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H.R. 3604: Reducing Waste in National Parks Act

This bill, titled the Reducing Waste in National Parks Act, aims to decrease the use of disposable plastic products within the National Park System in the United States. Below are the key components of the bill:

Program Establishment

The bill requires the Director of the National Park Service to establish a program within 180 days after the enactment of the Act focused on reducing and potentially eliminating the sale and distribution of various disposable plastic products in national parks.

Elimination of Disposable Plastic Products

Each regional director of the National Park Service is tasked with minimizing the sale of water in disposable plastic bottles and other disposable plastic products. The decision to eliminate these products will consider several factors:

The overall operational costs and benefits.
The amount of waste that would be reduced.
The infrastructure costs for installing refill stations.
Contractual obligations with concessioners.
The costs of maintaining refill stations.
The availability of safe reusable containers.
Potential impact on concessioner sales revenue.
Access to water in food service areas.
Visitor education about bringing refillable water bottles.
Input on health considerations from the National Park Service Office of Public Health.
The feasibility of signage for refill stations.
Visitor safety concerns related to water access.
Feedback from concessioners and related associations.

If a unit of the National Park System previously did not offer disposable plastic water bottles for sale before this Act was enacted, that unit may continue its current policy.

Visitor Education

Each regional director is also required to develop a strategy to educate visitors about water availability, encouraging them to bring their own refillable water bottles and explaining the reasons behind the program's implementation.

Program Consistency

The program is intended to be applied consistently across each relevant unit of the National Park System. This includes aligning with agreements involving concessioners and other organizations operating within these parks.

Evaluation of the Program

Every two years, the regional directors must conduct a review of the program, assessing factors such as public response, visitor satisfaction with water availability, consumer behavior related to disposable plastic products, public safety incidents, and the rate of collection for disposable plastic bottles. This evaluation must be submitted to the Director and the Secretary of the Interior.

Definitions

The bill includes definitions for key terms, notably:

Director: Refers to the Director of the National Park Service.
Disposable plastic products: Includes disposable plastic beverage bottles, film plastic carryout bags, plastic food ware (even those labeled as compostable), and expanded polystyrene products.
Program: Refers to the established program for recycling and reducing disposable plastic products.
Regional director concerned: The director responsible for a specific National Park unit within the National Park System's region.