Today, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37) introduced a resolution that, if passed, would make July “Plastic Pollution Action Month” in the U.S. The policymakers highlight that plastic pollution poses a danger to both human health and the environment, and urge Americans to take action to reduce their plastic pollution and support systemic solutions, this month and beyond.
The plastic pollution crisis is a public health emergency for Americans everywhere, demanding bold action. For years, we were taught the three Rs—reduce, reuse, and recycle. The reality for plastics is really the three Bs—buried, burned, or borne out to sea—and dangerous chemicals seeping into our soil, air, and water. Plastic Pollution Action Month brings attention to the urgency of this crisis, which disproportionately impacts communities of color and low-income communities. We must all come together to address the full scale of plastic pollution for current and future generations of Americans.
— Senator Jeff Merkley
In his role as the Chair of the Environment and Public Works subcommittee overseeing environmental justice and chemical safety, Merkley held a first-of-its-kind series of hearings investigating plastic production and pollution. Merkley’s hearings have examined: environmental and climate damage from plastics, impacts of plastics on environmental justice communities, reuse and refill systems, beverage container waste, and consumer challenges to recycling. He also leads the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act, the most comprehensive plan ever introduced in Congress to address the plastic pollution crisis that is poisoning our air, water, and land, and disproportionately impacting communities of color and low-income Americans.
Merkley previously proposed the Plastic Pollution Action Month resolution during the 2021–2022 and 2022-2023 legislative sessions. This latest resolution is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Peter Welch (D-VT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
Again the U.S. has the opportunity to establish Plastic Pollution Awareness Month, which is a step forward in empowering Americans to take action to end plastic pollution. Yet as the leader in generating plastic pollution globally, it is time for the U.S. to take even greater action and hold the fossil fuel, petrochemical, and plastics industries accountable and support the plastic-free reuse, refill, repair, share, and regenerative solutions we need.
— Jackie Nuñez, Plastic Pollution Coalition Advocacy and Engagement Manager
Take Action
Tell your representative it’s time to establish Plastic Pollution Action Month, and learn 5 ways to take action this Plastic Free July.
You can also tell your representative to support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2023 for the health and future of humans, wildlife, plants, and the planet. This national legislation establishes plastic reduction plans that would help create a more sustainable, equitable future for Americans, with proven solutions that will better protect impacted communities, reform our broken recycling system, and shift the financial burden of waste management off of municipalities and taxpayers to where it belongs: the producers of plastic pollution.
