Press Release: ACT Applauds Senate Committee’s Unanimous Passage of STEWARD Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 12, 2025
Contact: Kelly Vogt Campbell
Head of Communications
American Circular Textiles
kelly@circularservicesgroup.com
American Circular Textiles Commends Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's Advancement of Landmark Recycling Legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Following the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee's unanimous passage of the Strategies to Eliminate Waste and Accelerate Recycling Development (STEWARD) Act, American Circular Textiles (ACT) issued the following statement:
"American Circular Textiles (ACT) applauds the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee for advancing the STEWARD Act, led by Senators Capito, Boozman, and Padilla. This bipartisan effort is a critical step toward improving our nation's recycling and composting infrastructure in rural and underserved areas, ensuring greater accessibility and transparency in waste management data.
For too long, textiles have been overlooked in federal recycling policy. We are encouraged by the Committee's recognition of the need for improved data collection, which could help lay the groundwork for much-needed circular solutions in the textile sector. ACT and our members look forward to working with policymakers to ensure textiles are part of the conversation as the U.S. builds a more resilient and sustainable U.S. manufacturing eco-system."
The STEWARD Act combines previous legislation aimed at improving recycling infrastructure and accountability measures for packaging, plastics, and organic materials. While the infrastructure provisions focus on these traditional recycling streams, the bill takes an important first step for textile recycling through new data collection requirements. Passed unanimously through the Committee on February 5, the legislation will help track textile waste alongside other materials, providing valuable insights to inform future policy decisions. This data collection component marks a significant milestone in bringing visibility to textile waste management challenges at the national level.
For more information about American Circular Textiles and our commitment to sustainable textile manufacturing, recycling, reuse and repair, please visit americancirculartextiles.com.
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About American Circular Textiles:
American Circular Textiles (ACT) is a first-of-its-kind coalition of over 30 organizations aimed at developing and supporting circular textile policy opportunities that will incentivize sustainable manufacturing jobs, maximize resource allocation, educate consumers, and protect our supply chains and environment. ACT represents a new sector and business model that transitions from a linear “take make waste” business model, to one focused on growth through the reuse and recycling of our limited planetary resources. ACT membership includes some of the leading organizations driving textile circularity in the United States through facilitating reuse, recycling, rental, repair, technology and innovation.