The U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Plastics Waste Reduction and Recycling Act (HR 7228). Keith Christman, ACC’s managing director of plastic markets, issued the following statement: ” The American Chemistry Council strongly supports the Plastics Waste Reduction and Recycling Act, which would marshal federal government resources to improve the global competitiveness of the U.S. plastics recycling industry. If passed, this important legislation would help capture the potential value of used plastics through enhanced research and development, as well as the creation of standards, tools and technologies needed to modernize and expand today’s recycling systems. Under the Act, funds would go to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Passing the Plastics Waste Reduction and Recycling Act would accelerate research and development on advanced plastics recycling technologies, which would enable a significantly greater range of our plastics resources to be repurposed. It also would increase research and coordination across federal agencies on plastic waste reduction as well as recycling. The ACC appreciates the approach taken by Reps. Haley Stevens and Anthony Gonzalez to better align and coordinate these various initiatives and harness the expertise of different agencies for greater success in ending plastic waste.
Plastics play a number of critical roles in our society, and their value extends beyond initial use. America’s plastic makers are working with industry partners, government and nonprofits to build a more circular economy for plastics so these resources are harnessed and redeployed to benefit our communities and ecosystems. We have set goals for all plastic packaging used in the United States to be recyclable or recoverable by 2030 and to be recycled, reused or repurposed by 2040. Since July 2017, the private sector has announced investments of nearly $5 billion in innovative technologies to improve and expand plastics recycling in the United States.”