Bill > H7620

This bill, titled the Plastic Waste Conversion Facility Act, establishes new regulations concerning facilities that process plastic waste. It defines "plastic waste conversion facility" broadly to include any operation that uses specific "regulated technologies" – such as gasification, pyrolysis, solvolysis, and depolymerization – to transform plastic waste, post-use polymers, or recovered feedstock into fuels, chemical feedstocks, or other hydrocarbon products, regardless of how the process is marketed or its operating temperature. The bill explicitly states that these facilities will not be considered manufacturing, materials recovery, or recycling based on their outputs. Crucially, the act prohibits the state from issuing any permits or licenses for the construction or operation of new plastic waste conversion facilities, and any applications for such permits will be denied. This prohibition is intended to address concerns about toxic pollutants, hazardous waste generation, the classification of energy derived from these processes as non-renewable, the documented commercial failures and reliance on public subsidies of such facilities, their disproportionate siting in vulnerable communities, and risks of fraud and environmental harm due to a lack of transparency. The bill takes effect immediately upon its passage.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

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