The US federal government has announced a new strategy to phase out the use of single-use plastics nationally by 2035.
The strategy, named ‘Mobilizing Federal Action on Plastic Pollution: Progress, Principles, and Priorities’, aims to combat plastic pollution across production, processing, use, and disposal.
Under this plan, the administration also plans to eliminate national purchases ‘of single-use plastics from foodservice operations, events, and packaging by 2027’
This initiative forms part of US President Joe Biden’s executive order on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs through Federal Sustainability.
It also aligns with the president’s Federal Sustainability Plan, which sets a target for the federal government to achieve net-zero procurement by 2050, including the elimination of single-use plastic products procurement.
In a joint letter, White House environmental and climate officials Brenda Mallory and Ali Zaidi said: “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 US and around the globe.”
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By GlobalData
The strategy is seen as leveraging federal purchasing power to reduce emissions, protect public health, and stimulate markets for sustainable products.
The strategy also aims to enhance the US’s role in international efforts to develop an agreement to address the global plastic pollution crisis.
Among others, efforts include providing protections by the Environmental Protection Agency to communities near chemical manufacturing facilities for plastic production, including rules to reduce emissions of toxic pollutants.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has also issued Secretary’s Order 3407 to reduce single-use plastic products and packaging within the Department of the Interior, aiming for a phase-out by 2032.
To promote this effort, the interior department is installing more water bottle filling stations on public lands and working with concessionaires to reduce single-use plastics.
