Congressional memo provides blueprint to reduce plastic pollution

Media Contacts
Alex Truelove

Josh Chetwynd

U.S. PIRG and others worked with Federal lawmakers to compile best practices from around the country

U.S. PIRG

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico and U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal of California circulated a memo Tuesday to state legislative offices around the country, encouraging lawmakers to draw from their Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act to effectively reduce plastic pollution and packaging waste at the state and municipal levels.

U.S. PIRG worked closely with the offices of Sen. Udall, Rep. Lowenthal and others to develop the legislation, which includes bans of some of the most harmful single-use plastics, and requires plastic producers to take responsibility for waste they create. It remains the most comprehensive approach to reducing plastic pollution ever introduced in the U.S. Congress.

Alex Truelove, U.S. PIRG Zero Waste Campaign director, issued the following statement as part of the Congressional release:

“The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act assembled our best policies to reduce plastic pollution at the source. Now, the full blueprint is available for state and local leaders, many of whom contributed to the process, to take the actions recommended at the federal level. With this comprehensive model, we can effectively reduce the amount of disposable plastic in our lives and hold producers responsible for the problematic waste they create.”

Topics