Committee updates recycling and illegal-dumping fund; HB291 advances with new positions and broader grant flexibility

The Senate Conservation Committee advanced committee substitute for House Bill 291, a measure that updates the state’s Recycling and Illegal Dumping (RAID) Act and makes operational changes to how the Recycling and Illegal Dumping Fund is used.

Sponsor testimony described the bill as a modernization: it removes legacy language that restricted most of the fund to scrap-tire removal, broadens grant eligibility for recycling infrastructure and illegal-dump cleanup, and creates two new positions in the New Mexico Environment Department’s Solid Waste Bureau—a Recycling and Waste Reduction Coordinator and a Circular Economy Coordinator—funded from the RAID fund balance. The Circular Economy Coordinator is intended to help communities connect recycling feedstocks to in-state markets and to pursue economic development opportunities from recycled materials.

The Solid Waste Bureau chief said recycling and recycling-collection infrastructure are expensive in New Mexico and argued the state is currently burying valuable materials in engineered landfills. The bureau described a goal of increasing diversion, improving illegal-dump cleanup, and expanding market development for commodities (for example, cardboard processors) that can sustain recycling operations. Stakeholders including the South Central Solid Waste Authority, New Mexico Recycling Coalition, League of Women Voters and regional recyclers testified in support.

Committee members asked about the RAID fund balance (testimony cited roughly $2.9 million with about $1.9 million encumbered), persistent illegal-dump and tire issues, and market development. Sponsors said the bill will let the bureau deploy grants more flexibly and help communities find markets for recyclables. The bill also retains an advisory alliance and continues grant cycles; the committee advanced the measure with a due-pass recommendation.