John
It's not a competition that anyone would want to win, but the U.S. holds the prize. America is the world's single biggest plastic polluter.1
Plastic pollution is piling up -- 35 million tons of it a year in the US alone.2 But PIRG has a plan to move our country beyond plastic, and you're a key part of it, John.
We're already seeing important progress, but these campaigns take resources. To win, we need supporters like you.
PIRG has been working for decades to stop the overuse of the most wasteful kinds of plastic -- and we're winning. Here are just a few examples of how PIRG is making a future beyond plastic possible:
We're getting rid of the most wasteful forms of plastic:
PIRG supporters have sent hundreds of thousands of messages to state decision makers, driving a movement that has resulted in restrictions on wasteful single-use plastic in cities and states across the country.
More than one-third of Americans now live in a state with restrictions on at least one of the most wasteful kinds of plastic[[STATEPLASTIC]].3 Donate today to help PIRG win even more progress in the states >>
We're getting big companies to cut plastic waste:
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. Big companies should be doing their part, too.
That's why PIRG spearheaded an investigation into whether Amazon's packaging was actually as recyclable as the company claimed -- and we discovered that almost none of the Amazon packaging we tracked was actually recycled.4
We rallied thousands of PIRG supporters to contact Amazon and call for change. Thanks in part to our work, Amazon committed to phasing out plastic padded shipping bags and phased out plastic air pillows.5,6 Donate today to help urge even more corporations to reduce their use of plastic >>
We're pushing back against industry misinformation:
Plastic producers have known for decades that recycling was never going to be capable of handling the world's plastic waste on its own.7
But misleading misinformation about recycling is still a big part of our lives. The industry is incinerating plastic and calling it "chemical recycling," and lots of the plastics that are labeled as recyclable, simply aren't.8,9
PIRG is calling for truth in recycling with your help. We're urging the FTC to require that items labeled as recyclable are actually recyclable. Donate today to help push back against plastic industry misinformation and pollution >>
At PIRG, we're campaigning for common-sense solutions to the issues that impact our everyday lives. Our team of researchers and advocates have decades of experience making a real difference.
But the most important member of our team is you, John. We don't take a cent from corporations -- it's grassroots support that makes all our work possible.
Thank you,
Faye Park
President
1. Oliver Milman, "'Deluge of plastic waste': US is world's biggest plastic polluter," The Guardian, December 1, 2021.
2. "Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures Report," Environmental Protection Agency, last accessed November 14, 2024.
3. "Reducing plastic waste in the states," PIRG, last accessed July 26, 2022.
4. Jenn Engstrom and Celeste Meiffren-Swango, "Truth in recycling," U.S. PIRG Education Fund, March 19, 2024.
5. 10. Jenn Engstrom, "Statement: Amazon to phase out single-use plastic padded shipping bags," PIRG, July 19, 2023.
6. "Amazon announces its largest reduction in plastic packaging in North America to date," Amazon, June 20, 2024.
7. Dharna Noor, "'They lied': plastics producers deceived public about recycling, report reveals," The Guardian, February 15, 2024.
8. Celeste Meiffren-Swango, James Horrox, Grace Vickers, et al., "'Chemical recycling': What you need to know," PIRG, July 14, 2025.
9. Matt Casale, "Are some recycling labels misleading? Unfortunately, yes.," PIRG, March 6, 2023.
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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