Legislative Advocacy

Advance Compost Infrastructure and Processing

The Iowa Composting Council (IACC), an organization housed within the Iowa Recycling Association (IRA), supports all efforts for the increased development of quality compost and its use in Iowa as a locally-made, natural soil amendment which improves Iowa's soil health and fertility. IACC promotes regulations that support agricultural, residential, and commercial use of compost, processing compost in an environmentally-friendly manner that protects our soil, air, and water resources, and reducing organic waste ending up in landfills. This includes modifications to the current legislation which would reduce barriers for the establishment and expansion of compost business development, incentivize more Iowans to start compost facilities, establish and grow markets for compost products, improve and expand our organic waste management infrastructure, and support quality and ethical operations to create opportunities for the best and highest use of our organic resources.

Enhance and Expand Battery Recycling

IRA supports economic and infrastructure development to improve safe battery recycling opportunities in Iowa. Diversity in types and uses of batteries are continuing to increase with advancements in technology and an increased number of electrified vehicles, e-bikes, and e-scooters. Responsible end-of-life handling is important to prevent landfill and recycling facility fires caused by improperly disposed batteries and recover valuable and marketable materials. For reasons stated above, IRA supports legislation that would require battery producers to support collection and recycling programs for batteries deemed hazardous and participate in education/outreach programs to educate the public about the proper ways to deal with batteries at their end of life.

Improve Container Deposit Law and Recycling Facilities Sustainability

IRA supports numerous models to ensure plastic, aluminum, and glass beverage containers are recycled, including redemption, single stream, and source separated. Improved access to beverage container redemption and recycling programs has proven to be a successful litter reduction strategy and results in higher yields of recoverable, valuable materials in the recycling loop.

As the State of Iowa continues to evaluate the time-tested Container Deposit Law, the IRA supports improvements to the current law that make it easier for Iowans to have convenient access to recycle. Such improvements could include increased consumer convenience by reducing the distance the consumer has to travel to recycle. The IRA supports updates that do not increase the financial burden on local governments and/or public solid waste management organizations, and do not negatively impact, but instead support, recycling processing facilities. In addition, IRA supports increased reporting for financial transparency.

Strengthen Extended Producer Responsibility Policies

IRA supports Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies for products that are unsafe, difficult, and/or costly to manage/recycle at the post-consumer stage of a product's lifecycle. Examples of these types of products include tires, solar panels, wind turbines, latex paint, electronics, appliances, hazardous materials, and disposable, non-recyclable packaging. EPR policies provide an approach in which a producer's responsibility for a given product is extended to the post- consumer stage. EPR policies shift the responsibility and costs of a product's disposal toward the producer and away from the public, thereby making the producer accountable for the entire lifecycle of their product and associated packaging. When applied effectively, EPR policies reduce financial burdens for municipalities, improve safety for frontline recycling facilities and solid waste management workers, and create incentives for producers to address environmental concerns when designing their products.