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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102

§2577 Disposal of Recyclable Materials

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART IV — SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROPERTY › CHAPTER 153 — EXCHANGE OF MATERIAL AND DISPOSAL OF OBSOLETE, SURPLUS, OR UNCLAIMED PROPERTY › § 2577

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must write rules for how military units sell recyclable materials and run recycling programs. The rules must say how to name installations that have a qualifying recycling program. Sales must follow the sale rules in sections 541–555 of title 40. “Recyclable materials” can include supplies from state or local governments if the Office of the Secretary of Defense allows it and lists them in the rules. Money from sales must first pay the installation’s recycling operation and maintenance costs, including equipment. If money is left and the installation is a qualifying program, up to 50% of the leftover can pay for pollution cleanup, energy savings, or safety and health projects, and no single project can get more than 50% of the legal cap for a minor construction project. The rest can go to the installation’s morale and welfare fund for morale activities. If an installation’s year-end balance is over $10,000,000, the excess must be sent to the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §2577

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations to provide for the sale of recyclable materials held by a military department or defense agency and for the operation of recycling programs at military installations. Such regulations shall include procedures for the designation by the Secretary of a military department (or by the Secretary of Defense with respect to facilities of a defense agency) of military installations that have established a qualifying recycling program for the purposes of subsection (b)(2).
(2)Any sale of recyclable materials by the Secretary of Defense or Secretary of a military department shall be in accordance with the procedures in section 541–555 of title 40 for the sale of surplus property.
(3)In this section, the term “recyclable materials” may include any quality recyclable material provided to the Department by a State or local government entity, if such material is authorized by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and identified in the regulations prescribed under paragraph (1).
(b)(1)Proceeds from the sale of recyclable materials at an installation shall be credited to funds available for operations and maintenance at that installation in amounts sufficient to cover the costs of operations, maintenance, and overhead for processing recyclable materials at the installation (including the cost of any equipment purchased for recycling purposes).
(2)If after such funds are credited a balance remains available to a military installation and such installation has a qualifying recycling program (as determined by the Secretary of the military department concerned or the Secretary of Defense), not more than 50 percent of that balance may be used at the installation for projects for pollution abatement, energy conservation, and occupational safety and health activities. A project may not be carried out under the preceding sentence for an amount greater than 50 percent of the amount established by law as the maximum amount for a minor construction project.
(3)The remaining balance available to a military installation may be transferred to the nonappropriated morale and welfare account of the installation to be used for any morale or welfare activity.
(c)If the balance available to a military installation under this section at the end of any fiscal year is in excess of $10,000,000, the amount of that excess shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2019—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 116–92, § 314, added par. (3). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–92, § 313, substituted “$10,000,000” for “$2,000,000”. 2002—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 107–217 substituted “section 541–555 of title 40” for “section 203 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 484)”. 1984—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 98–525 substituted “purposes” for “puposes”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 1982, and applicable to military

Construction

projects, and to

Construction

and acquisition of military family housing authorized before, on, or after such date, see section 12(a) of Pub. L. 97–214, set out as a note under section 2801 of this title. Policy To Increase Disposition of Spent Advanced Batteries Through Recycling Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title III, § 325, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2518, provided that: “(a) Policy Required.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2022], the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment, in coordination with the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency, shall establish a policy to increase the disposition of spent advanced batteries of the Department of Defense through recycling (including by updating the Department of Defense Manual 4160.21, titled ‘Defense Material Disposition: Disposal Guidance and Procedures’, or such successor document, accordingly), for the purpose of supporting the reclamation and return of precious metals, rare earth metals, and elements of strategic importance (such as cobalt and lithium) into the supply chain or strategic reserves of the United States. “(b) Considerations.—In developing the policy under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the following recycling methods:“(1) Pyroprocessing. “(2) Hydroprocessing. “(3) Direct cathode recycling, relithiation, and upcycling.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 2577

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102