NWRA Recognizes Infrastructure Week 2021
Arlington, VA – The 9th annual United for Infrastructure: A Week to Champion America’s Infrastructure starts Monday, May 10. Since 1962, Congress has declared by joint resolution that the week during which “National Defense Transportation Day” falls be designated as “National Transportation Week.”
“NWRA is proud to support robust investment in our infrastructure. The waste and recycling industry and the U.S. Postal Service are the only two entities that travel every road in America at least once every week. This makes the waste and recycling industry one of the most significant stakeholders in the surface transportation system,” said NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith.
Unfortunately, President Biden’s $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan short-changes traditional infrastructure, only allotting $115 billion over eight years, or just 5 percent of its overall pricetag, to highways, roads and bridges.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, growing wear and tear on our nation’s roads have left 43 percent of our public roadways in poor or mediocre condition with an overall report card grade of D. The U.S. currently has a $786 billion backlog of road and bridge capital needs, yet the American Jobs Plan only funds roughly 15 percent of this while allocating nearly $1.7 trillion to non-transportation-related items.
“Infrastructure is more than just transportation, though,” noted Smith. “Incentivizing increased domestic recycling capabilities is a vital part of any infrastructure package.”
Congress and federal regulatory agencies have an opportunity to implement policies that encourage our nation’s domestic recycling infrastructure as well as the use of recyclable materials. Tax credits, block grants and regulatory relief encouraging the development of a more robust domestic recycling infrastructure and the market for consumer recyclables as well as research and education can help meet the feedstock demands of America’s small manufacturers.
The Biden plan allocated $174 billion for investments in electric vehicles but does not include any tax credits or other incentives for the private sector to purchase these vehicles similar to ones in place to encourage adoption of compressed natural gas-fueled vehicles. NWRA calls upon the administration and Congress to rectify this in any package that moves forward.
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ABOUT NWRA
The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) represents the private sector waste and recycling services industry. Association members conduct business in all 50 states and include companies that manage waste, recycling and medical waste, equipment manufacturers and distributors, and a variety of other service providers. For more information about NWRA, please visit www.wasterecycling.org.
Contact
Brandon Wright
National Waste and Recycling Association
bwright@wasterecycling.org
202-364-3706
