WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) took part in a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill regarding two pieces of legislation that could improve recycling and composting programs.
Capito, a ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said a bill she drafted would help recycling accessibility throughout the United States and bring recycling services to underserved areas. It’s called the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act.
“Recyclable services, particularly curbside recycling, is not offered in many rural communities like those of my home state of West Virginia,” she said. “In fact, a study released last year shows West Virginia has a recycling rate of just two percent.”
Excluding cardboard, West Virginia has the lowest recycling rate in the nation, Capito added.
“If you include cardboard, we don’t do much better. Our recycling rate of 31 percent makes us 40th in the nation,” she said.
According to survey by the state Department of Environmental Protection, only 35 of the 50 county and regional Solid Waste Authorities in West Virginia provide recycling services and five work closely with local recyclers or municipalities to make sure residents have recycling options.
Capito said those counties have 129 drop-off locations and 36 curbside programs.
Of those, 14 are municipalities that are required to provide curbside recycling under state law because their population exceeds 10,000. Capito said other states like Alaska and Wyoming face similar barriers.
“These rural areas share common challenges to accessibility: location and proximity to materials recovery facilities and the size and density of the population,” Capito said. “This leads to low processing yields and high collection and transportation costs, leaving materials recovery facilities struggling to operate at a profit.”
The pilot grant program established under the bill would provide resources to increase collection and transportation of recyclables through investments in transfer stations.
A second bill, the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act, would require the EPA to collect and distribute data on recycling and composting rates across the country.
Capito said that legislation would provide an accurate reflection of performance both nationwide and on the state level.
“This information is critical to helping us evaluate how we can further improve and to inform future recycling policies,” she said.