Care of Creation Committee
TAKE ACTION
Every year, 8 million tons of plastic pollution escapes into the world’s oceans, and the United States alone burns or buries 32 million tons of plastic in landfills. This cost to human health is enormous, especially in Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities where the majority of plastic-making facilities and plastic-burning incinerators are located.
The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021 will tackle the plastic pollution crisis in the United States.
This legislation seeks to meaningfully address the plastic pollution crisis by:
- Shifting responsibility for waste management and recycling to manufacturers and producers
- Setting up a national beverage container refund program
- Establishing minimum recycled content standards
- Phasing out certain single-use plastic products that aren’t recyclable
- Prohibit plastic waste from being exported to developing countries
- Placing a moratorium on new and expanding plastic facilities until the Environmental Protection Agency updates and creates vital environmental and health regulations on those facilities
– submitted by Srs. Diane Dube RJM and Doris Bissonnette RJM
