H.R. 7502 — Recycled Materials Attribution Act of 2026

This section provides the short title of the Act as the “Recycled Materials Attribution Act of 2026” and sets forth the table of contents for the Act.

This section defines key terms used in the Act, including the Federal Trade Commission as the "Commission"; "competent and reliable scientific evidence"; "mass balance accounting" as a chain-of-custody methodology for allocating alternative feedstocks; "post-consumer material" and "pre-consumer material"; "recycled" and "recycled content"; "recycled content claim"; "recycling" (including mechanical recycling and non-mechanical recycling that alters chemical structure, but excluding waste-to-energy); "third-party certification"; and "third-party certification system" for independently verifying mass balance accounting and recycled content attribution.

This section establishes mass balance accounting as an acceptable method for substantiating recycled content claims and analogous claims when its use complies with the requirements of a third-party certification system.

This section prohibits misleading recycled content claims in the advertising, marketing, sale, or offer for sale of any product to a consumer and prohibits marketing fuels produced and sold as an end product as “recycled content.” This section directs the Federal Trade Commission to update the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides) not later than 1 year after enactment to align with the definitions, standards, and authorizations under this Act, including mass balance accounting for substantiating recycled content claims, and to issue additional guidance establishing mass balance accounting as an acceptable substantiation method when it complies with a third-party certification system and is supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence, as well as a clear framework for accurate recycled content claims. This section further provides that any such guidance confers no rights, has no binding effect, and may not serve as the basis for enforcement actions, which must allege a specific violation of this Act.

This section treats a violation of section 4(a) as a violation of a regulation under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices. It further authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to enforce section 4(a) using the same jurisdiction, powers, duties, penalties, and privileges and immunities as provided under the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).

This section preempts any state or local law, rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision having the force and effect of law that relates to the prohibition and enforcement provisions of this Act.

This section provides a savings clause preserving the validity of the remainder of the Act if any provision or its application is held invalid and clarifies that the Act does not modify, limit, or supersede other Federal laws or regulations except as expressly provided. The section establishes uniform Federal standards for recycled content claims, recycling claims, recyclability claims, and analogous claims, applying solely to the matters addressed in the Act.