Trent Lott: “over the past three decades, concern for our environment and natural resources has grown--as has the desire to recycle…”

“over the past three decades, concern for our environment and natural resources has grown--as has the desire to recycle and reuse. You may be surprised to learn that one major environmental statue actually creates an impediment to recycling. Superfund has created this impediment, although unintended by the law's authors. Because of the harm that is being done to the recycling effort by the unintended consequence of law, the distinguished Minority Leader, Mr. Daschle, and I introduced The Superfund Recycling Equity Act (S. 2180). This bill removes Superfund's recycling impediments and increases America's recycling rates. We had one and only one purpose in introducing the Superfund Recycling Equity Act--to remove from the liability loop those who collect and ship recyclables to a third party site. The bill is not intended to plow new Superfund ground, nor is it intended to revamp existing Superfund law. That task is appropriately left to comprehensive reform, a goal that I hope is achievable in the 106th Congress. While the bill proposes to amend Superfund, Mr. President, it is really a recycling bill. Recycling is not disposal and shipping for recycling is not arranging for disposal--it is a relatively simple clarification, but one that is necessary to maintain a successful recycling effort nationwide. Without this clarification, America will continue to fall short of its recycling goal.”