The EPA's draft national strategy on plastic pollution is a step in the right direction -- but it's light on concrete policies that will curb single-use plastic waste at the source. Will you join us in urging the EPA to strengthen this important proposal before the June 16 deadline? ADD YOUR NAME:
[link removed]
John,
Single-use plastics are flooding our lives, and the waste they're designed to become is harming our communities and environment.
Given that less than 10% of all plastic ever made has actually been recycled, it's clear we need to stop producing so much wasteful plastic in the first place.[1]
Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is putting together a new National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, and it's a major opportunity for our country to "turn off the tap" on single-use plastics.[2]
Add your name today in support of stronger action to move our country beyond plastic.
[link removed]
The EPA's current draft proposal is a step in the right direction, but it's weak in a few key places. That's where you and I come in, John -- an influx of thousands of public comments in support of stronger action to reduce single-use plastic waste could have a big impact on the final version of the policy.
Here's where things stand at the moment:
The EPA states unequivocally that the practice of converting plastics to fuel or fuel substitutes is NOT "recycling." That's a huge victory against the plastics industry's attempts to justify the production of ever-more single-use plastic by claiming that so-called "chemical recycling" is the answer to our plastic waste problem.
However, the proposal is relatively light on concrete policies to ensure fewer single-use items are produced in the first place. The EPA identifies "important actions that manufacturers or consumers can take" to use less plastic, but falls short of actually using its power to make sure plastic producers take those actions.[3]
Will you submit your public comment to the EPA before the deadline on June 16?
[link removed]
For far too long, the onus of dealing with all this throwaway plastic "stuff" has fallen on the consumer.
And in fact, the plastics industry has known for decades that the vast majority of plastic can't or won't be recycled -- yet companies have continued to pump out wasteful, unnecessary single-use plastics, leaving us to deal with the consequences.[4]
But there's a better way. By enacting strong policies to eliminate the single-use plastics we just don't need and making producers responsible for cleaning up their mess, we can turn the tide on our country's plastic waste crisis.
Your voice can make a difference, John. Take action for a future with less plastic waste polluting our communities and environment.
[link removed]
Thank you,
Faye Park
President
1. Laura Parker, "A whopping 91 percent of plastic isn't recycled," National Geographic, July 5, 2019.
[link removed]
2. "Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution: Request for Public Comment," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, last accessed May 26, 2023.
[link removed]
3. "Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution: Request for Public Comment," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, last accessed May 26, 2023.
[link removed]
4. Laura Sullivan, "How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled," NPR, September 11, 2020.
[link removed]'s%20awareness%20that%20recycling,wrote%20in%20a%201974%20speech.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Donate Today: [link removed]
Join us on Facebook: [link removed]
Follow us on Twitter: [link removed]
U.S. PIRG
Main Office: 1543 Wazee St., Suite 460, Denver, CO 80202, (303) 801-0582
Federal Advocacy Office: 600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, 4th Fl., Washington, DC 20003, (202) 546-9707
Member Questions or Requests: 1-800-838-6554.
If you want us to stop sending you email then follow this link:
[link removed]
