To address our plastic waste crisis, we need more than recycling. We need to reduce our reliance on harmful single-use plastics that are polluting our planet and endangering our future. Help us move states across the country beyond plastics. Support all of our work today. DONATE:
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Anonymous,
Companies across the plastic supply chain are doubling down on plastics -- ramping up production at a time when the public is calling for change.[1]
These companies say they'll also help recycle their products, but we have a better idea: Let's reduce our use of plastics, starting with plastics that we use once and then throw away.
Together with our national network, we have a plan to move states across the country beyond plastic. But we can't do it without you. Donate today to support our efforts on this campaign and all of our other work.
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We produce an unbelievable amount of plastic every year, and our recycling facilities are struggling to find solutions. In the U.S., less than 5 percent of plastics are recycled.[2] Things have only gotten more difficult since China stopped accepting our trash in 2018. Recycling experts warn that most of our plastic waste just isn't recyclable -- especially the plastic stuff we don't even need, like single-use bags, foam cups and containers, and straws.[3]
Meanwhile, oil and plastics companies want to produce more plastics and are spending billions on new facilities that produce petrochemicals -- the raw material that is the basis for plastics used in everything from disposable water bottles to children's toys.[4]
With increased public outcry over plastic waste, these companies are also funding efforts to increase recycling.[5] But single-use plastics are often difficult or impossible to recycle -- and we should be working to use less of them, not more, especially given that we don't even need these items.
We're working toward a better solution: a zero-waste economy where we reduce our reliance on these harmful single-use plastics, reuse what we can and recycle the rest. But to advocate for the policies we need, and to change the conversation, we need your support. Donate today.
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Here's why I know we're up for the job:
* Our national network has won more than 50 pro-recycling laws, plastic bag bans and other policies -- starting with the nation's first bottle recycling law decades ago.
* Our national network helped triple the number of single-use plastic bag bans in just one month with Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and Oregon added to the list.
* We're mobilizing thousands of people across the country to show legislators that there is public support to move beyond plastics.
We cannot do any of our work without the support of people like you. Will you donate today?
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Thank you,
Faye Park
President
1. Amy Harder, "Oil Companies Double Down on Plastics as Public Outcry Grows," Axios, June 17, 2019.
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2. Waste 360 Staff, "U.S. Plastic Recycling Rate Projected to Drop to 4.4% in 2018," Waste 360, October 5, 2018.
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3. Laura Parker and Kennedy Elliott, "Plastic Recycling Is Broken. Here's How to Fix It.," National Geographic, June 20, 2018.
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4. Matthew Taylor, "$180bn Investment in Plastic Factories Feeds Global Packaging Binge," December 26, 2017.
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5. Alex Truelove, "Why banning plastics is the solution to our plastic problem," U.S. PIRG, May 17, 2018.
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