Bill Text: TX HB3060 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled


Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of recycling and recycled products.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-05-27 - Effective immediately [HB3060 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB3060-Enrolled.html
 
 
  H.B. No. 3060
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the regulation of recycling and recycled products.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 361.003, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by amending Subdivisions (1), (10-a), (24-a), (25), (25-a),
  (26-a), (27), (34), (35), and (36) and adding Subdivisions (1-a),
  (6-a), and (37-a) to read as follows:
               (1)  "Advanced recycling facility" means a
  manufacturing facility that receives, stores, and converts
  post-use polymers and recoverable feedstocks using advanced
  recycling technologies and processes including pyrolysis,
  gasification, solvolysis, and depolymerization.  For purposes of
  this chapter and rules adopted by the commission under this
  chapter, an advanced recycling facility is not a solid waste
  facility, final disposal facility, waste-to-energy facility, or
  incinerator.
               (1-a)  "Apparent recharge zone" means that recharge
  zone designated on maps prepared or compiled by, and located in the
  offices of, the commission.
               (6-a)  "Depolymerization" means a manufacturing
  process through which post-use polymers are broken down into:
                     (A)  smaller molecules, including monomers and
  oligomers; or
                     (B)  raw materials or intermediate or final
  products, including plastics and chemical feedstocks, basic and
  unfinished chemicals, waxes, lubricants, or coatings.
               (10-a)  "Gasification" means a process through which
  recoverable feedstocks are heated and converted into a fuel-gas
  mixture in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere and the mixture is
  converted into [a] valuable raw materials or valuable[,]
  intermediate[,] or final products [product], including plastic
  monomers, chemicals, waxes, lubricants, or chemical feedstocks [a
  plastic, monomer, chemical, wax, lubricant, or chemical feedstock
  or crude oil, diesel, gasoline, diesel and gasoline blendstock,
  home heating oil, ethanol, or another fuel]. The term does not
  include incineration.
               (24-a)  "Post-use polymers" means plastics that:
                     (A)  are derived from any industrial, commercial,
  agricultural, or domestic activity, including preconsumer
  recovered materials and postconsumer materials;
                     (B)  are sorted from solid waste and other
  regulated waste and may contain residual amounts of organic
  material and incidental contaminants or impurities such as paper
  labels or metal rings;
                     (C)  are not mixed with solid waste or hazardous
  waste onsite or during processing at an advanced recycling
  facility;
                     (D)  are used or intended for use as a feedstock or
  for the production of feedstocks, raw materials, or other
  intermediate or final products using advanced recycling; and
                     (E)  are processed or held prior to processing at
  an advanced recycling facility [plastic polymers that derive from
  any household, industrial, community, commercial, or other sources
  of operations or activities that might otherwise become waste if
  not converted into a valuable raw, intermediate, or final product.  
  Post-use polymers include used polymers that contain incidental
  contaminants or impurities such as paper labels or metal rings but
  do not include used polymers mixed with solid waste, medical waste,
  hazardous waste, electronic waste, tires, or construction or
  demolition debris].
               (25)  "Processing" means the extraction of materials
  from or the transfer, volume reduction, conversion to energy, or
  other separation and preparation of solid waste for reuse or
  disposal.  The term includes the treatment or neutralization of
  hazardous waste designed to change the physical, chemical, or
  biological character or composition of a hazardous waste so as to
  neutralize the waste, recover energy or material from the waste,
  render the waste nonhazardous or less hazardous, make it safer to
  transport, store, or dispose of, or render it amenable for recovery
  or storage, or reduce its volume.  The term does not include:
                     (A)  pyrolysis, [or] gasification, solvolysis, or
  depolymerization; or
                     (B)  activities concerning those materials
  exempted by the administrator of the United States Environmental
  Protection Agency under the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act, as
  amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as
  amended (42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.), unless the commission
  determines that regulation of the activity under this chapter is
  necessary to protect human health or the environment.
               (25-a)  "Pyrolysis" means a manufacturing process
  through which post-use polymers are heated in an oxygen-deficient
  atmosphere [until melted and thermally decomposed and then cooled,
  condensed,] and the pyrolysis product is converted into [a]
  valuable raw materials or valuable[,] intermediate[,] or final
  products [product], including plastic monomers, chemicals,
  naphtha, waxes, polymers, or plastic and chemical feedstocks [a
  plastic, monomer, chemical, wax, lubricant, or chemical feedstock
  or crude oil, diesel, gasoline, diesel and gasoline blendstock,
  home heating oil, ethanol, or another fuel]. The term does not
  include incineration.
               (26-a)  "Recoverable feedstock" means one or more of
  the following materials, derived from recoverable waste other than
  coal refuse, that has been processed so that it may be used as
  feedstock in an advanced recycling facility or through [a]
  gasification [facility]:
                     (A)  post-use polymers; and
                     (B)  material, including municipal solid waste
  [containing post-use polymers] and other post-industrial waste:
                           (i)  [containing post-use polymers, that has
  been processed into a fuel or feedstock] for which the commission or
  the United States Environmental Protection Agency has made a
  non-waste determination under 40 C.F.R. Section 241.3(c); or
                           (ii)  that the commission or the United
  States Environmental Protection Agency has otherwise determined
  are feedstocks and not solid waste.
               (27)  "Recycling" has the meaning assigned by Section
  361.421 [means the legitimate use, reuse, or reclamation of solid
  waste].
               (34)  This subdivision expires on delegation of the
  Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 authority to the
  Railroad Commission of Texas.  Subject to the limitations of 42
  U.S.C. Section 6903(27) and 40 C.F.R. Section 261.4(a), "solid
  waste" means garbage, rubbish, refuse, sludge from a waste
  treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution
  control facility, and other discarded material, including solid,
  liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from
  industrial, municipal, commercial, mining, and agricultural
  operations and from community and institutional activities.  The
  term:
                     (A)  does not include:
                           (i)  solid or dissolved material in domestic
  sewage, or solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows,
  or industrial discharges subject to regulation by permit issued
  under Chapter 26, Water Code;
                           (ii)  soil, dirt, rock, sand, and other
  natural or man-made inert solid materials used to fill land if the
  object of the fill is to make the land suitable for the construction
  of surface improvements;
                           (iii)  waste materials that result from
  activities associated with the exploration, development, or
  production of oil or gas or geothermal resources and other
  substance or material regulated by the Railroad Commission of Texas
  under Section 91.101, Natural Resources Code, unless the waste,
  substance, or material results from activities associated with
  gasoline plants, natural gas or natural gas liquids processing
  plants, pressure maintenance plants, or repressurizing plants and
  is hazardous waste as defined by the administrator of the United
  States Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Solid
  Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and
  Recovery Act of 1976, as amended (42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.);
  or
                           (iv)  post-use polymers or recoverable
  feedstocks processed through pyrolysis, [or] gasification,
  solvolysis, or depolymerization that do not qualify as hazardous
  waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (42
  U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.); and
                     (B)  does include hazardous substances, for the
  purposes of Sections 361.271 through 361.277 and 361.343 through
  361.345.
               (35)  This subdivision is effective on delegation of
  the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 authority to the
  Railroad Commission of Texas.  Subject to the limitations of 42
  U.S.C. Section 6903(27) and 40 C.F.R. Section 261.4(a), "solid
  waste" means garbage, rubbish, refuse, sludge from a waste
  treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution
  control facility, and other discarded material, including solid,
  liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from
  industrial, municipal, commercial, mining, and agricultural
  operations and from community and institutional activities.  The
  term:
                     (A)  does not include:
                           (i)  solid or dissolved material in domestic
  sewage, or solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows,
  or industrial discharges subject to regulation by permit issued
  under Chapter 26, Water Code;
                           (ii)  soil, dirt, rock, sand, and other
  natural or man-made inert solid materials used to fill land if the
  object of the fill is to make the land suitable for the construction
  of surface improvements;
                           (iii)  waste materials that result from
  activities associated with the exploration, development, or
  production of oil or gas or geothermal resources and other
  substance or material regulated by the Railroad Commission of Texas
  under Section 91.101, Natural Resources Code; or
                           (iv)  post-use polymers or recoverable
  feedstocks processed through pyrolysis, [or] gasification,
  solvolysis, or depolymerization that do not qualify as hazardous
  waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (42
  U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.); and
                     (B)  does include hazardous substances, for the
  purposes of Sections 361.271 through 361.277 and 361.343 through
  361.345.
               (36)  "Solid waste facility" means all contiguous land,
  including structures, appurtenances, and other improvements on the
  land, used for processing, storing, or disposing of solid
  waste.  The term includes a publicly or privately owned solid waste
  facility consisting of several processing, storage, or disposal
  operational units such as one or more landfills, surface
  impoundments, or a combination of units.  The term does not include
  an advanced recycling [a pyrolysis or gasification] facility.
               (37-a)  "Solvolysis" means a manufacturing process
  through which post-use polymers are purified with the aid of
  solvents while heated at low temperatures, pressurized, or both
  heated at low temperatures and pressurized, to remove additives and
  contaminants and make useful products, including monomers,
  intermediates, valuable chemicals, plastic and chemical
  feedstocks, and raw materials. The process includes hydrolysis,
  aminolysis, ammonolysis, methanolysis, and glycolysis.
         SECTION 2.  Section 361.0151, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  Notwithstanding any other law, the commission or a
  political subdivision of this state that establishes goals or
  requirements for recycling or the use of recycled material must
  base those goals or requirements on the definitions and principles
  established by Subchapter N. This subsection does not apply to a
  program described by Subchapter Y or Z.
         SECTION 3.  Section 361.041(a), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The commission may not consider post-use polymers or
  recoverable feedstock to be solid waste if they are converted using
  pyrolysis, [or] gasification, solvolysis, or depolymerization into
  [a] valuable raw materials or valuable[,] intermediate[,] or final
  products [product], including plastic monomers, chemicals, waxes,
  lubricants, or chemical feedstocks [a plastic, monomer, chemical,
  wax, lubricant, or chemical feedstock or crude oil, diesel,
  gasoline, diesel and gasoline blendstock, home heating oil,
  ethanol, or another fuel].
         SECTION 4.  Section 361.119(c-1), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (c-1)  A facility that reuses or converts recyclable
  materials through pyrolysis, [or] gasification, solvolysis, or
  depolymerization, and the operations conducted and materials
  handled at the facility, are not subject to regulation under rules
  adopted under this section if the owner or operator of the facility
  demonstrates that:
               (1)  the primary function of the facility is to convert
  materials into products [that have a resale value greater than the
  cost of converting the materials] for subsequent beneficial use;
  and
               (2)  all the solid waste generated from converting the
  materials is disposed of in a hazardous solid waste management
  facility or a solid waste facility authorized under this chapter,
  as appropriate, with the exception of small amounts of solid waste
  that may be inadvertently and unintentionally disposed of in
  another manner.
         SECTION 5.  Section 361.421, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by amending Subdivisions (5), (6), (7), and (8) and adding
  Subdivision (6-a) to read as follows:
               (5)  "Recyclable material" means material that can be
  or has been recovered or diverted from the [solid] waste stream for
  purposes of reuse, recycling, or reclamation, a substantial portion
  of which is consistently used in the manufacture of products which
  may otherwise be produced using raw or virgin materials. The term
  includes any waste stream, including post-use polymers and
  recoverable feedstocks that are converted through pyrolysis, [or]
  gasification, solvolysis, or depolymerization into valuable raw
  materials or valuable[,] intermediate[,] and final products.
  Recyclable material is not solid waste unless the material is
  deemed to be hazardous solid waste by the Administrator of the
  United States Environmental Protection Agency, whereupon it shall
  be regulated accordingly unless it is otherwise exempted in whole
  or in part from regulation under the federal Solid Waste Disposal
  Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of
  1976 (42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.), by Environmental Protection
  Agency regulation. However, recyclable material may become solid
  waste at such time, if any, as it is abandoned or disposed of rather
  than recycled, whereupon it will be solid waste with respect only to
  the party actually abandoning or disposing of the material.
               (6)  "Recycled material" means materials, goods, or
  products that consist of recovered recyclable material or materials
  derived from recoverable feedstocks, post-use polymers,
  postconsumer waste, industrial waste, or hazardous waste which may
  be used in place of a raw or virgin material in manufacturing a new
  product or that are certified under a third-party certification
  system for mass balance attribution identified by the commission
  under Section 361.4215. The term includes recycled plastics
  [post-use polymers and recoverable feedstocks used in pyrolysis or
  gasification].
               (6-a)  "Recycled plastics" means products that are
  produced from:
                     (A)  mechanical recycling of post-use polymers;
  or
                     (B)  nonmechanical recycling of recoverable
  feedstocks or post-use polymers that are certified under a
  third-party certification system for mass balance attribution
  identified by the commission under Section 361.4215.
               (7)  "Recycled product" means a product that is
  eligible to be considered a recycled product under [which meets the
  requirements for recycled material content as prescribed by] the
  rules established by the commission under [described in] Section
  361.427. The term does not include a product sold as fuel.
               (8)  "Recycling" means a process by which materials
  that have served their intended use or are scrapped, discarded,
  used, surplus, or obsolete are collected, separated, or processed
  and returned to use in the form of raw materials or feedstocks used
  in the manufacture [production] of new products. The term does not
  include incineration of plastics or waste-to-energy processes.
  Recycling includes:
                     (A)  the composting process if the compost
  material is put to beneficial reuse as defined by the commission;
                     (B)  the application to land, as organic
  fertilizer, of processed sludge or biosolids from municipal
  wastewater treatment plants and other organic matter resulting from
  poultry, dairy, livestock, or other agricultural operations; and
                     (C)  the conversion of post-use polymers and
  recoverable feedstocks through pyrolysis, [or] gasification,
  solvolysis, or depolymerization.
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter N, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended by adding Section 361.4215 to read as follows:
         Sec. 361.4215.  MASS BALANCE ATTRIBUTION. The commission by
  rule shall identify third-party certification systems for mass
  balance attribution that may be used for the purposes of Sections
  361.421(6) and (6-a).
         SECTION 7.  Sections 361.427(a) and (b), Health and Safety
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The commission, in consultation with the comptroller,
  shall promulgate rules to establish guidelines by which a product
  is eligible to be considered a recycled product based on:
               (1)  the percent of the total content of a product that
  consists of recycled material; or
               (2)  the portion of the total content of a product that
  is determined to consist of recycled material according to a
  third-party certification system for mass balance attribution
  identified by the commission under Section 361.4215. [which specify
  the percent of the total content of a product which must consist of
  recycled material for the product to be a "recycled product."]
         (b)  The guidelines established under this section shall
  specify a minimum percent of the recycled material in a product
  which must be postconsumer waste or post-use polymers.
         SECTION 8.  Sections 361.003(10-b) and (25-b), Health and
  Safety Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 9.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall
  adopt rules necessary to implement the changes in law made by this
  Act.
         SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect immediately if it
  receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
  house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
  If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
  effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3060 was passed by the House on April
  26, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 146, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3060 was passed by the Senate on May
  12, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor       
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