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John,
Every single year, the United States generates a staggering 42 million metric tons of plastic waste. That makes us the world's single biggest plastic polluter.[1]
So why is the plastics industry pushing to add more plastic to products that just don't need it?
PIRG is working to move our country beyond plastic. We're campaigning to ban the worst single-use plastics, hold producers responsible for the pollution their products are designed to become, and convince major corporations to get rid of the plastic packaging they just don't need.
Are you with us? Donate today.
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Plastic packaging is the largest single contributor to the plastic waste crisis -- 14.5 million tons of plastic packaging waste were generated in 2018 alone.[2,][3]
This is a familiar problem for anyone who's walked down the aisle of a store recently. It feels like plastic packaging is simply unavoidable.
Walmart, the country's largest grocery store, is just one of the many chains that now wraps individual pieces of produce in plastic.[4]
As individuals, we can do our best to avoid plastic, but all too often it's frustratingly out of our hands. That's why we need to convince corporations to make and use less plastic to begin with, and it's why PIRG is working at the state and federal level to ban the worst single-use plastics.
We've set a goal of raising $20,000 to help keep this work going strong in the year ahead. Donate today.
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There is some good news, John: We know that we can make progress.
A third of Americans now live in a state with a ban on at least one of the worst kinds of single-use plastic. Just this spring, our state groups OSPIRG and WashPIRG helped lead the charge to pass strong new plastic restrictions in Oregon and Washington.[5]
More and more corporations are hearing the public's call for less plastic. After we rallied tens of thousands of concerned citizens to speak out, Pepsi and Coca-Cola -- historically two of the largest plastic polluters -- have pledged to dramatically scale back their plastic use.[6,7]
And these plastic bans work: New Jersey's ban on plastic bags is eliminating an estimated 8 billion plastic bags every year. After California became one of the first states in the nation to crack down on single-use plastic bags, the state reported a 72% reduction in plastic bags found during beach cleanups.[8,9]
PIRG has decades of experience standing up for the public interest, and we know that we have what it takes to tackle a challenge as big as the plastic waste crisis.
But we're up against intense opposition, and these campaigns take resources to win.
Grassroots supporters like you have fueled our work every step of the way. We don't take a penny from corporations, and that means we're counting on you to keep our momentum going.
Help give the gift of a plastic-free world to future generations by making your donation now.
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Thank you for helping us move beyond plastic,
Faye Park
President
1. Oliver Milman, "'Deluge of plastic waste': US is world's biggest plastic polluter," The Guardian, December 1, 2021.
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2. "Containers and Packaging: Product-Specific Data.)," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, last accessed November 11, 2022.
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3. "Plastic pollution is growing relentlessly as waste management and recycling fall short, says OECD," OECD, February 22, 2022.
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4. Alex Fitzpatrick and Erin Davis, "The most popular grocery stores in the U.S.," Axios, April 20, 2023.
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5. "Reducing plastic waste in the states," PIRG, last accessed June 17, 2023.
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6. "Consumer, environmental advocates welcome Coca-Cola's Commitment to Reuse," U.S. PIRG, February 10, 2022.
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7. Siddharth Cavale, "PepsiCo to reduce plastic use, launch plant-based snacks in green push," Reuters, September 15, 2021.
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8. Scott Fallon, "A year into NJ's plastic bag ban, what impact has it had?," NorthJersey.com May 11, 2023.
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9. "California: Nation's first statewide plastic bag ban cuts waste," Frontier Group, August 27, 2021.
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Your donation will power our dedicated staff of organizers, policy experts and attorneys who drive all of our campaigns in the public interest, from banning Roundup and moving us beyond plastic, to saving our antibiotics and being your consumer watchdog, to protecting our environment and our democracy. None of our work would be possible without the support of people just like you.
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U.S. PIRG
Main Office: 1543 Wazee St., Suite 460, Denver, CO 80202, (303) 801-0582
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