White House releases new strategy to tackle plastic pollution

The US government is the world’s largest purchaser of goods and services, for which it spends more than 650 billion annually. Therefore, single-use plastic reductions by the federal government can have a big impact. In February, PIRG, Environment America and Environmental Action submitted over 36,000 public comments from members and supporters to the General Services Administration urging them to make single-use plastic reductions in federal procurement mandatory, not voluntary.

On July 19th, the White House announced that it is joining cities and states across the U.S. in taking action to reduce single-use plastics with a new strategy “Mobilizing federal action on plastic pollution: progress, principles, and priorities.” The multi-pronged strategy includes goals to phase out the federal procurement of single-use plastics from food operations, events and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035. It also provides funding to initiatives to reduce plastic waste, provides platforms for further research and includes new rules to reduce air pollution from plastic producers.

This latest announcement is recognition that we need to take action to reduce plastic pollution and is the federal government’s most comprehensive plan to date. And while it is a big step forward, there is still a lot of work we need to do on the local, state and national level to stem the tide of plastic pollution and build a cleaner, greener future.