Prepared statement 331 Hatfield, Hon. Mark O., U.S. Senator from the State of Oregon 265 280 Prepared statement Prepared statement Kuiken, Bruce, Vice President, Resource Recovery, Quantum Chemical Corporation.... 322 283 352 Mannis, Barry A., Vice President, Morgan Stanley and Company, Inc............ 273 317 Miller, Chaz, Director, Recycling Glass Packaging Institute 285 Prepared statement 359 Raber, Clifford H., Vice President, Government Relations, McDonald's Corporation. 268 Prepared statement 295 Rayfield, Charles W., Vice President and General Manager, Reynolds Aluminum Recycling Company. 287 Prepared statement 363 Wehling, Robert L., Vice President, Public Affairs, Proctor and Gamble. Baucus, Hon. Max, U.S. Senator from the State of Montana 374 375 391 397 399 404 402 424 405 400 WITNESSES Alkema, Ken, Director, Utah Department of Environmental Health.. Bradley, Hon. Bill, U.S. Senator from the State of New Jersey 414 Breaux, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Louisiana 406 Coats, Hon. Dan, U.S. Senator from the State of Indiana 409 Prepared statement 411 Elder, Scott, Board Representative of Northern Plains Resource Council 447 486 Jorling, Tom, Commissioner, Department of Environmental Conservation 438 458 Kassebaum, Hon. Nancy, U.S. Senator from the State of Kansas 416 Prepared statement 417 Prepared statement Weiner, Scott, Commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection Prepared statement McConnell, Hon. Mitch, U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky 407 444 469 442 464 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Statements submitted for the record: Dole, Hon. Bob, U.S. Senator from the State of Kansas.. State of Ohio: Attorney General.. Environmental Protection Agency. Dakota Rural Action, Mary Harding Western Organization of Resource Čouncils, Edna Carpenter, Chair....... WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 1991 TOXICS USE AND SOURCE REDUCTION OPENING STATEMENTS Baucus, Hon. Max, U.S. Senator from the State of Montana Page 413 487 497 512 513 515 517 520 518 522 536 WITNESSES Allen, James T., Chief, Alternative Technology Division, Department of Toxic 522 Prepared statement 566 Burt, Patrick, President, Acteron Metal Finishers, and Chairman of Waste 542 Prepared statement 598 Kelley, Barbara, Office of Technical Assistance, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs....... 524 Prepared statement 570 Muir, Warren R., Senior Fellow, Inform, and President, Hampshire Research.. 539 582 Mulligan, William J., Manager, Environmental Affairs, Chevron Corporation.. 544 603 Mullins, Morton L., Director, Regulatory Affairs, Monsanto Company. 537 Prepared statement 574 Ryan, William, Policy Director, National Environmental Law Center... Baucus, Hon. Max, U.S. Senator from the State of Montana. 637 645 WITNESSES Alter, Harvey, Manager, Resource Policy Department, U.S. Chamger of Com Brown, William Y., Director, Environmental Affairs, Waste Management, Inc. 655 696 Collins, James F., President, Steel Manufacturers Association. 658 Prepared statement 698 Responses to additional questions. 702 RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1991 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 1991 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, MUNICIPAL WASTE RECYCLING The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 11:00 a.m. in room 406, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Max Baucus [chairman of the subcommittee] presiding. Present: Senators Baucus, Lieberman, Chafee, and Durenberger. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MAX BAUCUS, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MONTANA Senator BAUCUs. The hearing will come to order. This hearing is the first in a series of legislative hearings on reauthorization of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Each of these hearings will focus primarily on legislation that Senator Chafee, Senator Burdick, and I recently introduced. During these hearings, we will hear from government officials, industry experts, public interest groups, and others who face solid waste issues every day. I intend to challenge the witnesses, to expand their thinking, therefore our thinking beyond the traditional avenues in search of the best solutions to the solid waste problems before us, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same. Today and tomorrow, we will focus on recycling. In subsequent hearings, we will focus on other aspects of the solid waste crisis. On June 18, we will hear from experts on the problem of interstate transportation of solid waste. And in future hearings, we will explore such issues as toxic use, waste reduction, sham recycling, mining waste, oil and gas waste, and municipal ash. I intend to conclude these hearings by exploring the full array of issues with the Environmental Protection Agency, and I will take this opportunity to inform my colleagues and the staff that it is my intention to have a comprehensive RCRA legislation before the Senate later this year. S. 976 is the starting point. The legislation seeks to cut back on what has become known as our "throw away society." It seeks to put real meaning into the title of the law-Resource Conservation and Recovery. Since its enactment in 1976, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act has focused on waste management. Congress (1) and the EPA have created a complex system for managing waste. On the surface, it seems to be somewhat responsible; that is, to a certain extent working. But it is also clear to me that we are overwhelming our current system with too much garbage; we simple generate too much of it and we're quickly running out of places to dump it. On average, we each toss out-each of us as an American-about 1,500 pounds of trash a year. In some areas, even more. Almost half of it is paper and paper products, but it includes an assortment of plastics, organic material, metals, and other matter. More disturbing than the total amount is the trend in waste generation. Thirty years ago we threw out about half as much as we do today. Ten years from now, if present trends continue, we will throw out some 300 pounds more each year-nearly a ton of trash for each American. That's a serious problem. But the real tragedy is the waste of valuable resources and energy that accompanies this throw-away mentality. We can no longer afford our "use and toss" waste management policy. It is clear that if we just continue to produce and manage our waste, we will never solve our waste problem. To do that we need new direction. Rather than to concentrate on the regulation of wastes after they have been generated, our priority must be to reduce or eliminate the production of those wastes as much as possible in the first place, and then to foster as much materials recycling and composting as possible. We must discourage waste disposable by making it more expensive. We must also encourage waste reduction and encourage recycling by stabilizing the volatile markets and providing economic incentives or disincentives. That will be no small change. It will require everyone from the State, local, and Federal Governments to the manufacturers, the packers, the consumers, recyclers and the generators to do more. I am, however, convinced that emphasizing waste reduction and waste recycling will help American industry to become more efficient in its production processes. Using recyclable aluminum, for example, means that 20 new cans can be made with the same amount of energy that is necessary to produce just one can from bauxite ore. Moreover, bauxite is imported from overseas. The greater the use of recycled aluminum the less the need for imported materials. That is a positive affect on our trade balance. And since it is more efficient to make cans from recycled materials, the competitiveness of those goods in international markets is also greatly improved. Fortunately, it is not just aluminum that benefits from recycling. There have been significant advances in other areas-like recycled paper and plastics. We do have the technology to do it. In fact, exporting some of that expertise to assist other countries is an industry in itself. We must take advantage of Americans' desire to protect our environment, to husband our resources, and export environmentally sound technologies by encouraging the transition from a throw away society to one that emphasizes recycling, recovery, and reuse. The time has come to recycle more than the 13 percent of our waste that we now currently recycle. Although we are recycling |