John,

In 2021, the United States produced 51 million tons of plastic waste.1 It went to landfills, to the ocean, and even into the air we breathe in the form of microplastic particles.

In just a few short weeks, lawmakers will unveil a bill in Congress that tackles plastic at every level, from production to disposal. This is our chance to turn off the plastic pollution tap and get a handle on our waste crisis, but it won't pass without leadership.

That's where you come in. Urge your U.S. senators and House representative to cosponsor the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act.

With the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, we can:

• phase out many single-use plastic products,
• establish sensible recycled content standards,
• shift the burden of waste management from taxpayers to the producers of the waste,
• launch a national beverage container deposit program (aka a national Bottle Bill), and
• invest in recycling and composting.2

This bill could be a defining chapter in our plastic waste story.

Call on your federal elected officials to cosponsor the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act.

So many plastic products are designed to be thrown out after one use and therefore left to pollute our communities and planet for hundreds of years. Producers point to recycling as a solution to our problem. But only 5% of plastic waste was recycled in 2021.3

The current system is failing us -- and our communities, our health and our planet are paying the price. Enough is enough. Producers need to take financial responsibility for the waste their products are destined to become, and this bill would make it so.4

It's not just the planet's health that's on the line. So is yours and mine and the health of everybody we care for.

Plastics release chemical toxins and microplastic particles as they ever-so-slowly decompose, polluting our air, water and even food. You may be inadvertently breathing or ingesting as much as a credit card's worth of plastic every week.5

The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act would build on the momentum that people like you have helped create for reducing plastic waste. Four states have already passed producer responsibility laws to reduce plastic packaging and hold the plastics industry accountable.6

But plastic pollution doesn't recognize state boundaries. We need national legislation. Ask your U.S. senators and House representative to cosponsor the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act and help put a stop to plastic waste.

Thank you,

Faye Park
President

1. Nina Lakhani, "Only 5% of plastic waste generated by US last year was recycled, report says," The Guardian, October 24, 2022.
2. "S. 984 - Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021," Congress.gov, last accessed August 7, 2023.
3. Nina Lakhani, "Only 5% of plastic waste generated by US last year was recycled, report says," The Guardian, October 24, 2022.
4. "S. 984 - Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021," Congress.gov, last accessed August 7, 2023.
5. Isabelle Gerretsen, "You could be swallowing a credit card's weight in plastic every week," CNN, June 17, 2019.
6. Dan Felton, "Four States Enact Extended Producer Responsibility Laws For Packaging," Packaging World, September 21, 2022.

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