By altering its product specifications to give preference to reusable products, the federal government could both significantly reduce the amount of plastics going to landfill and incinerators each year and spur demand for alternatives to single-use plastic products.Īppoint a Plastic Pollution Czar to coordinate plastic reduction efforts amongst federal agencies and internationally.ĭirect the head of each federal agency to ensure that it does not purchase single-use plastic products, or allow them to be sold on federal property, with limited exemptions. That means the government is likely the country's largest consumer of disposable plastic products. The federal government is the single largest purchaser of goods and services in the United States, spending more than $450 billion on products and services each year. Acting together, these plans will lead to a safer, healthier, and more equitable world for everyone.

The actions called for in #ClimatePresident, such as keeping fossil fuels in the ground by ending fossil fuel extraction on federal lands and waters and banning fracking, are inextricably linked to #PlasticFreePresident. In 2021, we will urge President Biden to take these actions in the first year in office, in addition to the ten steps proposed by #ClimatePresident. Workers in the petrochemical sector and related industries will find their jobs fundamentally transformed, but not abandoned, in an economy and workforce that is inclusive, fair, and just for all people. Moreover, these actions will provide an opportunity to drive job growth in a new green economy providing unionized jobs with family-sustaining wages in communities that need them the most. These actions will immediately set the nation on a pathway to a plastic pollution-free future while longer-term measures that require action at all levels of government and society develop.Įach of the actions described requires the president to prioritize support for communities that historically have been harmed 'first and worst' by the petrochemical industrial sector and the waste it creates: communities of color, Indigenous communities, and impoverished communities. President Biden can take the following eight key steps without any action from Congress. There is time to make this transition, but the question remains: How can we make this large-scale transition quickly enough? The federal government needs to be a catalyst for innovation.

We need to stop plastic contamination at its source before it enters the marketplace, while improving our waste-management systems, developing new business models, phasing out the worst plastic offenders, and shifting to reusable non-plastic alternatives. We can transform our extractive, throwaway economy to a regenerative, inclusive one that's good for our environment and creates American jobs. The solution to plastic pollution is simple: Reduce the amount of unnecessary plastic produced. Instead, more than 90% of plastics in the United States is buried, burned or released into the environment. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Banning bags and straws are important first steps taken by state and local governments, but we need bold new federal policies to address the plastic pollution crisis.Īnd despite false and misleading claims by the makers of plastics, we cannot recycle our way out of this problem. Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years, and annual plastic pollution into rivers, lakes and oceans could surpass 50 million tons within the next 10 years unless significant policy changes are made. Once discarded, plastic clogs our rivers and oceans, harms wildlife, infiltrates our drinking water, and persists in the environment for centuries. Plastic is also a threat to human health: As we increasingly consume more and more of our food and drinks from single-use plastic wrappers and containers, we're exposed to chemicals linked to many of the known public health crises of our time, including obesity, ADD/ADHD, and many forms of cancer. Plastic production fuels the climate crisis with increased greenhouse gas emissions and damages local communities where plastic is made with toxic air and water pollution.

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