Congressmen Brett Guthrie and Gary Palmer have announced a hearing focused on advanced recycling. The event, titled “Beyond the Blue Bin: Forging a Federal Landscape for Recycling Innovation and Economic Growth,” is set to take place on July 16, 2025, at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. The hearing aims to explore opportunities in recycling technology and assess the current state of recycling infrastructure.
“From addressing e-waste and microplastics to creating opportunities for advanced recycling technologies, the Subcommittee on Environment is working to find commonsense solutions that promote innovation while protecting our nation’s soil, air, and water,” said Guthrie and Palmer.
The hearing will be open to the public and press, with a livestream available on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s website. For inquiries regarding the hearing or press-related questions, contact Calvin Huggins or Ben Mullany via email.
Matt Bedingfield, Global President of Mint Innovation, provided testimony highlighting advancements in U.S. e-waste recycling. He emphasized Mint’s biorefining technology that recovers critical metals from electronics. This approach supports domestic supply chains while reducing reliance on foreign mineral imports.
Bedingfield outlined key challenges such as the U.S.’s generation of 7.9 million metric tons of e-waste annually, with only a small percentage being recycled domestically due to fragmented laws. He also noted China’s dominance in critical mineral production as a risk to U.S. manufacturing.
Mint’s biorefining technology offers an environmentally friendly alternative by using low-energy processes to recover metals without emissions from traditional smelting methods. Each facility could process 8,000 metric tons per year and create jobs both directly and indirectly.
Policy recommendations included federal investment in scaling advanced recycling technologies through DOE/EPA collaboration, launching EPA-led campaigns for public awareness on e-waste recycling participation, imposing export restrictions on e-waste, and passing legislation like the Unearth America’s Future Act.
Bedingfield called for bipartisan support to build a circular economy for e-waste focusing on job creation, supply chain resilience, and environmental protection.
Information from this article can be found here.
