms4 ,omar 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,ms4 ,haaland1 ,ms4 ,mc,collum1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,pressley1 ,ms4 ,pingree1 and ,ms4 ,moore7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency to award grants for projects that are consistent with zero-waste practices1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,zeroing ,excess1 ,reducing ,organic ,waste1 and ,sustaining ,technical ,expertise ,act or the ,,zero ,,waste ,act4 #b4 ,grant program 7a7 ,in general ,the ,administrator shall establish and carry out a program to award grants1 on a competitive basis1 to eligible entities for projects that are consistent with zero-waste practices4 7b7 ,grant use 7#a7 ,organics recycling infrastructure ,an eligible entity receiving a grant under this ,act may use grant funds to carry out a project relating to organics recycling infrastructure1 including facilities1 machinery1 equipment1 and other physical necessities required for organics collection or processing on a city-wide or county-wide scale1 provided that-- 7,a7 implementation of such project-- 7i7 results in increased capacity for residential and commercial source separated organics streams2 and 7ii7 generates a usable product that has demonstrable environmental benefits when compared to the input materials1 such as compost with added nutritional content2 and 7,b7 such project does not include mixed-waste composting4 7#b7 ,electronic waste reuse and recycling ,an eligible entity receiving a grant under this ,act may use grant funds to carry out a project relating to electronic waste reuse or recycling1 including infrastructure and technology1 research and development1 and product refurbishment1 provided that such project-- 7,a7 does not include an electronic waste buy-back program that provides compensation for used electronics where such compensation is applied as a credit toward the purchase of additional electronics2 and 7,b7 is carried out by an organization certified in sustainable electronic waste standards by an organization accredited by the ,national ,accreditation ,board of the ,american ,national ,standards ,institute ,the ,american ,society of ,quality1 or another accrediting body as determined appropriate by the ,administrator4 7#c7 ,source reduction ,an eligible entity receiving a grant under this ,act may use grant funds to carry out a project relating to source reduction1 and such project may include-- 7,a7 educational programming and outreach activities to encourage behavioral changes in consumers that result in source reduction2 and 7,b7 product or manufacturing redesign or redevelopment to reduce byproducts1 packaging1 and other outputs if-- 7i7 the applicable manufacturer-- 7,i7 is domestically-owned and operated2 and 7,,ii7 pays a living wage2 and 7ii7 the redevelopment or redesign does not result in higher toxicity of the product or byproducts1 more complicated recyclability of the product or byproducts1 or increased volume of byproducts compared with the original practice4 7#d7 ,market development ,an eligible entity receiving a grant under this ,act may use grant funds to carry out a project relating to market development with respect to source reduction and waste prevention1 including by creating demand for sorted recyclable commodities and refurbished goods and promoting domestically-owned and operated manufacturing for projects relating to source reduction or waste prevention1 provided that such project-- 7,a7 targets easily or commonly recycled materials which are disproportionately disposed of in landfills or incinerated2 7,b7 addresses the reduction of the volume1 weight1 or toxicity of waste and waste byproducts2 and 7,c7 does not conflict with-- 7i7 minimum-content laws1 such as post-consumer recycled content requirements2 7ii7 beverage container deposits2 7iii7 programs funded through retail fees for specific products or classes of products that use such fees to collect1 treat1 or recycle such products2 or 7iv7 any applicable recycled product procurement laws and expanded sustainable government purchasing requirements1 as identified by the ,administrator4 #c4 ,grant awards 7a7 ,application 7#a7 ,criteria for all applicants ,to be eligible to receive a grant under this ,act1 an eligible entity shall submit to the ,administrator an application at such time and in such form as the ,administrator requires1 demonstrating that the eligible entity-- 7,a7 has set specific source reduction or waste prevention targets2 7,b7 will carry out such project in communities that are in the #hjth percentile or higher for one or more pollutants as noted in the ,,ejscreen tool1 or any successor system1 of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency2 and 7,c7 will carry out a project that meets the applicable project requirements under section #b7;b74 7#b7 ,additional application criteria for nonprofit organization ,in the case of an application from an eligible entity that is a nonprofit organization1 the application shall include a letter of support for the proposed project-- 7,a7 from-- 7i7 a local unit of government2 or-- 7ii7 a nonprofit organization that-- 7,i7 has a demonstrated history of undertaking work in the geographic region where the proposed project is to take place2 and 7,,ii7 is not involved in the project being proposed2 and 7,b7 containing such information as the ,administrator may require4 7b7 ,priority factors 7#a7 ,in general ,in awarding grants under this ,act1 the ,administrator shall give priority to eligible entities that-- 7,a7 have statutorily committed to implementing zero-waste practices2 7,b7 demonstrate how the project to be carried out with grant funds could lead to the creation of new jobs that pay a living wage1 with preference for projects that create jobs for individuals with barriers to employment1 as determined by the ,administrator2 7,c7 will use grant funds for source reduction or waste prevention in schools2 7,d7 will use grant funds to employ adaptive management practices to identify1 prevent1 or address any negative environmental consequences of the proposed project2 7,e7 have a demonstrated need for additional investment in infrastructure and projects to achieve source reduction and waste prevention targets set by the local unit of government that is responsible for waste and recycling projects in the geographic area2 7,f7 will use grant funds to develop innovative or new technologies and strategies for source reduction and waste prevention2 7,g7 demonstrate how receiving the grant will encourage further investment in source reduction and waste prevention projects2 or 7,h7 will incorporate multi-stakeholder involvement1 including nonprofit1 commercial1 and public sector partners1 in carrying out a project using grant funds4 7#b7 ,zero-waste hierarchy ,in determining priority between multiple eligible entities who qualify for priority under paragraph 7#a71 the ,administrator shall grant first priority to an eligible entity that can demonstrate how the zero-waste hierarchy was considered with respect to the project to be carried out with grant funds4 #d4 ,reporting ,an eligible entity receiving a grant under this ,act shall report to the ,administrator1 at such time and in such form as the ,administrator may require1 on the results of the project carried out with grant funds and any relevant data requested by the ,administrator to track the effectiveness of the program established under section #b7;a74 #e4 ,annual conference ,in each of calendar years #bjbb through #bjbg1 the ,administrator shall convene an annual conference for eligible entities1 including eligible entities that have received a grant under this ,act1 and other stakeholders as identified by the ,administrator1 to provide an opportunity for such eligible entities and stakeholders to share experience and expertise in implementing zero-waste practices4 #f4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,adaptive management practices ,the term adaptive management practices means1 with respect to a project1 the integration of project design1 management1 and monitoring to identify project impacts and outcomes as they arise and adjust behaviors to improve outcomes4 7#b7 ,administrator ,the term ,administrator means the ,administrator of the ,environmental ,protection ,agency4 7#c7 ,domestically-owned and operated ,the term domestically-owned and operated means1 with respect to a business1 a business with-- 7,a7 headquarters located within the ,united ,states2 and 7,b7 primary operations carried out in the ,united ,states4 7#d7 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible entity means-- 7,a7 a single unit of ,state1 local1 or ,tribal government2 7,b7 a consortium of multiple units of ,state1 local1 or ,tribal government2 7,c7 one or more units of ,state1 local1 or ,tribal government in coordination with for-profit or nonprofit organizations2 or 7,d7 one or more incorporated nonprofit organizations4 7#e7 ,embodied energy ,the term embodied energy means energy that was used to create a product or material4 7#f7 ,living wage ,the term living wage means the minimum income necessary to allow a person working #dj hours per week to afford the cost of housing1 food1 and other material necessities4 7#g7 ,organics recycling ,the term organics recycling means the biological processes by which organics streams are converted to compost which is not harmful to humans1 plants1 or animals4 7#h7 ,recycling ,the term recycling-- 7,a7 means the mechanical processing of material that has reached the end of its current use into material to be used in the production of new products2 7,b7 does not include incineration or any other energy recovery process2 and 7,c7 does not include depolymerization or a similar process4 7#i7 ,reuse ,the term reuse-- 7,a7 means-- 7i7 using a product1 packaging1 or resource more than once for the same or a new function with little to no processing2 or 7ii7 repairing a product so it can be used longer1 sharing or renting it1 or selling or donating it to another party2 and 7,b7 does not include incineration4 7#aj7 ,source reduction ,the term source reduction-- 7,a7 includes-- 7i7 activities that reduce consumption of products or services that create physical outputs1 such as packaging1 that is secondary to the intended use of the item being consumed2 7ii7 measures or techniques that reduce the amount of waste generated during production processes2 and 7iii7 the reduction or elimination of the use of materials which are not able to be recycled without degrading the quality of the material2 and 7,b7 does not include incineration4 7#aa7 ,source separated ,the term source separated-- 7,a7 means the separation of a stream of recyclable materials at the point of waste creation before the materials are collected and centralized2 and 7,b7 does not include technologies that sort mixed municipal solid waste into recyclable and non-recyclable materials4 7#ab7 ,waste prevention ,the term waste prevention includes reuse1 recycling1 and other methods to reduce the amount of materials disposed of in landfills or incinerated4 7#ac7 ,zero-waste ,the term zero-waste means the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production1 consumption1 reuse1 and recovery of products1 packaging1 and materials without burning or otherwise destroying embodied energy1 with no discharges to land1 water1 or air that threaten the environment or human health4 7#ad7 ,zero-waste practice ,the term zero-waste practice means a practice used to help achieve zero-waste1 including source reduction and waste prevention4 #g4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,administrator to carry out this ,act #bej1jjj1jjj for the period of fiscal years #bjbj through #bjbg4