As countries around the world – including the United States – continue to debate the details of a global plastics treaty, environmentalists across the country converged in Washington D.C. to lobby federal legislators on the need to pass legislation addressing plastic pollution.
Washington, D.C. – The United States is lagging behind the rest of the world when it comes to addressing plastic pollution. And this lack of action isn’t going unnoticed. Dozens of environmental activists joined together at the Capital today to demand strong federal action to protect public health and the environment from the litany of issues associated with single-use plastics.
The advocates, including Just Zero’s Executive Director Kirstie Pecci, plan to meet with dozens of federal legislators to discuss real solutions to the plastic crisis. This includes bills like the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act and Farewell to Foam Act.
“Plastic pollution is a crisis that impacts every facet of our lives,” said Pecci. “Producing, consuming, and disposing of plastic threatens our health, our climate, and our environment. The United States can’t keep delaying action. We need real solutions that limit plastic production, and we need them now.”
The Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act will not only reduce the amount of single-use plastic produced nationally, but also reform our country’s broken waste and recycling systems. The bill also seeks to shift the burden of paying for and managing plastic pollution from consumers to the corporations responsible for producing all this plastic in the first place. If enacted the bill would:
- Require large corporations to take responsibility for their role in the plastic pollution crisis.
- Set aggressive and enforceable plastic reduction targets for needless single-use plastic products.
- Establish a national Bottle Bill that will drastically increase recycling and reduce litter.
- Ban certain single-use plastic products that are not recyclable.
- Provide federal funding to support reusable and refillable products and packaging.
- Pause the development of new plastic manufacturing facilities until the Environmental Protection Agency establishes essential environmental justice and health protections.
“The science is clear – plastics aren’t sustainable,” said Pecci. “We need to transition to a plastic free future. That’s why we’re in Washington, D.C. – to make sure that our legislators follow science and not corporate lobbyists. The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act is the gold standard. It’s a comprehensive solution that puts people over corporate profit.”
The Fairwell to Foam Act would phase out the use of polystyrene products and packaging. Polystyrene – more commonly referred to by the brand name “Styrofoam” – is a highly toxic form of plastic that is one of the largest sources of ocean plastic pollution. This form of plastic also significantly contributes to microplastics pollution. The law echoes the approach eleven states and hundreds of local governments have already taken to restrict and ban this toxic and unrecyclable form of plastic.
“Polystyrene is poisoning our planet,” said Pecci. “Foam plastic products aren’t recyclable. They are full of toxic chemicals that are released into the environment when burned or buried. A lack of federal action has resulted in states and local governments taking the lead to ban these unnecessary plastic products, but this is a problem that deserves federal action. A disjointed approach isn’t good enough.”
Just Zero works alongside environmental groups throughout the country to break the toxic cycle of producing and disposing of single-use plastics. For more information, please visit www.just-zero.org or reach out to Just Zero team members for further comment.
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