Section 415 ILCS 180/20 - Statewide needs assessment(a) The Agency shall issue a competitive solicitation in accordance with the Illinois Procurement Code to select a qualified consultant to conduct a statewide needs assessment to assess recycling, composting, and reuse conditions in the State for packaging and paper products, including identifying current conditions and an evaluation of the capacity, costs, gaps, and needs associated with recycling and the diversion of packaging and paper products. The Agency shall select the consultant on or before January 1, 2025 . The competitive solicitation issued by the Agency and the contract, including any contract modification or extension, executed by the consultant and the Agency must provide that the data or information received by the consultant and the Agency must be used exclusively to complete the statewide needs assessment and for no other purposes. The needs assessment shall be funded by an appropriation from the Agency's Solid Waste Management Fund or other appropriated funding.(b) All packaging and paper products sold, offered for sale, distributed, or imported into the State shall be included in the needs assessment.(c) The needs assessment shall address, at a minimum, the following factors for covered entities:(1) the quantity, by weight and type, of packaging and paper products sold, offered for sale, distributed, or served to consumers in the State by material type and format;(2) current collection systems for packaging and paper products in the State, including for reuse, recycling, composting, and disposal;(3) the quantity, by weight, of municipal waste disposed on a county-by-county basis for all counties in the State;(4) the processing capacity and infrastructure for reusable, recyclable, and compostable packaging and paper products collected in the State, including capacity and infrastructure outside the State which serves or may serve the State;(5) current reuse, recycling, and composting rates for packaging and paper products in the State by material type;(6) current postconsumer recycled content use by material type for all packaging and paper products sold in the State;(7) current reusability, recyclability, or compostability of packaging and paper products, by material type, for all packaging and paper products sold, offered for sale, distributed, or served in the State;(8) current system-wide costs for the collection, reuse, recycling, and composting of packaging and paper products;(9) current operational and capital funding limitations impacting reuse, recycling, and composting access and availability for packaging and paper products throughout the State;(10) collection and processing system needs to provide access to curbside recycling services for all covered entities within municipalities with a population of 1,500 or more based on the most recent United States Census, with collection provided no less frequently than every 2 weeks, and at least one drop-off location for recyclable materials within 15 miles of the municipal boundary for municipalities with a population less than 1,500, with needs identified on a county-by-county basis for all counties in the State, and the estimated costs to meet the access requirements;(11) program costs and capital investments required to achieve a 35%, 50%, and 65% recycling rate by December 31, 2035 for each material type, including paper, plastic, glass, and metal, and including investment into existing and future reuse, recycling, and composting infrastructure for packaging and paper products;(12) the market conditions and opportunities for reusable, recyclable, and compostable packaging and paper products in the State and regionally;(13) multilingual public education needs for the reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting of packaging and paper products, including, but not limited to, a scientific survey of current awareness among residents of this State of proper end-of-life management for packaging and paper products and the needs associated with the reduction of contamination rates at MRFs in the State; and(14) an assessment of environmental justice and recycling equity in the State, including, but not limited to: (A) an evaluation of current access to and the performance of curbside and drop-off recycling programs in units of local government designated as environmental justice areas; and(B) a comparison of the location of MRFs and compost facilities in units of local government that have been designated as environmental justice areas with units of local government that are not so designated.(d) Persons with data or information required to complete the statewide needs assessment shall provide an independent entity selected by the Agency with such data or information in a timely fashion to assist in completing the statewide needs assessment. The independent entity must be a CPA firm, as defined in the Illinois Public Accounting Act. The independent entity shall enter into a nondisclosure agreement with each person who provides data or information required to complete the statewide needs assessment. The independent entity shall aggregate the data or information received from all parties using, to the extent practicable, the factors enumerated in subsection (c) and transmit the data or information to the consultant and the Agency in a manner that does not identify the party who provided specific data or information. The data or information received by the independent entity may not be used for any other purpose. No person shall be required to provide data or information related to the statewide needs assessment until the person has received a nondisclosure agreement executed by the independent entity. Any person aggrieved by a violation of the terms and conditions of a nondisclosure agreement may institute a civil action to recover damages.(e) On or before June 30, 2026 , the Agency shall provide the draft needs assessment to the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council shall provide written comments to the Agency within 60 days after receipt of the needs assessment. The Agency's consultant shall include an assessment of comments received in the revised draft needs assessment submitted to the Agency and shall provide a summary and an analysis of any issues raised by the Advisory Council and significant changes suggested by any such comments, a statement of the reasons why any significant changes were not incorporated into the results of the study, and a description of any changes made to the results of the needs assessment as a result of such comments. The needs assessment shall be finalized by the Agency on or before November 1, 2026 .Amended by P.A. 103-0636,§ 10, eff. 7/1/2024.Added by P.A. 103-0383,§ 20, eff. 7/28/2023.