Bill Targets Misleading Recycled Content Claims, Endorses Mass-Balance Accounting

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation to prohibit misleading recycled content claims and establish mass-balance accounting as an acceptable method for substantiating them.

The Recycled Materials Attribution Act of 2026 was introduced by Rep. Langworthy (R-NY) on February 11, 2026, and is currently pending before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  The text of H.R. 7502 was made publicly available this month.

The bill would prohibit misleading recycled content advertising claims, enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  Fuels produced and sold as an end product would also be ineligible for recycled content marketing.  At the same time, the legislation recognizes mass-balance accounting as an acceptable method for substantiating recycled content claims, provided its use complies with a third-party certification system.  The legislation defines recycling to include both mechanical and non-mechanical recycling.

The bill would require the FTC to update the Green Guides—the agency’s guidance for environmental marketing claims—within one year to reflect these requirements.  The FTC would additionally be required to issue guidance clarifying that mass balance accounting representations be based on “competent and reliable scientific evidence” and provide a “clear and consistent framework” for recycled content claims.

A separate provision would preempt state and local laws relating to the legislation’s prohibition and enforcement provisions.

The bill is backed by the Recycling Leadership Council (RLC), a coalition that includes the American Chemistry Council, American Circular Textiles, and the Consumer Brands Association.

“Advanced technology in recycling is transforming how we recover and reuse materials that would otherwise end up in landfills, but our regulations have remained stagnant,” Rep. Langworthy said in a statement released by the RLC.  “This much-needed legislation changes that by modernizing and updating the rules with a uniform national standard that protects consumers from misleading claims while giving American manufacturers the certainty they need to invest, innovate, and compete.”

Critics, including the Plastic Pollution Coalition, argue that the bill “creates a system that enables backdoor accounting practices to substantiate marketing claims while promoting chemical recycling,” including “chemical recycling processes that are just turning plastics into fuels.”