Policy 01- RCRA Reauthorization Policy

Strong emphasis on market development for recyclable commodities.
High priority on the immediate development of national guidelines and standards for recycled content, refill/reuse rates and source reduction standards.
Establish a national ban on yard waste being disposed of in landfills by the year 2000.
Recognizing that recycling rates do not address waste production, establish a national goal of reducing waste production by 20% by the year 2000, with industrial materials reduced by at least 10% by the year 2000.
Cross-reference: waste reduction standards; market development; procurement; design for recycling; product

Policy 18- Legislation and Regulation Cost Effective Infrastructure

Steps should be taken to ensure cost-effective design of systems, and for collection, processing and end-uses to grow in size together.
Incentives to increase the recycling rates should be structured to provide maximum benefit to those who increase the amount of recycling in an area, rather than support existing activities.
Community-based recyclers and non-profit recyclers should be funded.

Policy 28 - Legislation and Regulation Degradable Plastics Use

The National Recycling Coalition opposes the proliferation of degradable plastics.
Calls for an immediate moratorium on the introduction and passage of legislation that would require or support the use of degradable plastics until issues of controversy have been resolved.
More research into the viability of degradable plastics.
Urges the federal government to establish testing standards to verify the safety and performance of these products.

Policy 29 - Legislation and Regulation Landfill Tipping Fees

Local prices at landfills should be set at replacement costs or higher to encourage source reduction, recycling and composting.
Expenses for public education, research and development, and regulatory costs should be factored into the basic rates of disposal.

Policy 30 - Legislation and Regulation Opportunity to Recycle Legislation

Setting goals at the state level for landfill diversion rates ensures that materials are collected and recovered for recycling.

Policy 31- Recycled Content Product Standards

Standards should be revised to allow greater use of recycled and recyclable materials.
Carefully evaluate the hazardous waste regulation on recycling programs.

Policy 32- Support of Basel Convention

The National Recycling Coalition encourages the U.S. Senate to move quickly to ratify the Basel Convention.

Policy 33- Volume-based Refuse Collection Fees

Variable can rate structures should ideally rise steeply so that the rate for pickup of second and third cans is more that 2-3 times the rate for the first can.

Procurement

Policy 06- Policies in State & Local government

Recommends that public and private agencies and organizations  establish programs to favor purchases of recycled products and engage in source reduction.

Legislative, executive and administrative commitment to buying recycled products

Using standard specifications definitions and minimum content standards

Eliminating prohibitions or limitations against recycled products and including recovered material  content in bid specifications.

Requiring the highest percentage recycled content determined to be technical feasible and available in the marketplace in all purchasing specifications.

Policy 07- Guidelines for Recycled Paper

Encourages swift action to conduct the necessary research to address  these questions, to analyze their impacts, and to apply the necessary modifications to the proposed  standard so that they may be adopted and implemented.

Policy 08- Policies in Federal Government Agencies

Federal, state, and local governments should immediately institute recycled products procurement  standards that specify minimum post-consumer recycled content and appropriate price preferences for a  broad range of products.

Recycling Economics

Policy 10- Accounting for Cost of Disposal and Utilization

Encourages manufacturers to voluntarily evaluate the environmental liabilities or costs of their products before introducing those products to the marketplace.
Encourages the federal government to conduct an ongoing review of all federal fiscal policy, such as federal subsidy programs and rate structures, to identify the environmental impact of these policies, especially as they relate to resource utilization, and to establish appropriate changes.

Financing

Policy 11- Contingency Planning for Recycling Markets

Local governments should be encouraged to develop contingency plans
Establish trigger levels and mechanisms to direct recycled materials to other uses once the value of materials falls below established standards.
The focus of contingency planning should evolve from short-term protection of recycling programs and minimization of a city‘s financial risk to development of new markets and new products for recyclables.

Policy 12- Cost-Effective Recycling Operations and Facilities

Recycling operations and facilities should be regulated to the extent necessary to protect public health and the environment but not subjected to unnecessary regulations and permitting requirements governing solid waste.

Policy 13- Establishing Access to Investment Tools for Recycling Projects

Appropriate fiscal policies and funding mechanisms must be developed so that they provide waste reduction and recycling with financial opportunities consistent with those available to other waste management options.

Policy 14- Establishing Economic Incentives through Avoided Collection/ Disposal Costs

Avoided collection and disposal costs should be established in a way that provides incentives for waste generators collectors and landfill operators to expand recycling and encourage the reduction of amounts of waste generated, and that takes into account future increasing waste disposal costs.

Policy 15- Fiscal Policies for Public Sector Solid Waste Investments

Clearly authorize expenditures for source reduction recycling and composting collection, processing and market development activities to be eligible for participation in public investment tools.

Policy 16- Local Funding authority for integrated waste management

Local governments should be authorized by state governments to enact a broad range of local fees and taxes to support all aspects of an integrated waste management program and to set rates for waste collection and disposal.

Policy 17- Local Rate Setting/Structures to Support Recycling

Recycling programs should not be required to be shown separately on bills unless all other components of the solid waste system are itemized.
Franchise fees for the privilege of doing business in an area should be able to be adjusted during the life of collection contracts to provide an additional source of revenue for local governments to implement programs.

Policy 19- Hierarchy of Waste Management Preferences

Policies should also be adopted at local, state and federal levels of government to pursue an integrated waste management hierarchy of priorities for solving solid waste problems.

Policy 20- Basic Recycling Practices

In order to reduce waste, the NRC recommends to reduce and reuse products to the maximum extent technically feasible.
Other recommendations include quantitatively summarizing current purchasing patterns for reusable and recycled materials and products, as well as require in City grants, contracts, consultant agreements and other agreements that printed materials be on recycled paper.

Policy 21- Building Construction Codes

Local buildings codes should require new buildings and major renovations to explicitly provide for recycling systems as an integral component of the buildings‘ waste management systems.
Building codes should be developed jointly by the appropriate agencies administering local recycling programs and by all other pertinent local agencies to ensure that specific requirements of building codes are consistent with local recycling programs and maintain the highest standards of health and safety of building residents in their implementation.

Education & Outreach

Policy 22- Establishment of Annual Recycle Week

The National Recycling Coalition supports the national enactment of an annual “Recycle Week” as a means to remind and educate the population about the benefits of recycling.

Policy 23- Establishment of College & University Curriculum

Colleges and universities should develop fully-accredited degree programs for integrated waste management and recycling to train future graduates to become waste management professionals with expertise in these particular fields.
Colleges and universities should be encouraged to provide the maximum number of recycling opportunities for all materials on campus.

Policy 24- Establishment of K-12 Recycling Curriculum

The source reduction and recycling of waste must be reflected in K-12 school curriculum for society to make this a daily practice.
The goal should be to constantly and consistently strive to instill reduce-recycle values over time.
High schools should be encouraged to provide the maximum number of recycling opportunities for all materials on campus, to act as a model and to provide experience for volunteer and paid students to learn about recycling from an operations perspective.

Policy 25- National Clearinghouse for Recycling information

A National Clearinghouse should be established along with a recycling extension service for recycling information, sponsored by the EPA.

Policy 27- National Recycling Coalition Role in Recycling Education & Outreach

The National Recycling Coalition should maintain current sources of credible pertinent information generated from both outside and within the organization.

Policy 38- Public Involvement in Promoting Recycling

The public should also be sought more to participate in long-term solid waste management and planning.

Market Development

Policy 03- Market cooperatives policy

The National Recycling Coalition favors the establishment of marketing cooperatives among interested cities and companies.

Policy 34- Building a Recycled Materials Manufacturing Base

Innovation by start-up businesses should also be encouraged to develop solutions to major problems in this field.

Policy 35- Increasing Demand for Recycled Products

Developing demand for recycled products by industry and general consumers.
Transportation and construction companies must be challenged to adjust their specifications for materials.

Policy 36- Recommended Market Development Instruments and Activities

Market development programs must be made an integral part of recycling collection initiatives.
The National Recycling Coalition encourages the federal government to support markets for all major recyclable materials, especially paper, plastic and glass products.

Product Labeling

02 policy product labeling

Recommends adoption of “green labeling” programs for application to a broad array of products and packages.
Supports adoption of federal legislation or regulation setting nationally uniform requirements and standards to regulate the environmental marketing practices and the environmental labeling of products and packaging for recyclability, reusability and recycled content.

Additional Policies

Policy 37- National Database on Recycling Capacity

The federal government should establish a national database that includes information on existing and proposed recycling capacity.

Policy 39- Sustainable Financing – Extended Producer Responsibility to Support Recycling

Reduce waste and increase the amount of recyclable materials recovered for recycling.
The National Recycling Coalition supports programs and policies for increased recycling and sustainable design where there is broad stakeholder support.

Policy 04- National measurement standards for waste production & recovery policy

The federal government should direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a nationally uniform system for state and local governments to measure waste production and recycling rates.
Standardize definitions of solid waste, municipal solid waste, recyclables, recycled and related terms.

Policy 05- Research & Development & Technology Transfer

The National Recycling Coalition recommends that the federal government allocate staff and resources to facilitate the transfer of information about existing and emerging recycling technologies for all commodities currently recycled from the municipal solid waste stream including, but not limited to, metal, glass, paper, plastics and yard waste.

Policy 40- Recycling Definition Policy

“Recycling is a series of activities by which material that has reached the end of its current use is processed into material utilized in the production of new products.”
Processes and activities that harm the growth of recycled materials output and markets and should not be considered recycling.
Promotion of new technologies and systems for increasing recycling through increased volumes and quality is critical.

Policy 41- Zero Waste Definition Policy

“Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary, to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use.

∙ Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources, and not burn or bury them.

∙ Implementing Zero Waste will eliminate all discharges to land, water or air that are a threat to planetary, human, animal or plant health.”
The National Recycling Coalition hereby adopts the ZWIA definition of Zero Waste to clarify what Zero Waste means and encourages its members, stakeholders and other interested parties to adopt this ZWIA definition of Zero Waste as well.

Policy 42- Incineration Policy

“The National Recycling Coalition endorses and supports a hierarchy of waste management preferences that gives first priority to source reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting to minimize the amount of waste to be otherwise managed.” It further states, “The hierarchy should place primary emphasis on implementing all feasible source reduction, recycling and composting while not precluding communities from considering transformation facilities and landfills to address waste which cannot be reduced at the source, recycled or composted.”

Policy 46- Chemical Recycling (Advanced Recycling)

“Thermal and chemical processes that convert plastics into petrochemical products that are fuels or used to make fuels, gases, oils, or waxes (plastics-to-oil) do not meet NRC’s definition of recycling. Using the term “chemical recycling” or “advanced recycling” for these processes is misleading. “Chemical recycling” or “advanced recycling” processes like these do not reduce plastic pollution. Chemical Recycling facilities like these harm humans, the environment, and the climate. Instead, NRC supports a hierarchy of waste management preferences that prioritizes reducing the production and consumption of plastics.”

Policy 43- ReUse Policy

“The term “reuse” means to extend the life of a product, package or resource by either using it more than once with little to no processing (same or new function), repairing it so it can be used longer, and/or sharing, renting, selling or donating it to/with another party. This definition excludes materials used as a fuel substitute and those used for energy production (i.e. incineration).”
The National Recycling Coalition supports reuse and recycling as the most preferred methods of Sustainable Materials Management (SMM).

Policy 26- Composting Policy

Composting is a viable strategy for achieving the reduction of this portion of the waste stream.
The National Recycling Coalition desires to promote composting.

Policy 44- Framework for Advancing Container Recovery

The NRC supports deposit return systems for container recovery as a vital strategy to increase the collection and reclamation of clean materials for recycling into new materials.

Policy 09- National Waste Reduction Goals

The federal government should direct the EPA to establish aggressive, achievable national source reduction, recycling and recovered material utilization goals where recycling goals and utilization goals are in balance.
States should be required to annually report their progress in meeting national recycling goals.