Plastic pollution washed up on a beach.
For Plastic Free July, the US Gov Should Hold Polluters Accountable
Federal legislation is needed to establish a strong national strategy to hold plastic producers responsible for reducing their plastic footprint.
Every summer the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ Adopt-a-Beach program mobilizes thousands of volunteers across eight states to collect trash from the Great Lakes shorelines. To date our volunteers have collected over half a million pounds of trash, of which 85% is plastic. The problem with plastic pollution, aside from its volume, is that it doesn’t really go away. It breaks down into much smaller pieces—microplastics—which have been found in our drinking water, our fish, and even in human tissue. Our concerns over the health effects of microplastics is one reason why the Alliance observes “Plastic Free July,” which is a worldwide effort to reduce the use of single-use plastics and to develop alternatives to reduce plastic waste.
Earlier this year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, which we were happy to see. The draft strategy, for which the public may provide comments until the end of this month, contains a host of recommendations to reduce, reuse, collect, and capture plastic pollution in order to reduce the use of single-use plastics and create a circular lifecycle for plastics currently in use. One of the strategy’s primary goals is to eliminate plastic pollution in the environment by 2040. While EPA’s draft strategy is a good start, the EPA will need to strengthen its accountability measures if they want to actually limit plastic pollution and the harm it causes.
Given that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that plastics pollution will triple worldwide by 2060, and with only about 9% of plastics currently recycled, the need for action is long overdue.
We encourage everyone to urge the EPA to establish a strong and accountable strategy for keeping our waterways free of plastic-associated pollution.
The EPA’s draft strategy is ambitious but, critically, entirely voluntary, and not sufficiently focused on producer responsibility to reduce plastic at its source. The EPA currently expects that businesses, citizens, and other stakeholders will work together to achieve a plastics-free environment by 2040 just because it’s the right thing to do. This voluntary approach is naïve and likely to be unsuccessful in ridding the environment of plastics.
The Plastics Industry Association has already vigorously opposed federal legislation to ensure that plastic pellets are not released into our waterways. With that opposition still in recent memory, it is hard to believe that the plastics industry would get behind voluntary efforts outlined in EPA’s strategy to do the same.
Instead, federal legislation is needed to establish a strong national strategy to hold plastic producers responsible for reducing their plastic footprint. This legislation should include specific targets for source reduction of single-use plastic; establish uniform standards and approaches to dealing with the challenges posed by single-use plastics and plastic waste; and adopt standardized drinking water monitoring programs.
Presently there is no consensus in Congress on dealing with plastic pollution, although recent hearings on plastic pollution in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are encouraging. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) recently reintroduced the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act which will significantly benefit the Great Lakes and other states by requiring the EPA to prohibit the discharge of plastic pellets and other pre-production plastics into waterways. This legislation is a good start to rid our waterways from the threats posed by microplastics.
In addition, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is likely to reintroduce his Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which would also aim to reduce plastic pollution in our environment and encourage reuse and recycling efforts.
As the Alliance continues our work to protect the Great Lakes and ensure access to clean drinking water for over 40 million Americans, we encourage everyone to urge the EPA to establish a strong and accountable strategy for keeping our waterways free of plastic-associated pollution. Congress also needs to follow through on EPA’s strategy with effective federal legislation to establish a strong national strategy to reduce plastic pollution at its source. If we can do that, hopefully during next year’s Plastic Free July we’ll be marveling at just how far we’ve come.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Every summer the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ Adopt-a-Beach program mobilizes thousands of volunteers across eight states to collect trash from the Great Lakes shorelines. To date our volunteers have collected over half a million pounds of trash, of which 85% is plastic. The problem with plastic pollution, aside from its volume, is that it doesn’t really go away. It breaks down into much smaller pieces—microplastics—which have been found in our drinking water, our fish, and even in human tissue. Our concerns over the health effects of microplastics is one reason why the Alliance observes “Plastic Free July,” which is a worldwide effort to reduce the use of single-use plastics and to develop alternatives to reduce plastic waste.
Earlier this year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, which we were happy to see. The draft strategy, for which the public may provide comments until the end of this month, contains a host of recommendations to reduce, reuse, collect, and capture plastic pollution in order to reduce the use of single-use plastics and create a circular lifecycle for plastics currently in use. One of the strategy’s primary goals is to eliminate plastic pollution in the environment by 2040. While EPA’s draft strategy is a good start, the EPA will need to strengthen its accountability measures if they want to actually limit plastic pollution and the harm it causes.
Given that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that plastics pollution will triple worldwide by 2060, and with only about 9% of plastics currently recycled, the need for action is long overdue.
We encourage everyone to urge the EPA to establish a strong and accountable strategy for keeping our waterways free of plastic-associated pollution.
The EPA’s draft strategy is ambitious but, critically, entirely voluntary, and not sufficiently focused on producer responsibility to reduce plastic at its source. The EPA currently expects that businesses, citizens, and other stakeholders will work together to achieve a plastics-free environment by 2040 just because it’s the right thing to do. This voluntary approach is naïve and likely to be unsuccessful in ridding the environment of plastics.
The Plastics Industry Association has already vigorously opposed federal legislation to ensure that plastic pellets are not released into our waterways. With that opposition still in recent memory, it is hard to believe that the plastics industry would get behind voluntary efforts outlined in EPA’s strategy to do the same.
Instead, federal legislation is needed to establish a strong national strategy to hold plastic producers responsible for reducing their plastic footprint. This legislation should include specific targets for source reduction of single-use plastic; establish uniform standards and approaches to dealing with the challenges posed by single-use plastics and plastic waste; and adopt standardized drinking water monitoring programs.
Presently there is no consensus in Congress on dealing with plastic pollution, although recent hearings on plastic pollution in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are encouraging. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) recently reintroduced the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act which will significantly benefit the Great Lakes and other states by requiring the EPA to prohibit the discharge of plastic pellets and other pre-production plastics into waterways. This legislation is a good start to rid our waterways from the threats posed by microplastics.
In addition, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is likely to reintroduce his Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which would also aim to reduce plastic pollution in our environment and encourage reuse and recycling efforts.
As the Alliance continues our work to protect the Great Lakes and ensure access to clean drinking water for over 40 million Americans, we encourage everyone to urge the EPA to establish a strong and accountable strategy for keeping our waterways free of plastic-associated pollution. Congress also needs to follow through on EPA’s strategy with effective federal legislation to establish a strong national strategy to reduce plastic pollution at its source. If we can do that, hopefully during next year’s Plastic Free July we’ll be marveling at just how far we’ve come.
- Our Reliance on Fossil Fuels and Plastic Caused the East Palestine Disaster ›
- Goldman Prize Goes to Activists Who Scored Huge Victories Over Corporate Polluters ›
- Anti-Plastic Coalition: East Palestine Disaster Exposes Need for 'Systemic Change' ›
- UN Provides Blueprint for 80% Cut to Global Plastic Pollution by 2040 ›
- Landmark Inquiry in Philippines Backs Accountability for 'Climate-Polluting' Corporations ›
- 'Turn Off the Tap on Plastic,' UN Chief Declares Amid Debate Over New Global Treaty ›
- Big Oil, Plastics Industry Led 'Campaign of Deception' to Push Recycling Fraud ›
- Opinion | How Changing Your Daily Coffee Habits Can Make a Difference This Plastic-Free July | Common Dreams ›
- US Plastics Industry Dumps Almost Half a Billion Gallons of Wastewater Daily | Common Dreams ›
Every summer the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ Adopt-a-Beach program mobilizes thousands of volunteers across eight states to collect trash from the Great Lakes shorelines. To date our volunteers have collected over half a million pounds of trash, of which 85% is plastic. The problem with plastic pollution, aside from its volume, is that it doesn’t really go away. It breaks down into much smaller pieces—microplastics—which have been found in our drinking water, our fish, and even in human tissue. Our concerns over the health effects of microplastics is one reason why the Alliance observes “Plastic Free July,” which is a worldwide effort to reduce the use of single-use plastics and to develop alternatives to reduce plastic waste.
Earlier this year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, which we were happy to see. The draft strategy, for which the public may provide comments until the end of this month, contains a host of recommendations to reduce, reuse, collect, and capture plastic pollution in order to reduce the use of single-use plastics and create a circular lifecycle for plastics currently in use. One of the strategy’s primary goals is to eliminate plastic pollution in the environment by 2040. While EPA’s draft strategy is a good start, the EPA will need to strengthen its accountability measures if they want to actually limit plastic pollution and the harm it causes.
Given that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that plastics pollution will triple worldwide by 2060, and with only about 9% of plastics currently recycled, the need for action is long overdue.
We encourage everyone to urge the EPA to establish a strong and accountable strategy for keeping our waterways free of plastic-associated pollution.
The EPA’s draft strategy is ambitious but, critically, entirely voluntary, and not sufficiently focused on producer responsibility to reduce plastic at its source. The EPA currently expects that businesses, citizens, and other stakeholders will work together to achieve a plastics-free environment by 2040 just because it’s the right thing to do. This voluntary approach is naïve and likely to be unsuccessful in ridding the environment of plastics.
The Plastics Industry Association has already vigorously opposed federal legislation to ensure that plastic pellets are not released into our waterways. With that opposition still in recent memory, it is hard to believe that the plastics industry would get behind voluntary efforts outlined in EPA’s strategy to do the same.
Instead, federal legislation is needed to establish a strong national strategy to hold plastic producers responsible for reducing their plastic footprint. This legislation should include specific targets for source reduction of single-use plastic; establish uniform standards and approaches to dealing with the challenges posed by single-use plastics and plastic waste; and adopt standardized drinking water monitoring programs.
Presently there is no consensus in Congress on dealing with plastic pollution, although recent hearings on plastic pollution in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are encouraging. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) recently reintroduced the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act which will significantly benefit the Great Lakes and other states by requiring the EPA to prohibit the discharge of plastic pellets and other pre-production plastics into waterways. This legislation is a good start to rid our waterways from the threats posed by microplastics.
In addition, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is likely to reintroduce his Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which would also aim to reduce plastic pollution in our environment and encourage reuse and recycling efforts.
As the Alliance continues our work to protect the Great Lakes and ensure access to clean drinking water for over 40 million Americans, we encourage everyone to urge the EPA to establish a strong and accountable strategy for keeping our waterways free of plastic-associated pollution. Congress also needs to follow through on EPA’s strategy with effective federal legislation to establish a strong national strategy to reduce plastic pollution at its source. If we can do that, hopefully during next year’s Plastic Free July we’ll be marveling at just how far we’ve come.
- Our Reliance on Fossil Fuels and Plastic Caused the East Palestine Disaster ›
- Goldman Prize Goes to Activists Who Scored Huge Victories Over Corporate Polluters ›
- Anti-Plastic Coalition: East Palestine Disaster Exposes Need for 'Systemic Change' ›
- UN Provides Blueprint for 80% Cut to Global Plastic Pollution by 2040 ›
- Landmark Inquiry in Philippines Backs Accountability for 'Climate-Polluting' Corporations ›
- 'Turn Off the Tap on Plastic,' UN Chief Declares Amid Debate Over New Global Treaty ›
- Big Oil, Plastics Industry Led 'Campaign of Deception' to Push Recycling Fraud ›
- Opinion | How Changing Your Daily Coffee Habits Can Make a Difference This Plastic-Free July | Common Dreams ›
- US Plastics Industry Dumps Almost Half a Billion Gallons of Wastewater Daily | Common Dreams ›