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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA” issued an April 2023 report titled:
Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution (“Report”)
The Report was prepared by EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery and is stated to be part of its series on “Building a Circular Economy for All.”
The Report is described as identifying voluntary actions that can be implemented in the United States with the objective of:
. . . eliminating the release of plastic waste from land-based sources into the environment by 2040.
EPA is stated to be seeking how it can work collaboratively with stakeholders to:
. . . prevent plastic pollution and reduce, reuse, recycle, collect, and capture plastic and other waste from land-based sources.
The Report identifies three draft objectives:
- Objective A: Reduce Pollution During Plastic Production
- Objective B: Improve Post-Use Materials Management
- Objective C: Prevent Trash and Micro/Nanoplastics from Entering Waterways and Remove Escaped Trash from the Environment
The Report states that it supports EPA’s attempt to shift to a circular approach for plastics management in the United States. In order to do so, EPA cites the following needed actions:
- Understanding the effectiveness of programs and policies in preventing plastic production through reducing, reusing, collecting, and capturing plastics from land-based sources.
- Improving the United States capacity to reuse and refill products.
- Increasing data availability and conducting lifecycle assessments to understand the environmental, economic, social, and health impacts attributed to plastics.
- Addressing and improving consumer outreach and understanding the proper management of plastic and other waste.
- Improving the wastewater/stormwater management and capture systems.
The Report poses a number of questions for which it seeks input in regard to these issues.
A copy of the Report can be downloaded here.
