John,
In America, we throw away enough plastic every 16 hours to fill the country's largest football stadium to the brim.1 There's no doubt that plastic pollution is a big problem in need of big solutions.
PIRG believed from the start that stopping the overuse of the most wasteful kinds of plastic would translate to real reductions in pollution. But now it's not just a matter of belief.
Our campaigns to confront plastic pollution are making a real difference -- and you're helping to make it all possible, John.
The proof is in the results of our decades of organizing. Take a look:
Research shows that bag restrictions successfully lead to fewer plastic bags ending up as litter.
It all started when our national network helped pass the then first-in-the-nation law phasing out single-use plastic bags in California in 2014.
Within half a year of California's bag restrictions becoming state law, most customers at surveyed retailers were bringing their own reusable bags or choosing not to use a bag at all. In total, the state saw a whopping 85% reduction in the number of plastic bags provided to customers.2
Restrictions like this don't just have an impact at the grocery store -- they also make a real difference for the environment. When researchers analyzed the results of thousands of shoreline cleanups, they found that areas with plastic bag restrictions in place had up to 47% fewer plastic bags littering the environment.3
Donate today to help keep this important work going strong.
California's state bag restrictions were the start, but it didn't end there.
Since that first state law, eleven other states have passed their own limits on plastic bags. Thanks in part to PIRG's work, one-third of Americans now live in a state with restrictions on at least one form of wasteful plastic -- from bags, to foam, to straws.4
We're also successfully urging states to hold plastic producers accountable for the waste their products inevitably become. PIRG helped win producer responsibility laws for packaging in Colorado, California, Oregon, Maine, Maryland, Washington and Minnesota -- and we're working to win similar legislation in states across the country.
Donate today to help us continue the work of phasing out wasteful plastic in our country.
So many of us are doing our part to be less wasteful at home, choosing reusable options and making an effort to recycle what we can. Why shouldn't big companies be doing their part, too?
With at least 17 million deliveries every day -- each packed up in paper and plastic -- Amazon might be the best example of a company that produces a lot of waste.5 By one estimate, Amazon's shipments generated enough plastic waste in just one year to encircle the Earth in plastic air pillows 800 times.6
But then, PIRG supporters sent thousands of messages to Amazon calling for a reduction in plastic packaging. After our campaign, Amazon replaced the plastic air pillows from deliveries in North America with recyclable alternatives.7
When we raise our voices together, we know we can convince companies to do the right thing. It worked for Amazon. Next, we're urging Amazon to go even farther, and asking companies like Costco, Sysco, and Trader Joe's to do their part, too.
Donate today to help urge companies to cut plastic waste.
We still have a long way to go to make plastic pollution a thing of the past. Plastic production is projected to nearly triple globally by 2060.8
But the actions we take here and now have the power to transform our future. Every trip to the grocery store with a reusable bag, every plastic food container that doesn't end up in a landfill, and every Amazon shipment that isn't wrapped in plastic makes a difference.
Each victory we win shows us a glimpse of what our future beyond plastic can look like. Now, our job is to keep building that future together.
Thank you,
Faye Park
President
1. "Trash in America," PIRG, September 28, 2021.
2. "SB 270: Report to the Legislature: Implementation Update and Policy Considerations for Management of Reusable Grocery Bags in California," CalRecycle, February 25, 2019.
3. Christina Kelso, "Banning Plastic Bags Works to Limit Shoreline Litter, Study Finds," The New York Times, June 19, 2025.
4. "Reducing plastic waste in the states," PIRG, last accessed July 26, 2022.
5. "Amazon Logistics Statistics," Capital One Shopping Research, July 23, 2025.
6. Jenn Engstrom and Celeste Meiffren-Swango, "Truth in recycling," Environment America Research & Policy Center, March 19, 2024.
7. "Amazon announces its largest reduction in plastic packaging in North America to date," Amazon, June 20, 2024.
8. "Global plastic waste set to almost triple by 2060, says OECD," OECD, June 3, 2022.
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 toxic pesticides 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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