Dear John, Join us on Thursday, March 25 at 3:30 p.m. EDT, for a virtual rally to celebrate the reintroduction of the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act (BFFPPA) with prime sponsors Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA). This rally, hosted by the Break Free from Plastic Coalition, which includes ASBC, will feature remarks by the two sponsors, leading environmentalists, health advocates and business representative Ashley Orgain, ASBC-member Seventh Generation’s Global Director of Advocacy and Sustainability. ASBC and the 250,000 businesses we represent, recognize the transition from plastics and other hazardous materials will help local businesses and frontline communities thrive and to catalyze creation of environmentally sound new jobs at a critical time. The U.S. is the world’s biggest producer of plastic waste, but less than 10 percent of it is recycled. Instead, it is incinerated into the air or dumped into landfills and waterways that flow to the ocean -- all of which release toxins that end up in our food and our bodies. What’s more, plastics are produced with fossil fuels, worsening climate change. The House passed a bill to stop this damage awhile ago, and it’s past time to see it made law! Reintroducing the Break Free from Plastic Pollution bill is the vital first step. ASBC and other Coalition members will again strongly urge Congress to promptly pass this bill as a powerful way to tackle our most urgent environmental problems. Passing BFFPPA will help reduce the existential threat of climate change — and much more. It will also deliver some long-needed environmental justice: Without federal protections like BFFPA, communities of color are disproportionately more likely to be subjected to health and environmental harm. BFFPPA will also help shift the responsibility for waste management and recycling to the producers of packaging, containers, and food service products by requiring these producers to design, manage, and finance the programs. BFFPPA will also impel the U.S. — the world’s biggest plastic waste producer and leading exporter of waste to developing nations — to make substantial investments in recycling infrastructure and stop exporting our waste to countries ill-equipped to cope with it. BFFPPA’s other groundbreaking solutions include banning single-use plastic carryout bags and charging a fee on distribution of the remaining stock of plastic bags; establishing minimum recycled content requirements for beverage containers, packaging, and food service products; protecting state and local governments that enact stringent standards; expanding the definition of toxic chemicals and prohibiting such toxic chemicals from being included in products covered by the legislation. And that’s not all! Add your voice: Join us on Thursday, March 25 at 3:30 pm EDT, for this virtual rally to celebrate Reintroducing the BFFPPA and help launch the campaign to pass it! |
