EPA Releases National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution

The US Environmental Protection Agency released the “National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution,” outlining opportunities for action to protect communities from the impacts of plastic production and waste and detailing how government agencies, businesses, non-profits, and communities can take additional action to prevent plastic pollution. 

This strategy also aligns with the this country's commitment to negotiating an ambitious international agreement with the aim of protecting public health and the environment by reducing plastic pollution around the world. The strategy is the third pillar of EPA’s “Building a Circular Economy for All” effort, following national strategies on recycling and reducing food loss and waste.
“EPA’s new strategy to prevent plastic pollution will have a profound impact on public health and our environment, especially in overburdened communities hit hardest,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “From reducing cancer-causing pollution from plastic manufacturing facilities, to increasing industry’s accountability to take back recycled plastic packaging, to capturing waste before it ends up in our bodies and the environment, this strategy lays out the path forward for EPA and our partners to tackle this persistent challenge.”

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Example actions from the strategy include:  

EPA also lists actions it has already taken to reduce plastic waste including the Trask Free Waters Program, final steps on reducing emissions of toxic air pollutants, the Risk Management Program, Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention rule, and more.

ACC Responds

The statement reads:

“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and America’s plastic makers share the same critical goal: preventing plastic in the environment. The industry’s commitment is demonstrated by the billions of dollars invested by plastic makers to scale up a circular economy, where used plastics are remade into new products, over and over again. These efforts are designed to keep plastics out of the environment, conserve natural resources, and reduce the environmental footprint of manufacturing.

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“We support many aspects of the EPA’s strategy, especially its alignment with key elements of our 5 Actions for Sustainable Change—such as modernizing and expanding our recycling capacity, enhancing public education, and the need for a national extended producer responsibility framework. However, some components of the agency’s strategy could inadvertently lead to the outsourcing of U.S. manufacturing. A circular economy for plastics needs to keep America competitive and keep jobs here.

The ACC urges the Administration to consider the potential unintended consequences of policies that prescribe alternatives to plastics and appreciates the agency’s call for more data to better understand trade-offs. The council added that "America’s plastic makers look forward to collaborating with the EPA to prevent plastic in the environment, boost the reuse and recycling of plastics, and ensure a sustainable future for our environment, economy, and communities."