Report calls for national strategy to reduce US contribution to plastic waste

Report calls for national strategy to reduce US contribution to plastic waste
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A report released Dec. 1 calls on the U.S. to create a national strategy to reduce the country’s contribution to plastic waste in the ocean by the end of next year. The report, Reckoning with the U.S Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS), also concludes that plastic waste in the U.S. is ubiquitous and increasing. It recommends that the U.S. establish a nationally coordinated and expanded monitoring system to track plastic pollution to understand its scale and sources, set reduction and management priorities and measure progress in addressing it.

The study, which was undertaken by the Committee on United States Contributions to Global Ocean Plastic Waste, was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.

According to the report, at least 8.8 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the world’s oceans each year, which it says is the equivalent of dumping a garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute. In 2016 the U.S. generated more plastic waste than any other country, exceeding that of all European Union member states combined.

“Plastic waste is an environmental and social crisis that the U.S. needs to affirmatively address from source to sea,” says Committee Chair Margaret Spring, chief conservation and science officer at Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The report says recycling processes and infrastructure are unacceptably insufficient to manage the complexity and quantity of plastic waste produced. While the U.S. solid waste management system is advanced overall, the committee behind the report concluded there is a need and opportunity to expand and evolve municipal solid waste management in the country to better manage plastic waste and serve communities and regions equitably, efficiently and economically.

Establishing a national strategy

According to the report, with the help of a group of experts or external advisory body, the U.S. should establish a coherent and comprehensive federal policy and research strategy to reduce its contribution of plastic waste to the environment and ocean by Dec. 31, 2022. It also calls for the implementation of the strategy to be assessed by Dec. 31, 2025.

No single solution will be sufficient to address the problem, the authors say. Therefore, the national strategy should use a suite of interventions at every stage of plastics’ flow into the ocean. It should

While government would play a critical role in organizing a national strategy, collaboration across actors in plastic waste systems is essential, as is a robust monitoring and research program and public engagement.

The report lays out six intervention stages that the strategy should address:

• Reducing plastic production, especially for plastics that are not reusable or practically recyclable, thereby decreasing the need for waste management. It suggests that a national cap on virgin plastic production could be established.
• Innovating design and materials to develop substitutes that degrade more quickly or can be recycled more easily or reused. This can be achieved in part by government-sponsored research and development collaborations.
• Decreasing waste generation by reducing the use of disposable plastic products intended for short periods of use, including by limiting products and creating targets for recycling. This can be done in part by creating a ban on specific products based on their toxicity or necessity.
• Improving waste management, including infrastructure, collection, treatment, leakage control and accounting, by establishing regulatory limits on plastic or microplastic waste discharged into the ocean by river systems, for example.
• Capturing waste in the environment, including from ground litter, storm water or directly from waters where it accumulates.
• Minimizing at-sea disposal by directly targeting the flow of plastic from vessels or platforms by increasing enforcement for dumping trash at sea, for example.

Tracking and measuring plastic waste

Data collection is critical to better understanding the sources, extent and patterns of plastic waste in the ocean, and priorities for prevention, management and cleanup, the report says. It recognizes gaps in the data, as well as the potential for integrating and enhancing existing monitoring systems. The authors suggest that the U.S. should establish multiple complementary tracking and monitoring systems to help identify sources and hotspots, understand the scale of the plastic waste problem and measure progress in addressing it.

The report calls on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment project to conduct a national shoreline survey every five years and for federal agencies with mandates over coastal and inland waters to establish new or enhanced monitoring programs, coordinated across agencies.

Industry response

Joshua Baca, vice president of plastics at the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Washington, says the report “underscores the importance of transitioning to a circular economy to conserve resources, protect the environment and prevent plastic from entering the ocean,” adding that the ACC “is appreciative” of the NAS’ work.

However, he adds, “Unfortunately, the report also suggests restricting plastic production to reduce marine debris. This is misguided and would lead to supply chain disruptions, economic and inflationary pressure on already hurt consumers, and worse environmental outcomes, particularly related to climate change.”

He notes that the U.S. plastic industry has called on Congress to have NAS study greenhouse gas emissions and other impacts from raw materials used in packaging and products, saying “studying the life cycle impacts of materials such as plastic, metal, glass and paper can help inform climate policy.”

Baca says, “The primary finding from the report is that the U.S. needs a coherent and comprehensive policy strategy to reduce plastic waste in the environment. America’s plastic makers fully agree. Earlier this year we announced 5 Actions for Sustainable Change, urging Congress to adopt policies to accelerate a circular economy, and 5 Principles to End Plastic Waste Globally, urging the United Nations Environment Assembly to start negotiation of a global treaty that addresses leakage and builds waste management infrastructure.

“There is significant alignment in what the plastics value chain and NAS report are calling for, particularly in improving access to waste collection and recycling infrastructure. Expanding advanced recycling technologies, which can increase the scope and amounts of plastics that can be recycled beyond those that can be recovered through traditional or mechanical recycling, will play a critical role in our success. Since 2017, more than $7.5 billion in advanced recycling projects have been announced or are already operating, with the potential to recycle 11.7 billion pounds of plastic waste.

 “The report also supports setting recycling targets, creating producer responsibility systems and measuring progress. All these recommendations are components of our 5 Actions for Sustainable Change and 5 Principles to End Plastic Waste Globally.”

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Source: Recycling Today
Report calls for national strategy to reduce US contribution to plastic waste
<![CDATA[A report released Dec. 1 calls on the U.S. to create a national strategy to reduce the country’s contribution to plastic waste in the ocean by the end of next year. The report, Reckoning with the U.S Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS), also concludes that plastic waste in the U.S. is ubiquitous and increasing. It recommends that the U.S. establish a nationally coordinated and expanded monitoring system to track plastic pollution to understand its scale and sources, set reduction and management priorities and measure progress in addressing it.The study, which was undertaken by the Committee on United States Contributions to Global Ocean Plastic Waste, was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.According to the report, at least 8.8 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the world’s oceans each year, which it says is the…