Federal purchasing can shift the market for these products
Brian Bienkowski BY EHN
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The announcement also set a goal for the federal government to stop buying plastic for food service, events and packaging by 2027.
While the strategy isn’t enforceable by law and could change under future administrations, it is the first government-wide strategy aimed at reducing plastic pollution and recognizes that the plastic pollution “crisis” encompasses the entire lifecycle: from the fossil fuels used as building blocks in plastic manufacturing to the microplastic bits lining our shorelines.
“With its multitude of environmental impacts across its supply chain, broad global effects, and severe public health consequences, plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing and consequential environmental problems in the U.S. and around the globe,” said Brenda Mallory and Ali Zaidi, two White House environmental and climate officials, in the joint letter accompanying the strategy document.
Changes in federal purchasing can have huge impacts: The
U.S. federal government is the largest buyer of consumer goods in the world,
with nearly $600 billion in annual spending. “Because of its purchasing power,
by reducing the demand of plastic products through procurement changes, the
Federal Government has the potential to significantly impact the supply of
these products,” the strategy reads.
The document also points to already underway federal
efforts to curb plastic pollution’s impact — including an Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) rule set in April to
tackle chemical emissions, a Department of the Interior order to
phase-out single use plastics on public lands by 2032, ongoing EPA recycling grants,
and a National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration effort to tackle marine debris.
The announcement comes as the plastic crisis continues to
grow. The world generates roughly 400 million tons of plastic waste each year,
and less than 10% of plastic ever made has been recycled. Plastic waste is set
to triple by 2060.
The crisis has garnered international attention as more than 175 countries are negotiating a global plastics treaty. The talks have stalled over issues such as regulating the chemicals in plastic, production caps, and the role of chemical recycling and bioplastics. There is a High Ambition Coalition of countries that want an end to plastic pollution by 2040.
There is also a Global Coalition for Plastics Sustainability — made of nations
economically reliant on fossil fuels — that is pushing for a larger focus on
addressing plastic waste (via chemical and mechanical recycling and other
means) rather than plastic bans or production limits. The U.S. — the largest
exporter of oil and gas in the world — is not part of either and has been criticized for
not taking a stronger stance on limiting production.
The new strategy similarly does not call for any plastic
production caps, but many environmental groups said it is a step in the right
direction.
“This report is the clearest articulation to date from
the White House of the scale and urgency of the plastic pollution crisis and
the threat it poses for our ocean and communities,” Jeff Watters, Ocean
Conservancy’s vice president of external affairs said in a statement.
Erin Simon, vice president and head of plastic waste and
business for the World Wildlife Fund, praised the strategy for focusing on the
entire lifecycle.
“We’re heartened to see this report doesn’t shy away from
the negative impacts that plastics have on human health and analyzes the
problem through the full life cycle of plastic,” Simon said in a statement.
“Cleaning up the global plastic mess must start at home. And today under
President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, the U.S. government is
doing exactly that."
Brian Bienkowski is the senior news editor
at Environmental Health News.
