The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is calling for reductions in single-use plastic production and consumption as part of a national strategy designed to prevent plastic pollution.
The recommendation was among several opportunities the agency outlined in its National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution released Nov. 21 ahead of the final meeting of the International Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution in South Korea.
The committee is developing an international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution.
The EPA also recommended that the United States increase capacity to reuse and refill products, measure health and environmental impacts during the entire single-use lifecycle, and enhance policies and incentives to decrease plastic pollution.
One suggested policy change is the creation of a national extended producer responsibility framework, which would hold businesses accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products.
The Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution is the third pillar of the EPA’s Building a Circular Economy for All effort, following national strategies on recycling and reducing food loss and waste.
The strategy will help overburdened communities hit the hardest by pollution, said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
“From reducing cancer-causing pollution from plastic manufacturing facilities, to increasing industry’s accountability to take back recycled plastic packaging, to capturing waste before it ends up in our bodies and the environment, this strategy lays out the path forward for EPA and our partners to tackle this persistent challenge,” he said.
