In a letter sent on July 20, the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) called Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to include S. 3984, legislation that would increase the Paycheck Protection Program’s (PPP) flexibility by specifically including payments for waste and recycling collection services as an allowable expenditure under debt forgiveness provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, in the next stimulus package.
“We urge Senators McConnell and Schumer to include this bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators Tom Carper (D-DE), John Boozman (R-AR) and Rob Portman (R-OH) in the next stimulus package. The private waste and recycling industry is essential to providing the spread of illness and disease, especially now during the COVID-19 global pandemic,” said NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith.
During this national emergency, NWRA members have been classified as “essential” and are listed under five different “essential critical infrastructure workers” headings in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency 3.0 guidelines. They have continued providing waste and recycling services to their customers and communities in order to protect the public’s health and safety and will do so as long as they are capable. Businesses and customers who receive PPP loans should be able to use those funds to pay for waste and recycling services, just as they would water, gas, internet or phone services.
For more information, visit www.wasterecycling.org.