42 U.S.C. § 6966d — Consumer recycling education and out-

Page 7003 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6966d § 6966d. Consumer recycling education and out- reach grant program; Federal procurement (a) Definition of Administrator In this section, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (b) Consumer recycling education and outreach grant program (1) In general The Administrator shall establish a program (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘grant program’’) to award competitive grants to eli- gible entities to improve the effectiveness of residential and community recycling pro- grams through public education and outreach. (2) Criteria The Administrator shall award grants under the grant program for projects that, by using one or more eligible activities described in paragraph (5)— (A) inform the public about residential or community recycling programs; (B) provide information about the recycled materials that are accepted as part of a resi- dential or community recycling program that provides for the separate collection of residential solid waste from recycled mate- rial; and (C) increase collection rates and decrease contamination in residential and commu- nity recycling programs. (3) Eligible entities (A) In general An entity that is eligible to receive a grant under the grant program is— (i) a State; (ii) a unit of local government; (iii) an Indian Tribe (as defined in sec- tion 5304 of title 25); (iv) a Native Hawaiian organization (as defined in section 7517 of title 20); (v) the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; (vi) the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; (vii) a nonprofit organization; or (viii) a public-private partnership. (B) Coordination of activities 2 or more entities described in subpara- graph (A) may receive a grant under the grant program to coordinate the provision of information to residents that may access 2 or more residential recycling programs, in- cluding programs that accept different recy- cled materials, to provide to the residents information regarding differences among those residential recycling programs. (4) Requirement (A) In general To receive a grant under the grant pro- gram, an eligible entity shall demonstrate to the Administrator that the grant funds will be used to encourage the collection of recycled materials that are sold to an exist- ing or developing market. (B) Business plans and financial data (i) In general An eligible entity may make a dem- onstration under subparagraph (A) through the submission to the Adminis- trator of appropriate business plans and fi- nancial data. (ii) Confidentiality The Administrator shall treat any busi- ness plans or financial data received under clause (i) as confidential information. (5) Eligible activities An eligible entity that receives a grant under the grant program may use the grant funds for activities including— (A) public service announcements; (B) a door-to-door education and outreach campaign; (C) social media and digital outreach; (D) an advertising campaign on recycling awareness; (E) the development and dissemination of— (i) a toolkit for a municipal and commer- cial recycling program; (ii) information on the importance of quality in the recycling stream; (iii) information on the economic and en- vironmental benefits of recycling; and (iv) information on what happens to ma- terials after the materials are placed into a residential or community recycling pro- gram; (F) businesses recycling outreach; (G) bin, cart, and other receptacle labeling and signs; and (H) such other activities that the Adminis- trator determines are appropriate to carry out the purposes of this subsection. (6) Prohibition on use of funds No funds may be awarded under the grant program for a residential recycling program that— (A) does not provide for the separate col- lection of residential solid waste (as defined in section 246.101 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on November 15, 2021)) from recycled material (as defined in that section), unless the funds are used to promote a transition to a system that sepa- rately collects recycled materials; or (B) promotes the establishment of, or con- version to, a residential collection system that does not provide for the separate collec- tion of residential solid waste from recycled material (as those terms are defined under subparagraph (A)). (7) Model recycling program toolkit (A) In general In carrying out the grant program, the Ad- ministrator, in consultation with other rel- evant Federal agencies, States, Indian Tribes, units of local government, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector, shall develop a model recycling program toolkit for States, Indian Tribes, and units of local government that includes, at a minimum— (i) a standardized set of terms and exam- ples that may be used to describe mate- rials that are accepted by a residential re- cycling program; (ii) information that the Administrator determines can be widely applied across Page 7004 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6971 residential recycling programs, taking into consideration the differences in recy- cled materials accepted by residential re- cycling programs; (iii) educational principles on best prac- tices for the collection and processing of recycled materials; (iv) a community self-assessment guide to identify gaps in existing recycling pro- grams; (v) training modules that enable States and nonprofit organizations to provide technical assistance to units of local gov- ernment; (vi) access to consumer educational ma- terials that States, Indian Tribes, and units of local government can adapt and use in recycling programs; and (vii) a guide to measure the effectiveness of a grant received under the grant pro- gram, including standardized measure- ments for recycling rates and decreases in contamination. (B) Requirement In developing the standardized set of terms and examples under subparagraph (A)(i), the Administrator may not establish any re- quirements for— (i) what materials shall be accepted by a residential recycling program; or (ii) the labeling of products. (8) School curriculum The Administrator shall provide assistance to the educational community, including non- profit organizations, such as an organization the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics program of which incorporates recycling, to promote the introduction of re- cycling principles and best practices into pub- lic school curricula. (9) Reports (A) To the Administrator Not earlier than 180 days, and not later than 2 years, after the date on which a grant under the grant program is awarded to an el- igible entity, the eligible entity shall submit to the Administrator a report describing, by using the guide developed under paragraph (7)(A)(vii)— (i) the change in volume of recycled ma- terial collected through the activities funded with the grant; (ii) the change in participation rate of the recycling program funded with the grant; (iii) the reduction of contamination in the recycling stream as a result of the ac- tivities funded with the grant; and (iv) such other information as the Ad- ministrator determines to be appropriate. (B) To Congress The Administrator shall submit to Con- gress an annual report describing— (i) the effectiveness of residential recy- cling programs awarded funds under the grant program, including statistics com- paring the quantity and quality of recy- cled materials collected by those pro- grams, as described in the reports sub- mitted to the Administrator under sub- paragraph (A); and (ii) recommendations on additional ac- tions to improve residential recycling. (c) Omitted (d) Authorization of appropriations (1) In general There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section and the amendments made by this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. (2) Requirement Of the amount made available under para- graph (1) for a fiscal year, not less than 20 per- cent shall be allocated to— (A) low-income communities; (B) rural communities; and (C) communities identified as Native American pursuant to section 3001(9) of title 25. (Pub. L. 117–58, div. G, title IV, § 70402, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1262.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The amendments made by this section, referred to in subsec. (d)(1), means the amendments made by section 70402(c) of Pub. L. 117–58, which amended section 6962 of this title. See Codification note below. CODIFICATION Section is comprised of section 70402 of Pub. L. 117–58. Subsec. (c) of section 70402 of Pub. L. 117–58 amended section 6962 of this title. Section was enacted as part of the Infrastructure In- vestment and Jobs Act, and not as part of the Solid Waste Disposal Act which comprises this chapter. SUBCHAPTER VII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS § 6971. Employee protection (a) General No person shall fire, or in any other way dis- criminate against, or cause to be fired or dis- criminated against, any employee or any au- thorized representative of employees by reason of the fact that such employee or representative has filed, instituted, or caused to be filed or in- stituted any proceeding under this chapter or under any applicable implementation plan, or has testified or is about to testify in any pro- ceeding resulting from the administration or en- forcement of the provisions of this chapter or of any applicable implementation plan. (b) Remedy Any employee or a representative of employ- ees who believes that he has been fired or other- wise discriminated against by any person in vio- lation of subsection (a) of this section may, within thirty days after such alleged violation occurs, apply to the Secretary of Labor for a re- view of such firing or alleged discrimination. A copy of the application shall be sent to such per- son who shall be the respondent. Upon receipt of