Sign the petition: Pass the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act!
Plastic pollution is so pervasive, you can find microplastics everywhere, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. From our drinking water to our table salt. We consume them through our food, water. We even find them in the air we breathe.
We are the second-largest driver of total plastic waste generated annually, only slightly lagging behind China. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we produced almost 36 million tons of plastic waste in 2018, more than 90 percent of which was landfilled or burned. That plastic breaks down into microscopic particles that seep into everything we touch, drink, eat. It's in Arctic snow, mountain soils and can be blown across the world.
The impact is enormous. Studies reveal that levels of microplastics we ingest daily cause cell damage, including cell death and allergic reactions.
Not only does plastic pollute our oceans, but plastics are made 99% from fossil fuels. And manufacturing plastic from fossil fuels often happens in low-income communities of color, it disproportionately harms Black and brown residents.
The Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act would address this, and other key parts of plastic pollution, by:
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Shifting responsibility for waste management and recycling to manufacturers and producers,
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Setting up a national beverage container refund program,
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Establishing minimum recycled content standards,
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Phasing out certain single-use plastic products that aren’t recyclable,
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Prohibiting plastic waste from being exported to developing countries, and
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Placing a moratorium on new and expanding plastic facilities until the EPA updates and creates vital environmental and health regulations on those facilities.
Sign the petition: Pass the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act!
Participating OrganizationsBlue Amp Action
Broward for Progress
Daily Kos
Endangered Species Coalition
Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action
Satnd.earth
Waterkeeper Alliance
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