Beyond Plastics Offers Next President Agenda to Protect Public Health and Environment
Julia Conley | Common Dream | August 28, 2024
The group Beyond Plastics on Wednesday expressed hope that the next U.S. president "is up for the challenge" of reversing course on the annual plastic pollution that is currently projected to nearly double by 2040, and released a 27-point agenda to guide the winner of the November election.
"The next president of the United States should use a combination of approaches to significantly reduce the production, use, transport, and disposal of plastics for the sake of public health and the environment," reads the list of proposed priorities. "These include directives issued to federal agencies and efforts to work with Congress to introduce and pass relevant federal legislation."
The group released the agenda as countries including the U.S. prepare to participate in talks in November to finalize a global plastics treaty, aiming to cut down on the 15 million metric tons of plastic that end up in oceans each year and reduce human exposure to thousands of hazardous chemicals used to manufacture plastic.
The next U.S. president, said Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, "has an opportunity—and a responsibility—to prioritize people and the planet over industry profits, and finally require companies to kick their toxic plastic habit."
The priorities listed by Beyond Plastics include steps that federal agencies should take to reduce plastic pollution in the U.S. and abroad, and legislation that either Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris or Republican nominee Donald Trump should push Congress to pass.
Executive actions proposed by Beyond Plastics include:
A moratorium on new permits or renewing permits for petroleum refining, petrochemical plants, and other facilities that produce plastics and their precursors;
A national moratorium on the construction of chemical recycling facilities, which generate hazardous wastes, toxic air pollutants, and greenhouse gases, and are primarily sited in environmental justice communities;
A ban on the shipping of plastic waste to other countries, following the shipment of 900 million pounds of plastic abroad in 2023;
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ban on vinyl chloride, the carcinogenic chemical that created a public health hazard in East Palestine, Ohio in 2023 after a Norfolk Southern train derailed;
Department of Justice investigations into the plastic industry's health impacts on communities near processing and manufacturing plants, its role in pollution on public lands, its "false and misleading claims about recyclability and recycled content of plastics," and plastic pollution in waterways and oceans; and
Leadership from the Department of Labor to achieve a "just transition" for workers in the plastics industry, with employees provided with job training and placement.
The group also called on the next administration to push for the passage of "a strong national packaging reduction bill" that would require a 50% reduction in plastic packaging over 10 years; the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act; the Farewell to Foam Act, which would phase out plastic foam food containers, disposable foam picnic coolers, and packing "peanuts"; and laws enabling local governments, states, and businesses to apply for federal funding to develop waste reduction, reuse, and refill programs.
