EPA Releases National Strategy To Prevent Plastic Pollution

The EPA has released the National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, a six-part strategy to eliminate the release of plastic waste by 2040.

In November 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") released its National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, a comprehensive plan with the goal of eliminating the release of plastic waste into the environment by 2040. The strategy is the third pillar of the EPA's "Building a Circular Economy for All" initiative and follows national strategies on recycling and reducing food loss and waste.

The strategy targets the entire plastics lifecycle and encourages innovators to create systems for a circular economy where materials are returned to supply chains for recycling and reuse. A draft of this strategy was published in April 2023 and received nearly 92,000 comments.