The following essay is The Conversation is an online publication covering the latest research.
Plastic waste is growing at an alarming pace around the world. The World Bank estimates that every person on Earth produces an average of 1.6 pounds (0.74 kilograms) of plastic waste every day.
To curb this trend, 175 countries are negotiating a binding international treaty on plastic pollution, aiming for completion in late 2024. In July 2024, the Biden administration released the first U.S. plan to address the issue.
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The new US strategy covers five areas – plastics production, product design, waste generation, waste management, and plastic recovery and removal – and also lists current efforts by federal agencies and departments.
I study environmental law, including efforts to reduce plastic pollution. As the world’s largest economy, the United States plays a key role in this effort. Based on my research, here are three proposals in the U.S. plan that I believe are key, and one gap that I believe is a major flaw:
Federal Standards for Measuring Microplastics
Studies have detected tiny pieces of plastic, called microplastics, in the environment, including the air, drinking water sources, wildlife and the human food chain.
While scientists have found that wildlife such as seabirds can be harmed by ingesting plastic, the impacts on human health are less clear. Unlike other pollutants, the impacts of microplastics vary depending on their size, shape and where they are found – in food, air or water. And humans can be exposed to microplastics in a variety of ways, including inhalation, ingestion and contact.
Because there are no federal standards for measuring microplastics in various media, such as water and soil, studies lack standardized definitions, methods, and reporting practices. California will launch a microplastics monitoring program in 2023, which will include developing standardized methods to measure microplastics in drinking water.
The Biden administration’s plan calls for the development of standardized methods to collect, quantify and characterize microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics, allowing scientists to generate consistent data that regulators can use to set limits for microplastics in food, water and air.
Extended Producer Responsibility
All plastics contain chemicals that give them properties like strength, softness, color, fire resistance, etc. Some chemicals, such as bisphenols and phthalates, have been linked to adverse health effects including fetal abnormalities, reproductive health problems and cancer.
Some scientists argue that certain types of plastic waste, such as PVC, polystyrene, polyurethane, and polycarbonate, that have particularly harmful components or properties should be classified as hazardous waste. Currently, in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan, items made from these plastics are considered solid waste and are treated in the same way as kitchen scraps and used office paper.
Currently, only about 5 percent of plastic waste in the United States is recycled, 9 percent is incinerated and 86 percent ends up in landfills, leading to calls for plastic producers to take some responsibility.
Extended producer responsibility laws, which also apply to other products such as paints and electronics, make producers responsible for paying a portion of the costs of collection and disposal or waste management of their products. Such requirements give producers an incentive to make more environmentally friendly products and support recycling.
As of mid-2024, California, Colorado, Maine and Oregon have introduced extended producer responsibility laws for plastic waste, and about a dozen other states are considering similar measures, and studies have shown that such policies increase recycling rates.
The Biden Administration’s plan calls for launching a national Extended Producer Responsibility initiative to allow state, local, and tribal governments to develop their own approaches, while also laying out a vision for a unified national system and goals for plastic waste management. Support at the federal level could allow more jurisdictions to enact rules requiring producers to cooperate in managing this waste.
Banning single-use plastics
Plastic product bans are a way to reduce waste generation. Most of these measures apply to products that are used once and then discarded, such as shopping bags, food packaging and plastic bottles. These products are the most abundant plastics in the environment.
The U.S. plan calls for developing a strategy to “replace, reduce, and phase out the federal government’s unnecessary use and purchases of plastic products,” including ending purchases of single-use plastic products by 2035. While the measure only applies to use by federal agencies, because the U.S. government is the world’s largest single purchaser of goods and services, the measure could send a strong signal in favor of alternative products.
Capping of plastic production
Current projections suggest that global plastic production will double by 2040, with a corresponding surge in plastic waste. In response, 66 countries have formed the High Ambition Coalition, co-chaired by Norway and Rwanda, to support strict provisions in a Global Plastics Treaty. One of its central goals is to limit global plastic production.
In early 2024, several countries negotiating the treaty proposed reducing global plastic production by 40% below 2025 levels by 2040. The concept is still under discussion.
Plastic manufacturers and businesses that rely on plastic say caps on production would raise the overall cost of plastics. Instead, groups like the World Plastics Council are calling for measures to reduce the generation of plastic waste, such as using more recycled resins and increasing recycling rates.
The U.S. had not supported caps on plastic production until mid-2024, but in August reports said the Biden administration had changed its position and would support limits that would include creating a global list of restricted chemicals.
This is a major shift that is expected to encourage more countries to support new plastic production limits. Details are likely to emerge as the final round of negotiations, scheduled for November 2024 in Busan, South Korea, approaches. The plastics industry is strongly opposed to production limits, and Congress would need to ratify an international treaty that would set out terms binding on the United States. But U.S. support could improve the chances of curbing the ever-increasing flow of plastic into the global economy.
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