S. 351 · Passed Senate · Environmental Protection

STEWARD Act of 2025

Sponsor: Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)

What it does

• Directs the EPA to create a pilot grant program to improve recycling accessibility, particularly in underserved communities.
• Makes states, local governments, Indian tribes, and public-private partnerships eligible for the grants.
• Requires the EPA to collect composting and recycling infrastructure data and to inventory recycling facilities within three years and every four years after.
• Requires a metric for the share of recyclable materials diverted from a circular market and allows the EPA to develop standardized and national recycling rates.
• Allows the EPA to use the data to give states, local governments, and tribes technical assistance on reducing waste and raising recycling rates.

Official summary

Strategies To Eliminate Waste and Accelerate Recycling Development Act of 2025 or the STEWARD Act of 2025 This bill establishes requirements to expand recycling and composting efforts, including by creating (1) a pilot grant program, and (2) data collection and reporting requirements. The bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a pilot program that awards grants for improving recycling accessibility in communities, particularly in underserved communities. States, local governments, Indian tribes, and public-private partnerships may apply for those grants. The bill also directs the EPA to collect data related to composting and recycling infrastructure from states, local governments, and Indian tribes. Within three years and every four years thereafter, the EPA must prepare an inventory of certain recycling facilities in the United States. The EPA must also develop a metric for determining the proportion of recyclable materials in commercial and municipal waste streams that are being diverted from a circular market. The bill allows the EPA to develop (1) a standardized estimated rate of recyclable materials that have been brought to recycling or…

Latest action

Nov 20, 2025: Held at the desk.

Committee: Senate Environment and Public Works