Congress: Legislate Reduction in Plastic Pollution, Promote Reusable Systems

Today I take pen in hand to write and urge you to addressI the escalating plastic pollution crisis and that Congress takes immediate, decisive action to address this urgent environmental issue. Recent data shows that plastic waste generation increased by 6 million metric tons from 2019 to 2021 alone, highlighting the rapidly growing scale of this problem. The recent failure of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to come up with a single agreement on the large draft treaty, including no agreement, and indeed push back from the Trump Administration on limiting plastic production. The impacts of plastic pollution are far-reaching and severe. It threatens our oceans, wildlife, and human health. Marine animals are increasingly harmed by plastic debris, either through ingestion or entanglement. Microplastics have infiltrated our entire food web, bringing with it health risks to both animals and humans. The production of plastic also contributes significantly to climate change, generating greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 4% of global emissions. What's particularly concerning is how plastic pollution disproportionately affects marginalized communities, exacerbating existing environmental injustices. This makes addressing plastic pollution not just an environmental issue, but a social justice imperative as well. Developing nations at the negotiations were some of the loudest voice for real measures to stop plastic pollution. I urge you to support and strengthen the Global Plastic Treaty, which involves 175 countries and represents a crucial opportunity to tackle this global crisis. Additionally, What’s needed is for all of Congress to champion legislative action to hold producers accountable via our own laws that will reduce plastic production, increase recycling efforts, and promote reusable systems. Time is of the essence. Every day we delay action, more plastic enters our environment, causing long-lasting damage to people’s health, and that means a further burden on our already strained health care system and peoples wallets. I look forward to seeing your leadership on this critical issue. The U.S. must lead by example. Thank you for your service.