RECYCLING COUNCIL OF BC 46TH ANNUAL CIRCULAR ECONOMY CONFERENCE: JUNE 11-12, 2021
  • Home
  • RCBC Awards 2021
  • The Circular Blog
  • How to Register
    • Registration Form
  • Program
  • Sponsorship
  • Contact Us
  • About RCBC

Ecowatch: Groundbreaking Legislation Would Help U.S. 'Break Free From Plastic'

2/13/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) discusses the introduction of the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020 in Washington, DC. Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire / Barcroft Media / Getty Images
"...Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) introduced the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020 Tuesday, a comprehensive piece of legislation that is being hailed as a first-of-its-kind attempt to address the root causes of the crisis on the national level.
"We need to turn off the faucet, not just run for the mop." - Oceana chief policy officer Jacqueline Savitz.
"The bill has several ground-breaking components.
  1. It requires plastic producers to take responsibility for their waste. The bill would shift the burden of waste collection and management from local governments and taxpayers to the manufacturers of items like packaging, containers, food service products and paper, who would be charged with designing and funding recycling systems.
  2. It establishes a nation-wide beverage container refund system. Anyone buying a beverage container of any type would be charged an extra 10 cents that would be refunded when they returned the empty item.
  3. It phases out the most polluting single-use plastics. Starting in Jan. 2022, highly polluting items like plastic bags, polystyrene containers and plastic stirrers and cutlery would be phased out. Straws would only be available by request. The bill would also introduce a nationwide plastic bag fee.
  4. It mandates minimum recycled content. The bill would require products to be made with increasing percentages of recycled material. For example, plastic bottles would need to be made of 25 percent recycled material by 2025 and 80 percent by 2040.
  5. It considers environmental justice. The bill would prohibit the U.S. from shipping waste to countries that cannot manage it. It would only be able to export waste to countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and only with their consent. Further, it puts a pause of up to three years on the granting of permits for facilities that create plastic so that the Environmental Protection Agency can update its safe air and water standards for these facilities."
Read the Full Article Here
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About RCBC

    Canada's Longest Standing Recycling Council 
    www.rcbc.ca

    Archives

    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Picture
visit our main site
Recycling Council of British Columbia
Suite 10 - 119 W. Pender Street
Vancouver, BC  V6B 1S5
604-683-6009 | conference@rcbc.ca 
  • Home
  • RCBC Awards 2021
  • The Circular Blog
  • How to Register
    • Registration Form
  • Program
  • Sponsorship
  • Contact Us
  • About RCBC