Truth in Labeling Act of 2026

II 119TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 5302 To create national standards for labeling of covered materials as recyclable, compostable, reusable, and refillable, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 6, 2026 Mr. MERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To create national standards for labeling of covered materials as recyclable, compostable, reusable, and refillable, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Truth in Labeling Act 4 of 2026’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) there is significant consumer confusion 8 about which covered materials are recyclable, 9 compostable, reusable, or refillable; 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •S 5302 IS (2) nationwide definitions of the terms ‘‘recycla-1 ble’’, ‘‘compostable’’, ‘‘reusable’’, and ‘‘refillable’’ 2 would provide— 3 (A) producers and consumers clarity in 4 how to recycle, compost, reuse, or refill labeled 5 products; and 6 (B) consumers confidence that covered ma-7 terials that have a chasing arrows symbol, or an 8 equivalent symbol for recyclable, compostable, 9 reusable, or refillable, are properly labeled; 10 (3) the improper use of the chasing arrows 11 symbol, or an equivalent symbol indicating that a 12 covered material is recyclable, compostable, reuse-13 able, or refillable, leads to confusion and qualifies as 14 a deceptive practice under the Federal Trade Com-15 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.); 16 (4) encouraging producers to design their cov-17 ered materials to be recyclable, compostable, reus-18 able, or refillable would reduce waste and emissions, 19 help the environment, protect resources, lower ex-20 penses for businesses, communities, and consumers, 21 and diminish the need for virgin raw materials; 22 (5) proper labeling of covered materials would 23 encourage end-use consumers to properly recycle, 24 compost, reuse, and refill covered materials, includ-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •S 5302 IS ing packaging, food service products, and beverage 1 containers; 2 (6) understanding what does not qualify as re-3 cyclable, compostable, reusable, or refillable is crit-4 ical for producers, State and local governments, and 5 consumers; 6 (7) standardized labeling provides producers 7 with clear enforceable criteria they can follow to en-8 sure that their covered materials meet applicable re-9 quirements if the producers choose to use a label; 10 (8) establishing definitions of the terms ‘‘recy-11 clable’’, ‘‘compostable’’, ‘‘reusable’’, and ‘‘refillable’’ 12 that can be updated as technology and systems ad-13 vance would benefit consumers, producers, State and 14 local governments, and waste management facilities; 15 (9) having clear, consistent labels would— 16 (A) assist material recovery facilities and 17 municipalities in their efforts to recycle and 18 compost covered materials; 19 (B) assist in educating the public about 20 those efforts; and 21 (C) reduce costs and waste; and 22 (10) part 260 of title 16, Code of Federal Reg-23 ulations (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Green 24 Guides’’), provides rules for marketing claims that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •S 5302 IS are outdated and do not provide sufficient informa-1 tion to establish labeling criteria at the national 2 level. 3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) A DMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-6 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-7 mental Protection Agency. 8 (2) A DVISORY COMMITTEE .—The term ‘‘Advi-9 sory Committee’’ means the advisory committee es-10 tablished under section 9. 11 (3) B EVERAGE CONTAINER .—The term ‘‘bev-12 erage container’’ means a consumer prepackaged 13 container that— 14 (A) is designed to hold a beverage; 15 (B) is made of any material, including 16 glass, plastic, fiber, paper, and metal, or a com-17 bination thereof; and 18 (C) has a volume of not less than 50 milli-19 liters and not more than 3 liters. 20 (4) C HASING ARROWS SYMBOL .—The term 21 ‘‘chasing arrows symbol’’ means— 22 (A) an equilateral triangle, formed by 3 ar-23 rows curved at their midpoints, depicting a 24 clockwise path, with a short gap separating the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 •S 5302 IS apex of each arrow from the base of the adja-1 cent arrow; and 2 (B) any variant of the symbol described in 3 subparagraph (A) that is likely to be reasonably 4 interpreted by an ordinary consumer as indi-5 cating that a covered material is recyclable, in-6 cluding one or more arrows arranged in a cir-7 cular pattern or around a globe. 8 (5) C OMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 9 means the Federal Trade Commission. 10 (6) C OMPOST.—The term ‘‘compost’’ means a 11 product— 12 (A) manufactured through the controlled 13 aerobic, biological decomposition of biodegrad-14 able materials; 15 (B) that has undergone treatment at 16 mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures; and 17 (C) that is beneficial to plant growth. 18 (7) COMPOSTABLE.— 19 (A) I N GENERAL .—The term 20 ‘‘compostable’’, with respect to a covered mate-21 rial, means that the covered material— 22 (i) is capable of undergoing aerobic bi-23 ological decomposition in a compost sys-24 tem, such that the covered material be-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 •S 5302 IS comes visually indistinguishable from the 1 rest of the material and breaks down into 2 carbon dioxide, water, inorganic com-3 pounds, and biomass; and 4 (ii) otherwise meets the criteria de-5 scribed in section 6(b). 6 (8) C OVERED MATERIAL .—The term ‘‘covered 7 material’’ means, regardless of whether the material 8 is recyclable, compostable, reusable, or refillable, and 9 regardless of the material type, a material that is— 10 (A) packaging; 11 (B) a food service product; or 12 (C) a beverage container. 13 (9) F OOD SERVICE PRODUCT .—The term ‘‘food 14 service product’’ means an item associated with a 15 food product provided to a consumer, regardless of 16 whether the item is recyclable, compostable, reus-17 able, or refillable, including— 18 (A) a drink cup; 19 (B) a drink lid; 20 (C) a food package; 21 (D) a food container; 22 (E) a plate; 23 (F) a bowl; 24 (G) a sleeve; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 •S 5302 IS (H) a straw; 1 (I) a tray; 2 (J) a utensil; 3 (K) a food wrap; and 4 (L) such other items as the Administrator, 5 in coordination with the Commission, deter-6 mines to be appropriate. 7 (10) PACKAGING.— 8 (A) I N GENERAL .—The term ‘‘packaging’’ 9 means any separable and distinct material 10 piece, regardless of whether the material piece 11 is recyclable, compostable, reusable, or refill-12 able, used for the containment, protection, han-13 dling, delivery, and presentation of goods that 14 are sold, offered for sale, or distributed to con-15 sumers in the United States, including through 16 an internet transaction. 17 (B) I NCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘packaging’’ 18 includes an item described in subparagraph (A) 19 that is— 20 (i) sales packaging or primary pack-21 aging intended for the consumer market; 22 (ii) service packaging designed and in-23 tended to be used or filled at the point of 24 sale, such as carry-out bags, bulk good 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 •S 5302 IS bags, take-out bags, and home delivery 1 food service products; 2 (iii) secondary packaging used to 3 group products for multiunit sale; or 4 (iv) a packaging component or ancil-5 lary element integrated into packaging, in-6 cluding an ancillary element directly hung 7 onto or attached to a product and that 8 performs a packaging function, except— 9 (I) an element of the packaging 10 with a de minimis weight or volume, 11 as determined by the Administrator; 12 and 13 (II) a component or element that 14 is an integral part of the product, if 15 all components or elements of the 16 product are intended to be consumed 17 or disposed of together. 18 (C) EXCLUSIONS.—The Administrator may 19 exempt from the term ‘‘packaging’’ under this 20 paragraph a material that the Administrator 21 determines— 22 (i) is de minimis; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 •S 5302 IS (ii) does not impact the recyclability, 1 compostability, reusability, or refillability 2 of the package. 3 (11) PERSON.— 4 (A) I N GENERAL .—The term ‘‘person’’ 5 means an individual or entity described in sub-6 paragraph (B) that sells, offers for sale, or dis-7 tributes a covered material in the United 8 States— 9 (i) directly to consumers; or 10 (ii) to an individual or entity de-11 scribed in subparagraph (B) that sells, of-12 fers for sale, or distributes the covered ma-13 terial in the United States to consumers. 14 (B) E NTITIES DESCRIBED .—An entity re-15 ferred to in subparagraph (A) is a corporation, 16 company, partnership, joint venture, associa-17 tion, joint-stock company, trust, estate of a de-18 ceased individual, foundation, fund, institution, 19 society, union, or club, regardless of whether 20 such entity is incorporated. 21 (12) PLASTIC.— 22 (A) I N GENERAL .—The term ‘‘plastic’’ 23 means a synthetic or semisynthetic material 24 that is— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10 •S 5302 IS (i) synthesized by the polymerization 1 of organic substances; and 2 (ii) capable of being shaped into var-3 ious rigid or flexible forms. 4 (B) I NCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘plastic’’ in-5 cludes any coating or adhesive material de-6 scribed in subparagraph (A). 7 (C) E XCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘plastic’’ 8 does not include— 9 (i) natural rubber; or 10 (ii) material containing only naturally 11 occurring polymers, such as proteins and 12 starches. 13 (13) P RODUCER.—The term ‘‘producer’’, with 14 respect to a covered material, means— 15 (A) the person that affixes, or directs to 16 affix, to the covered material a chasing arrows 17 symbol, a label, or any other marking that indi-18 cates that the covered material is recyclable, 19 compostable, reusable, or refillable; or 20 (B) if the covered material was labeled as 21 recyclable, compostable, reusable, or refillable in 22 accordance with this Act and has subsequently 23 been modified such that the covered material is 24 not recyclable, compostable, reusable, or refill-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 •S 5302 IS able, respectively, the person that so modified 1 the covered material. 2 (14) Q UALIFIED CLAIM OF COMPOSTABILITY .— 3 The term ‘‘qualified claim of compostability’’ means 4 a qualified claim of compostability described in sec-5 tion 6(a)(2). 6 (15) Q UALIFIED CLAIM OF RECYCLABILITY .— 7 The term ‘‘qualified claim of recyclability’’ means a 8 qualified claim of recyclability described in section 9 5(a)(2). 10 (16) R ECYCLABLE.—The term ‘‘recyclable’’, 11 with respect to a covered material, means that the 12 covered material meets the criteria described in sec-13 tion 5(b). 14 (17) REFILLABLE.—The term ‘‘refillable’’, with 15 respect to a covered material, means that the cov-16 ered material— 17 (A) is designed to be— 18 (i) refilled by consumers multiple 19 times for the same or a similar purpose 20 and in the original format of the covered 21 material; and 22 (ii) sold or provided to consumers 23 once for the duration of the usable life of 24 the covered material; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12 •S 5302 IS (B) otherwise meets the criteria described 1 in section 7(b). 2 (18) R ESIN IDENTIFICATION CODE .—The term 3 ‘‘resin identification code’’ means a code that indi-4 cates the resin used to produce a plastic covered ma-5 terial that meets the requirements of ASTM Inter-6 national Standard D7611/D7611M–21— 7 (A) as in effect on the date of enactment 8 of this Act; or 9 (B) as revised after the date of enactment 10 of this Act, if the revision is approved by the 11 Administrator. 12 (19) R ESPONSIBLE END MARKET .—The term 13 ‘‘responsible end market’’ means a material market, 14 and intermediate supply chain entities, that— 15 (A) is where collected, processed, and sepa-16 rated covered materials are purchased and man-17 ufactured into new, saleable products or feed-18 stock; 19 (B) has sufficient capacity to handle the 20 quantity of covered materials collected; and 21 (C) recovers covered materials and dis-22 poses of contaminants in a manner that mini-23 mizes environmental harm and risks to public 24 health and worker health and safety. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 •S 5302 IS (20) R EUSABLE.—The term ‘‘reusable’’, with 1 respect to a covered material, means that the cov-2 ered material— 3 (A) is intentionally designed and marketed 4 to be recovered, inspected, repaired (if nec-5 essary), and reissued by producers into the sup-6 ply chain for convenient and safe reuse for mul-7 tiple cycles; and 8 (B) otherwise meets the criteria described 9 in section 7(b). 10 (21) U NITED STATES .—The term ‘‘United 11 States’’ means the 50 States, the District of Colum-12 bia, and the territories and possessions of the United 13 States. 14 SEC. 4. COVERED MATERIAL LABELING. 15 (a) I N GENERAL.—If a producer affixes a label or 16 marking on a covered material, on the volition of the pro-17 ducer or by contractual obligation, that states, or that an 18 ordinary consumer would reasonably interpret to indicate, 19 that the covered material is recyclable, compostable, reus-20 able, or refillable, the label or marking shall— 21 (1) be legible, clear, and on the appropriate side 22 of the covered material, such that the ordinary con-23 sumer can easily read and understand the label or 24 marking; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 14 •S 5302 IS (2) be consistent with the standardized on-pack-1 age label established under section 8(a); 2 (3) indicate whether the covered material is— 3 (A) recyclable; 4 (B) compostable; 5 (C) reusable; or 6 (D) refillable; 7 (4) be compatible with the intended method of 8 discard for the covered material, including any 9 shrink sleeve; 10 (5) not require removal by consumers to be 11 compatible with the intended method of discard; and 12 (6) be in accordance with section 5, 6, or 7, as 13 applicable. 14 (b) REQUIREMENT.—If a covered material is not re-15 cyclable, eligible for a qualified claim of recyclability, 16 compostable, eligible for a qualified claim of 17 compostability, reusable, or refillable, the producer of the 18 covered material shall ensure that the covered material 19 does not include any label or marking, including the chas-20 ing arrows symbol or any equivalent, that would— 21 (1) lead an ordinary consumer to believe that 22 the item is recyclable, compostable, reusable, or re-23 fillable, respectively; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 15 •S 5302 IS (2) direct a consumer to recycle, compost, 1 reuse, or refill, respectively, the covered material. 2 (c) RESIN IDENTIFICATION CODE.— 3 (1) I N GENERAL .—All plastic covered materials 4 sold, offered for sale, distributed, or imported into 5 the United States shall be labeled with a resin iden-6 tification code, which may not be placed inside a 7 chasing arrows symbol, unless— 8 (A) the plastic covered material meets the 9 criteria described in section 5; and 10 (B) placement inside a chasing arrows 11 symbol is the only physically feasible placement, 12 as determined by the Administrator. 13 (2) P REEMPTION.—No State may impose any 14 requirement that conflicts with the requirement 15 under paragraph (1). 16 (d) NATIONWIDE ANALYSIS.—For purposes of devel-17 oping the standardized on-package label required under 18 section 8(a), the Administrator, in coordination with the 19 Commission and with consideration of the findings and 20 recommendations of the Advisory Committee, shall— 21 (1) conduct a nationwide analysis of covered 22 material recycling, composting, reuse, and refill fa-23 cilities to identify which covered materials are com-24 monly collected, sorted, sold, or transferred for recy-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 16 •S 5302 IS cling, composting, reuse, and refill in the United 1 States that meet the requirements of this Act; and 2 (2) publish a list of categories of covered mate-3 rial identified under paragraph (1). 4 (e) SUBMISSION OF SUPPORTING EVIDENCE.— 5 (1) I N GENERAL .—Producers, individually or 6 collectively, may submit to the Administrator tech-7 nical studies, sorting and processing trials, material 8 flow analyses, end-market assessments, or other evi-9 dence to support the classification of a covered ma-10 terial as recyclable, compostable, reusable, or refill-11 able. 12 (2) C ONSIDERATION.—The Administrator, in 13 coordination with the Commission, and with consid-14 eration of the findings and recommendations of the 15 Advisory Committee, shall review any evidence sub-16 mitted under paragraph (1) when establishing or re-17 vising determinations for recyclable, compostable, re-18 usable, and refillable classifications. 19 SEC. 5. RECYCLABLE CRITERIA. 20 (a) I N GENERAL.—The producer of a covered mate-21 rial shall not include— 22 (1) a claim that the covered material is recycla-23 ble unless the covered material is considered recycla-24 ble under this Act; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 17 •S 5302 IS (2) a qualified claim of recyclability unless the 1 covered material meets the requirements under sub-2 section (c). 3 (b) C RITERIA.—A covered material shall be consid-4 ered recyclable if— 5 (1) the covered material is made in accordance 6 with the design guidelines of the industry of the cov-7 ered material, if approved by the Administrator, in-8 cluding— 9 (A) the Association of Plastic Recyclers 10 Design Guide; 11 (B) the Recycled Materials Association 12 Fiber Recycling Readiness Tool; 13 (C) the Can Manufacturers Institute Steel 14 Container Design Guide for Recyclability; 15 (D) the American Forest and Paper Asso-16 ciation Design Guidance for Recyclability; 17 (E) the Glass Guide on Recycling; and 18 (F) the Recycling Partnership Circular 19 Packaging Assessment; 20 (2) the covered material does not include any 21 component, including inks and adhesives, that pre-22 vents the product from being recycled, unless the 23 covered material includes clear, on-package instruc-24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 18 •S 5302 IS tions that describe how to remove and properly dis-1 pose of a separable component that is not recyclable; 2 (3) the covered material is collected, separated, 3 or otherwise recovered from the waste stream 4 through an established recycling program for which 5 a responsible end market exists that covers at least 6 60 percent of consumers or communities where the 7 item is sold; and 8 (4) the covered material has a commercial value 9 for recycling and a responsible end market. 10 (c) QUALIFIED CLAIMS OF RECYCLABILITY.—A cov-11 ered material shall be eligible for a qualified claim of 12 recyclability if— 13 (1) the covered material is collected, separated, 14 or otherwise recovered from the waste stream 15 through an established recycling program for which 16 a responsible end market exists that covers at least 17 40 percent of consumers or communities where the 18 item is sold; 19 (2) the covered material meets the requirements 20 described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of sub-21 section (b); 22 (3) the qualified claim of recyclability is con-23 sistent with the standardized on-package label estab-24 lished under section 8(a); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 19 •S 5302 IS (4) except as provided in this subsection, the 1 qualified claim of recyclability is made in accordance 2 with any other requirements under this Act relating 3 to recyclable covered materials; and 4 (5) the Administrator has approved a plan dem-5 onstrating a reasonable and time-bound pathway for 6 the covered material to be considered recyclable 7 under this Act, including compliance with subsection 8 (b)(3), not later than 2 years after the date of ap-9 proval of the plan. 10 (d) REGULATIONS.— 11 (1) I N GENERAL .—The Administrator, in co-12 ordination with the Commission, and with consider-13 ation of the findings and recommendations of the 14 Advisory Committee, shall issue regulations for— 15 (A) determining whether a covered mate-16 rial meets the criteria described in subsection 17 (b) or (c); and 18 (B) describing acceptable qualified claims 19 of recyclability that will provide clear and 20 standardized information to consumers to allow 21 them to determine whether the covered material 22 is recyclable in their jurisdiction and how to re-23 cycle the covered material. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 20 •S 5302 IS (2) REQUIREMENT.—In carrying out paragraph 1 (1), the Administrator, in coordination with the 2 Commission, shall strive to issue regulations that re-3 duce the amount of recyclable goods that are not ac-4 cepted at a responsible end market. 5 (e) P UBLICATION OF COVERED MATERIALS.—Not 6 later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 7 Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator shall 8 publish a list of covered materials that meet the require-9 ments of this section. 10 (f) E XCLUSION.—For purposes of this Act, the con-11 version of a covered material into fuel, fuel ingredients, 12 or fuel substitutes or the use of a covered material for 13 the generation of electricity, heat, or steam shall not— 14 (1) be considered recycling; 15 (2) count towards the 60 percent threshold, or 16 be considered a responsible end market, described in 17 subsection (b)(3); or 18 (3) count towards the 40 percent threshold, or 19 be considered a responsible end market, described in 20 subsection (c)(1). 21 SEC. 6. COMPOSTABLE CRITERIA. 22 (a) I N GENERAL.—The producer of a covered mate-23 rial shall not include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 21 •S 5302 IS (1) a claim that the covered material is 1 compostable unless the covered material is consid-2 ered compostable under this Act; or 3 (2) a qualified claim of compostability unless 4 the covered material meets the requirements under 5 subsection (c). 6 (b) C RITERIA.—A covered material shall be consid-7 ered compostable if the covered material— 8 (1) is designed to be compostable in accordance 9 with the design standards and guidelines of the in-10 dustry of the covered material; 11 (2) at a minimum— 12 (A) adheres to ASTM International 6400, 13 6868, or equivalent standard specifications that 14 test the ability of the covered material to break 15 down into compost; and 16 (B) does not contain intentionally added 17 perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances or 18 heavy metals that are incompatible with com-19 post; 20 (3) is capable of being collected and accepted by 21 at least 50 percent of the established composting 22 programs in the United States; and 23 (4) is processed by itself or with other covered 24 material categories through controlled biological deg-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 22 •S 5302 IS radation to make compost or a substantially similar 1 soil amendment. 2 (c) Q UALIFIED CLAIMS OF COMPOSTABILITY.—A 3 covered material shall be eligible for a qualified claim of 4 compostability if— 5 (1) the covered material is capable of being col-6 lected and accepted by at least 30 percent of the es-7 tablished composting programs in the United States; 8 (2) the covered material meets the requirements 9 described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of sub-10 section (b); 11 (3) the qualified claim of compostability is con-12 sistent with the standardized on-package label estab-13 lished under section 8(a); and 14 (4) except as provided in this subsection, the 15 qualified claim of compostability is made in accord-16 ance with any other requirements under this Act re-17 lating to compostable covered materials. 18 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator, in coordina-19 tion with the Commission, and with consideration of the 20 recommendations of the Advisory Committee, shall issue 21 guidance or regulations for— 22 (1) determining whether a covered material 23 meets the criteria described in subsection (b) or (c); 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 23 •S 5302 IS (2) describing acceptable qualified claims of 1 compostability that will provide clear and standard-2 ized information to consumers to allow them to de-3 termine whether the covered material is compostable 4 in their jurisdiction and how to compost the covered 5 material. 6 (e) L IMITATION FOR PLASTIC OR PLASTIC-LINED 7 COVERED MATERIALS.—If a plastic or plastic-lined cov-8 ered material is not compostable, the producer of the plas-9 tic covered material shall ensure that the plastic covered 10 material does not include a marking that would inten-11 tionally or unintentionally mislead the public to believe 12 that the covered material is compostable, such as— 13 (1) green or brown tinting, coloring, or striping; 14 (2) a green or brown certification logo, unless 15 approved by the Administrator; or 16 (3) any other design, logo, or similar marking 17 that the Administrator determines is deceptive or 18 misleading. 19 (f) P UBLICATION OF COVERED MATERIALS.—Not 20 later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this 21 Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator shall 22 publish a list of covered materials that meet the require-23 ments of this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 24 •S 5302 IS SEC. 7. REUSABLE AND REFILLABLE CRITERIA. 1 (a) I N GENERAL.—The producer of a covered mate-2 rial shall not include a claim that the covered material 3 is reusable or refillable unless the covered material is con-4 sidered reusable or refillable under this Act. 5 (b) C RITERIA.—A covered material shall be consid-6 ered reusable or refillable if the covered material— 7 (1) is designed to be reusable or refillable in ac-8 cordance with the design standards and guidelines 9 relating to reusability and refillability of the industry 10 of the covered material, such as the American Na-11 tional Standards Institute; 12 (2) is designed for durability and maintenance 13 to extend the useful life of the covered material and 14 to reduce demand for new production of the covered 15 material; 16 (3) at a minimum, can be recirculated or re-17 filled multiple times, as determined by the Adminis-18 trator, for the same or a similar purpose in the 19 original format of the covered material; 20 (4) is supported by a system or physical infra-21 structure that is— 22 (A) in place to ensure the possibility and 23 likelihood of reuse or refill; 24 (B) provided by a producer or a third 25 party; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 25 •S 5302 IS (C) designed for convenient reuse or refill; 1 and 2 (5) is not intended for single use by a con-3 sumer. 4 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator, in coordina-5 tion with the Commission, and with consideration of the 6 findings and recommendations of the Advisory Committee, 7 shall issue regulations for determining whether a covered 8 material meets the criteria described in subsection (b). 9 (d) P UBLICATION OF COVERED MATERIALS.—Not 10 later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this 11 Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator shall 12 publish a list of covered materials that meet the require-13 ments of this section. 14 SEC. 8. DEVELOPMENT OF AND CHANGES TO STANDARD-15 IZED LABELS. 16 (a) I N GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 17 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in co-18 ordination with the Commission, and with consideration 19 of the findings and recommendations of the Advisory Com-20 mittee, shall establish or approve standardized on-package 21 labels that a producer of a covered material shall use if 22 the producer chooses to use an on-package label to indi-23 cate that the covered material is recyclable, compostable, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 26 •S 5302 IS reusable, or refillable in accordance with this Act, includ-1 ing— 2 (1) harmonized iconography to demonstrate the 3 proper disposal pathway; 4 (2) harmonized terminology and descriptions, 5 including, as necessary, instructions for— 6 (A) qualified claims of recyclability; 7 (B) qualified claims of compostability; and 8 (C) preparing covered materials for dis-9 posal; and 10 (3) recommended on-package placements, size, 11 and typography to ensure legibility and accessibility. 12 (b) D IGITAL LABELING.—The Administrator, in co-13 ordination with the Commission, may, for the purpose of 14 providing additional information to the on-package label 15 standardized under subsection (a), establish or approve a 16 standardized digital label, which may include a Quick Re-17 sponse code or a similar technology, for any covered mate-18 rial that may be used by producers in addition to the 19 standardized on-package label described in that sub-20 section. 21 (c) R EVIEW AND REVISIONS.—Not less frequently 22 than once every 5 years after the date of enactment of 23 this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with the Com-24 mission, and with consideration of the findings and rec-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 27 •S 5302 IS ommendations of the Advisory Committee, after providing 1 notice and an opportunity for public comment, shall— 2 (1) review the label standards established under 3 subsections (a) and (b), including a review of ongo-4 ing label compatibility challenges and best practices; 5 and 6 (2) as necessary, revise the label standards 7 under subsections (a) and (b) based on the review 8 under paragraph (1). 9 SEC. 9. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 11 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator and the 12 Commission shall jointly establish an advisory committee 13 to enhance public engagement and provide advice to the 14 Administrator and the Commission with respect to— 15 (1) standards that should apply to the criteria 16 for the terms ‘‘recyclable’’, ‘‘compostable’’, ‘‘reus-17 able’’, and ‘‘refillable’’ under sections 5(b), 6(b), and 18 7(b); 19 (2) standards that should apply for qualified 20 claims of recyclability and qualified claims of 21 compostability; and 22 (3) standardized labeling and guidelines for re-23 cyclable, compostable, reusable, and refillable cov-24 ered materials. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 28 •S 5302 IS (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 1 (1) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS .—The Administrator 2 (or an appointee of the Administrator) and a rep-3 resentative appointed by the Commission shall serve 4 as ex officio members of the Advisory Committee. 5 (2) COMPOSITION.—In addition to the ex officio 6 members of the Advisory Committee described in 7 paragraph (1), the Advisory Committee shall be 8 composed of the following members, who shall be se-9 lected by the ex officio members: 10 (A) 8 representatives of relevant indus-11 tries, including consumer brands, the recycled 12 materials industry, the composting industry, the 13 reuse industry, the refill industry, and pack-14 aging manufacturers, including 1 representative 15 each from paper mills and aluminum smelters; 16 (B) 5 representatives of material recovery 17 facilities, including— 18 (i) 3 representatives of material recov-19 ery facilities serving urban or suburban 20 communities; and 21 (ii) 2 representatives of material re-22 covery facilities serving rural or disadvan-23 taged communities; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 29 •S 5302 IS (C) 4 representatives of environmental or 1 sustainability organizations; 2 (D) 2 representatives from other relevant 3 nonprofit organizations; 4 (E) 2 representatives of other technical ex-5 perts; 6 (F) 3 representatives from State govern-7 ments; and 8 (G) 3 representatives from local govern-9 ments. 10 (c) M EETINGS.—After selection of the members of 11 the Advisory Committee, the ex officio members shall con-12 vene the Advisory Committee— 13 (1) regularly until the date on which the cri-14 teria standards and labeling standards described in 15 paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a) are ini-16 tially established; and 17 (2) after the date described in paragraph (1), 18 not less frequently than annually. 19 (d) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.— 20 (1) I N GENERAL .—Each meeting of the Advi-21 sory Committee shall be open to the public. 22 (2) P UBLIC COMMENT .—The Advisory Com-23 mittee shall solicit public comment with respect to 24 the establishment of the criteria standards and label-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 30 •S 5302 IS ing standards described in paragraphs (1) through 1 (3) of subsection (a). 2 (e) EXEMPTION FROM ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE 3 ACT.—Subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 4 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Adminis-5 trative Procedure Act’’), shall not apply to the Advisory 6 Committee. 7 SEC. 10. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 8 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 9 of this Act, and on an annual basis thereafter, the Admin-10 istrator and the Commission shall submit to Congress a 11 report that— 12 (1) provides— 13 (A) updates on the implementation of this 14 Act, including educational and outreach efforts; 15 (B) obstacles to the implementation of this 16 Act; 17 (C) updates on changes to available tech-18 nologies that would impact the criteria for the 19 terms ‘‘recyclable’’, ‘‘compostable’’, ‘‘reusable’’, 20 and ‘‘refillable’’ under sections 5(b), 6(b), and 21 7(b); and 22 (D)(i) a list of covered materials that are, 23 and covered materials that are not, considered 24 recyclable, compostable, reusable, or refillable 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 31 •S 5302 IS under this Act, as determined under sections 4 1 through 7; and 2 (ii) a description of any barriers that in-3 hibit covered materials from being considered 4 recyclable, compostable, reusable, or refillable 5 under this Act; 6 (2) evaluates and assesses the implementation 7 of this Act with respect to the criteria described in 8 paragraph (1)(C), as aggregated by covered material 9 and geographic area; and 10 (3) evaluates and assesses consumer under-11 standing of— 12 (A) the terms ‘‘recyclable’’, ‘‘compostable’’, 13 ‘‘reusable’’, and ‘‘refillable’’; 14 (B) the chasing arrows symbol and similar 15 labels used for recyclable, compostable, reus-16 able, and refillable covered materials; and 17 (C) resin identification codes. 18 SEC. 11. ENFORCEMENT. 19 (a) GENERAL PROHIBITION.—Beginning on the date 20 that is 2 years after the date on which the Administrator, 21 in coordination with the Commission, establishes or ap-22 proves standardized on-package labels under section 8(a), 23 it shall be considered a deceptive practice under the Fed-24 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) for any 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 32 •S 5302 IS producer of a covered material to sell, use, distribute, or 1 import in commerce any covered material, except in com-2 pliance with this Act. 3 (b) RECYCLABLE CRITERIA.— 4 (1) I N GENERAL .—Beginning on the date that 5 is 2 years after the date on which the Administrator, 6 in coordination with the Commission, establishes or 7 approves standardized on-package labels under sec-8 tion 8(a) but subject to paragraph (2), it shall be 9 considered a deceptive practice and unlawful under 10 section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 11 U.S.C. 45) for any producer of a covered material 12 to sell, use, distribute, or import in commerce any 13 covered material that displays— 14 (A) a chasing arrows symbol or any other 15 symbol or statement indicating the covered ma-16 terial is recyclable or otherwise directing the 17 consumer to recycle the covered material unless 18 the covered material is considered recyclable 19 under this Act; or 20 (B) a chasing arrows symbol surrounding 21 a resin identification code, as prohibited by sec-22 tion 4(c). 23 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 33 •S 5302 IS (A) E STABLISHMENT OR REVISION OF 1 STANDARDS.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to 2 a covered material— 3 (i) if the covered material is manufac-4 tured before the date that is 18 months 5 after the date on which the Administrator, 6 in consultation with the Commission, pub-7 lishes the standardized on-package labels 8 under section 8(a), including any revisions; 9 or 10 (ii) if— 11 (I) the Administrator revises the 12 criteria standards for recyclability; 13 (II) the covered material met the 14 criteria standards before the revision 15 but no longer meets the criteria 16 standards after that revision; and 17 (III) the covered material is man-18 ufactured before the date that is 18 19 months after the date of the revision. 20 (B) O THER EXCEPTIONS .—For purposes 21 of this subsection, none of the following con-22 stitutes a deceptive or misleading claim about 23 the recyclability of a covered material: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 34 •S 5302 IS (i) S YMBOLOGY.—A person using a 1 chasing arrows symbol in combination with 2 a clearly visible line placed at a 45-degree 3 angle over the chasing arrows symbol to 4 convey that an item is not recyclable. 5 (ii) R ESIN IDENTIFICATION CODES .— 6 A resin identification code placed inside a 7 solid equilateral triangle. 8 (iii) Q UALIFIED CLAIM .—A qualified 9 claim of recyclability. 10 (3) U SE ON NONRECYCLABLE PRODUCTS .— 11 Subject to paragraph (2), if the entirety of a covered 12 material is not recyclable but components of the cov-13 ered material are recyclable, a chasing arrows sym-14 bol or statement indicating that a covered material 15 is recyclable may be displayed on the external pack-16 aging that is considered to be recyclable if the chas-17 ing arrows symbol or statement clearly describes in 18 the same or greater font, font size, or symbol size— 19 (A) which components of the covered mate-20 rial are not recyclable; and 21 (B) how to properly remove those compo-22 nents. 23 (4) A PPLICABILITY TO CONSUMABLE PROD -24 UCTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 35 •S 5302 IS (A) D EFINITION OF CONSUMABLE PROD -1 UCT.—In this paragraph, the term ‘‘consumable 2 product’’ means a commodity that is intended 3 to be used and not disposed of. 4 (B) R ULE.—For purposes of this sub-5 section, the display of a chasing arrows symbol 6 or any other statement of recyclability on pack-7 aging containing a consumable product shall be 8 deemed to only refer to the packaging. 9 (c) COMPOSTABLE CRITERIA.— 10 (1) I N GENERAL .—Beginning on the date that 11 is 2 years after the date on which the Administrator, 12 in coordination with the Commission, establishes or 13 approves standardized on-package labels under sec-14 tion 8(a) but subject to paragraph (2), it shall be 15 considered a deceptive practice and unlawful under 16 section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 17 U.S.C. 45) for any producer of a covered material 18 to sell, use, distribute, or import in commerce any 19 covered material that displays a symbol approved to 20 indicate that a product is compostable, any state-21 ment indicating that the covered material is 22 compostable, or otherwise directing the consumer to 23 compost the covered material unless the covered ma-24 terial is considered compostable under this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 36 •S 5302 IS (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 1 (A) E STABLISHMENT OR REVISION OF 2 STANDARDS.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to 3 a covered material— 4 (i) if the covered material is manufac-5 tured before the date that is 18 months 6 after the date on which the Administrator, 7 in consultation with the Commission, pub-8 lishes the standardized on-package labels 9 under section 8(a), including any revisions; 10 or 11 (ii) if— 12 (I) the Administrator, in con-13 sultation with the Commission, revises 14 the criteria standards for 15 compostable; 16 (II) the covered material met the 17 criteria standards before the revision 18 but no longer meets the criteria 19 standards after that revision; and 20 (III) the covered material is man-21 ufactured before the date that is 18 22 months after the date of the revision. 23 (B) O THER EXCEPTIONS .—For purposes 24 of this subsection, none of the following con-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 37 •S 5302 IS stitutes a deceptive or misleading claim about a 1 covered material as being compostable: 2 (i) S YMBOLOGY.—A person using a 3 compostable symbol in combination with a 4 clearly visible line placed at a 45-degree 5 angle over the compostable symbol to con-6 vey that an item is not compostable. 7 (ii) N ONCOMPOSTABLE PACKAGING .— 8 Directing a consumer to compost a product 9 inside of a covered material through a 10 composting program if the product inside 11 the covered material is compostable but the 12 covered material is not compostable. 13 (iii) Q UALIFIED CLAIM .—A qualified 14 claim of compostability. 15 (3) U SE ON NONCOMPOSTABLE PRODUCTS .— 16 Subject to paragraph (2), if the entirety of a covered 17 material is not compostable but components of the 18 covered material are compostable, a compostable 19 symbol or statement indicating a product is 20 compostable may be displayed on the external pack-21 aging that is considered to be compostable if the 22 symbol or statement clearly describes in the same or 23 greater font, font size, or symbol size— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 38 •S 5302 IS (A) which components of the covered mate-1 rial are not compostable; and 2 (B) how to remove and dispose of those 3 components. 4 (4) A PPLICABILITY TO CONSUMABLE PROD -5 UCTS.— 6 (A) D EFINITION OF CONSUMABLE PROD -7 UCT.—In this paragraph, the term ‘‘consumable 8 product’’ means a commodity that is intended 9 to be used and not disposed of. 10 (B) R ULE.—For purposes of this sub-11 section, the display of a compostable symbol or 12 any other statement that a covered material is 13 compostable on packaging containing a 14 consumable product shall be deemed to only 15 refer to the packaging. 16 (d) REUSABLE AND REFILLABLE CRITERIA.— 17 (1) I N GENERAL .—Beginning on the date that 18 is 2 years after the date on which the Administrator, 19 in coordination with the Commission, establishes or 20 approves standardized on-package labels under sec-21 tion 8(a) but subject to paragraph (2), it shall be 22 considered a deceptive practice and unlawful under 23 section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 24 U.S.C. 45) for any producer of a covered material 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 39 •S 5302 IS to sell, use, distribute, or import in commerce any 1 covered material that displays a symbol approved to 2 indicate that a product is reusable or refillable, any 3 statement indicating that the product or packaging 4 is reusable or refillable, or otherwise directing the 5 consumer to reuse or refill the covered material un-6 less the covered material is considered reusable or 7 refillable under this Act. 8 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not apply 9 to a covered material— 10 (A) if the covered material is manufac-11 tured before the date that is 18 months after 12 the date on which the Administrator, in con-13 sultation with the Commission, publishes the 14 standardized on-package labels under section 15 8(a), including any revisions; or 16 (B) if— 17 (i) the Administrator, in consultation 18 with the Commission, revises the criteria 19 standards for reusable or refillable; 20 (ii) the covered material met the cri-21 teria standards before the revision but no 22 longer meets the criteria standards after 23 that revision; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 40 •S 5302 IS (iii) the covered material is manufac-1 tured before the date that is 18 months 2 after the date of the revision. 3 (e) SAFE HARBOR.— 4 (1) I N GENERAL .—A covered material included 5 on a list published under section 5(e), 6(f), or 7(d) 6 shall be considered recyclable, compostable, or reus-7 able or refillable, respectively, for purposes of sub-8 section (b)(1)(A), (c)(1), or (d)(1), respectively. 9 (2) G RACE PERIOD .—If a covered material is 10 removed from a list published under section 5(e), 11 6(f), or 7(d), for the 1-year period beginning on the 12 date of removal, the covered material shall be con-13 sidered recyclable, compostable, or reusable or refill-14 able, respectively, for purposes of subsection 15 (b)(1)(A), (c)(1), or (d)(1), respectively. 16 (f) PENALTIES.— 17 (1) CIVIL PENALTY .— 18 (A) NOTIFICATION.—In the case of a viola-19 tion of this section, not later than 30 days after 20 the date of a finding of the Commission of that 21 violation, the Commission shall provide the per-22 son that violated this section notice of the viola-23 tion and a 180-day period to rectify the viola-24 tion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 41 •S 5302 IS (B) F INES.—Any person that violates this 1 section, is provided notice under subparagraph 2 (A), and does not rectify the violation by the 3 end of the period described in that subpara-4 graph shall be fined for each violation and for 5 each day that the violation occurs under section 6 5(m)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission 7 Act (15 U.S.C. 45(m)(1)(B)). 8 (C) USE OF FUNDS .— 9 (i) I N GENERAL .—Any fines collected 10 under subparagraph (B) shall be available 11 to and used by the Administrator, without 12 further appropriations, to carry out— 13 (I) the Solid Waste Infrastruc-14 ture for Recycling grant program au-15 thorized by section 302(a) of the Save 16 Our Seas 2.0 Act (33 U.S.C. 17 4282(a)); 18 (II) the Consumer Recycling 19 Education and Outreach Grant Pro-20 gram established under section 21 70402(b) of the Infrastructure Invest-22 ment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 23 6966d(b)) to enhance recycling, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 42 •S 5302 IS composting, reuse, and refill infra-1 structure and education; and 2 (III) any educational or outreach 3 program authorized by this Act. 4 (ii) S UPPLEMENT; NOT SUPPLANT .— 5 Any amounts made available by clause (i) 6 shall supplement, and not supplant, any 7 other amounts made available to carry out 8 the programs described in subclauses (I) 9 and (II) of that clause. 10 (2) I NJUNCTIVE RELIEF .—The Commission 11 may bring a civil action to enjoin the sale, distribu-12 tion, or importation into the United States of a cov-13 ered material in violation of this Act. 14 (3) S TATE ENFORCEMENT .—The Commission 15 may permit a State to carry out enforcement under 16 paragraph (1)(A) or (2) if the Commission deter-17 mines that the State meets such requirements as the 18 Commission may establish. 19 (4) N O PREEMPTION .—Except as provided in 20 section 4(c), nothing in this Act shall preempt any 21 State law. 22 (g) G REEN GUIDES.—In the case of a conflict be-23 tween any provision of this Act and part 260 of title 16, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 43 •S 5302 IS Code of Federal Regulations, the provision of this Act 1 shall control. 2 (h) C OMMISSION REGULATIONS.—The Commission 3 may promulgate such regulations as the Commission de-4 termines are necessary to carry out this Act. 5 SEC. 12. EDUCATION CAMPAIGN. 6 (a) I N GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consulta-7 tion with the Commission, States, units of local govern-8 ment, Indian Tribes, material recovery facilities, impacted 9 industries, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher 10 education, and other relevant stakeholders, shall— 11 (1) develop, based on the results of studies, re-12 ports, inventory, and data collected under the na-13 tionwide analysis required under section 4(d), best 14 practices that States, units of local government, non-15 profit organizations, and Indian Tribes may use to 16 educate consumers on the labels established pursu-17 ant to this Act; and 18 (2) provide the best practices developed under 19 paragraph (1) to States, units of local governments, 20 and Indian Tribes through the Model Recycling Pro-21 gram Toolkit, or a similar resource. 22 (b) MULTIPLE RECOVERY METHODS.—The Adminis-23 trator shall prepare and distribute consumer educational 24 materials relating to the preferred recovery method for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 44 •S 5302 IS covered materials that are considered recyclable and 1 compostable, based on the recovery method that creates 2 the highest value for post-consumer use. 3 SEC. 13. COMPATIBILITY. 4 In carrying out this Act, the Administrator shall en-5 courage producers, in coordination with the supply chains 6 for the production of labels, including substrate suppliers, 7 converters, and ink suppliers, to work with the recycling, 8 composting, reuse, and refill industries to address label 9 compatibility challenges. 10 SEC. 14. SEVERABILITY. 11 If any provision of this Act or the application of that 12 provision to any person or circumstance is held to be un-13 constitutional, the remaining provisions of this Act and 14 the application of those provisions to any person or cir-15 cumstance shall not be affected. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Aug 07, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S5302.IS S5302ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS