HB36 Alabama 2023 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Terri CollinsRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2023

Title

To amend Section 22-27-2 of the Code of Alabama 1975, the Solid Waste and Recyclable Materials Management Act; to amend the definitions under the act; to define "advanced recycling" and to specify that advanced recycling would not be considered as solid waste disposal, solid waste processing, solid waste management, or incineration; and to define "mill scale and slag" and include the term in the definition of solid waste.

Summary

HB36 would define advanced recycling and related terms in Alabama's Solid Waste Act, declare advanced recycling as recycling (not disposal or incineration), and include mill scale and slag in the solid-waste definition.

What This Bill Does

It creates formal definitions for advanced recycling and related concepts (like advanced recycling facilities, post-use polymer, recovered feedstock, recovered materials, mass balance attribution, and third-party certification). It clarifies that advanced recycling is recycling and would not be treated as solid waste disposal, solid waste processing, solid waste management, incineration, treatment, or waste-to-energy. It adds mill scale and slag to the definition of solid waste. It becomes effective immediately after passage.

Who It Affects

• Advanced recycling facilities and plastics manufacturers using advanced recycling would be treated as recycling facilities rather than waste disposal or incineration facilities under the act.
• Landfills, solid waste management facilities, and regulatory agencies (such as the Alabama Department of Environmental Management) would see updated definitions and regulatory scope, including the inclusion of mill scale and slag as solid waste.

Key Provisions

• Defines ADVANCED RECYCLING as a manufacturing process converting post-use polymers and recovered feedstocks into basic materials, feedstocks, chemicals, and other products through specified technologies (e.g., pyrolysis, gasification, depolymerization, catalytic cracking, reforming, hydrogenation, solvolysis, chemolysis). It lists potential recycled products and states advanced recycling does not include incineration or waste-to-energy.
• Defines ADVANCED RECYCLING FACILITY as a manufacturing facility that uses advanced recycling to process post-use polymers and recovered feedstocks, and specifies it is not a solid waste disposal or incineration facility.
• Adds MILL SCALE AND SLAG to the solid waste definition and includes the term in the bill’s solid waste framework.
• Defines additional related terms (POST-USE POLYMER, RECOVERED FEEDSTOCK, RECOVERED MATERIALS, MASS BALANCE ATTRIBUTION, THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATION SYSTEM, etc.) to support the advanced recycling framework.
• States that advanced recycling shall be considered recycling under the act and shall not be treated as solid waste management, processing, recovery, incineration, treatment, or waste-to-energy.
• Provides that the act becomes effective immediately upon passage and approval by the Governor.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.