A mid-July post to the White House website on the topic of “plastic pollution” includes what the administration of President Joe Biden calls “a new goal to phase out federal procurement of single-use plastics from food service operations, events and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035.”
Continues the White House statement, “Meeting the new goal by selecting reusable, compostable, and highly recyclable products in lieu of single-use plastics in food service will further agencies’ obligations under [an] executive order.”
While using less overall plastic may be the favored choice of some policy advocates, the Biden administration also writes, “Innovation in materials and services can help ensure that products are compatible with waste management systems and have minimal impacts on human health and the environment. Actions include participating in the development of standards to promote recyclability and reuse, innovation in materials management, and additional research and development of materials that will create a more circular economy.”
Rather than a complete ban, the statement says in reference to steps that might follow, “These include efforts to optimize the collection of plastic, enhance plastic recycling and other measures to prevent plastic waste from entering the environment.”
The Washington-based non-governmental organization (NGO) Oceana, which cites as its mission to campaign to “stop plastic pollution at the source — by working to pass local, state, and national policies that reduce the production and use of unnecessary single-use plastic,” praises the initiative as a “reason to celebrate.”
Remarks Oceana’s campaign director Christy Leavitt, “We applaud the Biden administration for committing to phase out single-use plastics. The U.S. government is the world’s largest purchaser of goods and services, and its purchasing decisions can have a global impact. We look forward to the successful and swift implementation of this effort to eliminate single-use plastics across the government and move to refillable and reusable products.”
The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), also based in Washington, has expressed disappointment in aspects of the statement while encouraging further plastic recycling measures.
“We are disappointed in today’s White House announcement, which arbitrarily singles out plastic under the false pretense of a lower environmental impact,” says Matt Seaholm, president and CEO of the trade group. “The Plastics Industry Association and its member companies are dedicated to keeping plastic waste out of the environment, and we continue to collaborate with policymakers at all levels of government to achieve this goal.”
Continues Seaholm, “Instead of targeting plastics, we support investing in improving our country’s recycling infrastructure and are pleased to see this priority included in the White House’s strategy. Furthermore, we support well-crafted extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies and reasonable nationally recognized recycled content requirements.”
Concludes the trade group CEO, “Our industry is ready to come to the table and work with the administration and Congress to keep plastic waste out of the environment. Instead of implementing arbitrary bans that don’t address our environmental challenges, we need to collaborate on sound policies that will truly help us achieve circularity.”
Courtesy : recyclingtoday.com
