The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revealed a national strategy to prevent plastic pollution in America, which includes an uptake in reuse, a country-wide Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, and interventions to lessen the strain on the most impacted groups.
The National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution outlines the actions that businesses, government agencies, non-profits, and communities can take to help prevent plastic pollution and negate the negative impacts of plastic production and waste.
Within this scope, EPA ‘recognizes the need to implement a circular economy approach for all’ – emphasizing the importance of environmental justice for those facing ‘disproportionate burdens’ from inefficient production and waste management processes.
The strategy centres around six main objectives spanning across the life cycle of a plastic product: reducing pollution in the production phase; innovations in material and product design; cutting down on waste generation; improving waste management; revamping the capture and removal of plastic pollution; and minimizing loadings and impacts on waterways and the ocean.
The strategy plans to measure the impacts of single-use plastics on human and environmental health throughout their life cycle. Impacts on fenceline communities will reportedly be assessed and reduced through the implementation of ‘inclusive’ materials management strategies.
In order to reduce the production and consumption of single-use plastics, the capacity for reuse and refill is set to increase within the federal government and across the United States. Public policies are also set to encourage a decrease in plastic pollution, employing such measures as a national Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework.
Each of these actions is ‘restorative and regenerative by design’, the EPA says, and hopes to maximize the value of resources for as long as possible – as well as underpin the transition into a circular system for materials management across the United States.
EPA also declares America’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 described as the ‘third pillar’ of EPA’s Building a Circular Economy for All effort, with other national strategies covering recycling and the reduction of 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.”
WWF’s senior vice president of Policy and Government Affairs, Alejandro Pérez, commented on the strategy: “It’s no secret that the plastic waste crisis in the US and around the world is growing at an exponential rate.
“As world leaders meet next week to negotiate a global agreement to end plastic pollution, we welcome this new U.S. government strategy, which reflects increased ambition and action to address how plastic products are made, used, and recycled in the U.S. A whole-of-government approach to stopping plastic pollution is what this moment requires to protect our communities and keep plastic out of nature.
“The new national strategy identifies six core objectives, including specific actions needed to reduce and recover plastic and other materials and prevent plastic pollution from harming human health and the environment. It will greatly enhance waste management in the U.S. by directing policies and investments that will reduce plastic pollution and establish the certainty and clarity that both consumers and companies need.
“If implemented, the key elements of the strategy could improve environmental standards from production to end of life and lay the groundwork for the creation of a national Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, which five U.S. states have already enacted to hold producers of plastic financially responsible for recycling their products.”
Back in July, a report released by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Interagency Policy Committee revealed its plans to phase out all single-use plastics across US federal government agencies by 2035 and all single-use plastic products in foodservice, packaging, and events by 2027. This was reportedly the first time the full scale of the plastic pollution crisis was acknowledged by the federal government.
Reuters also reported that the United States would undergo a ‘major policy shift’ by supporting a global treaty to cap and restrict the production of new plastics alongside a list of controlled chemicals. The move is hoped to avoid a ‘patchwork’ of rules from country to country and align America with ‘high-ambition countries’ like EU Member States.
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