EPA Releases Draft Of National Strategy To Prevent Plastic Pollution

Highlights

• Two years after setting the National Recycling Goal to increase the recycling rate to 50 percent by 2030, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) released a draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution (Draft Strategy). This Draft Strategy was issued in accordance with the Save Our Seas Act 2.0 (Public Law 116-224) and in support of EPA's recent efforts to promote a circular economy in the U.S. EPA is soliciting public comments on the Draft Strategy until July 31, 2023.
• The Draft Strategy proposes the evaluation of potential regulatory changes under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Clean Air Act (CAA) and chemical transportation laws with respect to pyrolysis, plastic pellets and hazardous chemical releases. Significantly, the Draft Strategy calls for increased regulatory enforcement in the plastics industry. Finally, it identifies voluntary actions that