Friend,

Consumption of single-use plastic has gone up by an estimated 250 to 300 percent -- just this year.1 Far too much of it is the result of plastic bags, packaging, silverware and other single-use items that we just don't need.

In 2021, we need to double down on our efforts to reduce plastic waste. U.S. PIRG is advocating for corporate policies and federal legislation that decrease our overconsumption of plastics -- but we can't do it without you.

Double your efforts to reduce plastic waste by making a donation before midnight on Dec. 31, Friend. Contributions will be matched dollar for dollar by generous supporters, up to $50,000 nationwide.

The amount of plastic waste flowing into the ocean could triple by 2040 -- if we don't take drastic action on plastic waste now.2 Our national network is working to take us off this unsustainable path.

Unfortunately, the plastics industry is working against us -- and it's even using the pandemic as an excuse to sell more products. Just weeks after the first tragic coronavirus deaths in the U.S., the Plastics Industry Association wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services asking the agency to promote single-use plastic.3

Our supporters are standing up against lobbyists and corporations like these, who prioritize plastic over our planet. Recently, tens of thousands of supporters signed U.S. PIRG's petition asking Whole Foods to stop using single-use plastic packaging -- which shows our campaign is more powerful than ever.

We need your support to keep U.S. PIRG's campaigns going strong in 2021. Make a donation before midnight on Dec. 31, and your contribution will be matched, up to $50,000 nationwide.

To solve the plastic waste problem, U.S. PIRG is stopping plastic pollution at its source. In addition to asking companies like Whole Foods to stop using so much plastic, we're advocating for bans on the worst single-use plastics.

We're confident we can get the U.S. to break free from plastic -- and we're already making strides toward this goal. In 2020, New Jersey signed the most comprehensive plastics legislation in the U.S., joining eight other states in banning single-use plastic bags.4

We couldn't accomplish any of this without supporters like you. In 2021, we at U.S. PIRG know that we can make huge strides in reversing our country's relationship to plastic waste -- if we continue to work together.

Help us continue our work by making a donation today.

Thank you,

Faye Park
President

1. Jason Knowles, Stephanie Zimmermann and Ann Pistone, "COVID-19 pandemic causes massive pile-up of single-use plastics, through restaurant takeout and PPE," ABC News, November 11, 2020.
2. Joe Brock, "Plastic pollution flowing into oceans to triple by 2040: study," Reuters, July 23, 2020.
3. Erin McCormick, "'It's all on hold:' How COVID-19 derailed the fight against plastic waste," The Guardian, July 9, 2020.
4. "New Jersey Governor signs strongest ban on single-use plastics in the nation, promotes reusable bags," U.S. PIRG, November 4, 2020.

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
Federal Advocacy Office: 600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, 4th Fl., Washington, DC 20003, (202) 546-9707
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