The Recycling Partnership applauds the Save Our Seas 2.0 Marine Debris Infrastructure Programs Reauthorization Act’s passage out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Passage of this legislation will fund local projects that prevent marine debris and more fully develop America’s recycling and composting infrastructure.
Under the original Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, signed into law by President Trump during his first term, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was tasked with creating the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) grant program. Through the program, the EPA has awarded more than $100 million in funding for local projects in every state and territory across the nation. S.3022 would ensure that the program continues through 2030.
“The SWIFR grants are critical to bettering America’s recycling system so that we can prevent materials from ending up in landfills or the environment and keep them in the economy where they belong,” said Cody Marshall, Chief Recycling Officer at The Recycling Partnership. “Delivering on the EPA’s promise to better the American economy and environment, the recycling programs funded through SWIFR reduce waste, strengthen domestic supply chains, and allow communities to develop infrastructure that meets their needs.”
At the conclusion of the application window, EPA received 452 applications totaling approximately $950.3 million in funding requests: more than 3 times the amount allocated for the program. The volume of applications to the program demonstrates the need to reauthorize the program.
“When we think about recycling and the impact of SWIFR grants, we think about the opportunity to keep critical minerals and natural resources in our supply chains. It reduces the need to rely on imports, virgin materials, or landfilling. Along the way, we get to work with a community to better their local infrastructure, which delivers new jobs,” said Marshall. “I’m proud of the work The Recycling Partnership has done with communities in red and blue states and look forward to passage of S.3022 so we can continue this progress.”
The SWIFR program is overseen by the Resource Recovery Division at EPA. In 2024, Cody Marshall testified in support of the SWIFR program’s implementation in front of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.