Rep. Doggett Urges Biden Administration for Greater International Action Against Plastic Pollution
Contact: Alexis.Torres@mail.house.gov
Washington, D.C.—As countries around the world convene at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin), joined by 12 Members, urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to address critical oversights currently missing in the Zero Draft text of an internationally legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. Specifically, the Members push for robust criteria to identify and phase out single-use plastics and implement rigorous measures to prevent and remove secondary microplastic pollution. The Members also call on the Administration to work with known big polluting industries—from tire manufacturers to textile producers—to determine best practices in addressing the root causes of secondary microplastic pollution.
“We are amid a global climate crisis deteriorating our ecosystems and endangering our public health. We need an aggressive and timely approach to eliminate one of the most harmful culprits: plastics,” said Rep. Doggett. “As global leaders engage in meaningful discussions in Nairobi, the United States must use our stewardship on the world stage to help craft an ambitious treaty that significantly reduces plastic pollution while enacting stronger preventive efforts to conserve our oceans and ensure the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink remain clean for future generations.”
“To fully meet the urgency of the moment, it is critical that the Administration advocate for a comprehensive agreement across the full lifecycle of plastic that addresses some of the most environmentally impactful types of plastic pollution, like unnecessary single-use plastics and microplastics, in addition to tackling the crisis at the source through binding reduction measures,” the Members wrote. “The internationally legally binding instrument is an unprecedented opportunity to address our plastic pollution crisis head on and we stand ready to work with the Biden Administration to further these efforts on the federal level.”
Globally, over 400 million metric tons of plastic are produced each year, with single-use plastics accounting for roughly 40 percent; in 2021, the U.S. ranked as the world’s leading contributor of plastic waste. According to the State Department’s Office of Environmental Quality, an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastics enter the ocean each year—often a result of waste mismanagement. Plastics are not biodegradable and instead break down into tiny microplastics ranging in size from 5 millimeters or smaller and can remain in our environment for centuries.
In March 2022, during the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly, an adopted resolution established the development of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) is responsible for developing this comprehensive approach to address the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal. The INC has previously met twice—first in Punta del Este, Uruguay (November 2022) and again in Paris, France (June 2023). The third session opened today in Nairobi, Kenya, and will run until November 19. Two more INC sessions are planned for next year, with negotiations expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
The letter can be read in full below or here.
Dear Secretary Blinken:
We are grateful for the Administration’s continued effort to negotiate an ambitious internationally legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. We were pleased to see the comprehensive nature of the zero draft text prepared by the Secretariat and the inclusion of ambitious options that will help significantly reduce or end plastic pollution. In advance of the third Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC3) to continue negotiating and crafting an ambitious treaty to end plastic pollution, we urge you to address critical oversights currently missing in the zero draft text that are necessary for a successful treaty.
Single-use plastic packaging accounts for roughly 40% of the over 400 million metric tons of plastic produced globally each year, and nearly half of the most common items that litter our beaches and waterways. Moreover, many of these same single-use plastics are not recyclable in the first place, meaning there are no sustainable end-of-life options for these products. In addition to reducing the use of plastics overall, it is critical that the treaty include robust criteria to identify and phase-out problematic and avoidable plastics. While the criteria have yet to be established, we urge the Biden Administration to advocate for criteria that are inclusive of the harms and toxicity of the material, the polluting nature of the material, the ability to replace the material (with either no packaging, reusable options, or with less harmful materials), and the end-of-life options for the material (e.g., recyclability or composability). Ocean Conservancy recently published a report on the most common ocean plastic pollution items found in beach cleanups that should be phased out immediately, including plastic single-use cigarette filters, plastic bags, plastic straws, plastic cutlery, and expanded polystyrene foam foodware. This list aligns with many of the items the U.S. Plastics Pact, a broad consortium of businesses throughout the plastics supply chain, listed as problematic and unnecessary that should be phased out by 2025. We urge you to advocate for option 1 under the “problematic and avoidable plastic products” in the zero draft text and encourage the inclusion of the problematic and avoidable plastics listed above on the list of items to be phased out by a certain date.
In addition to these highly visible, highly polluting plastics, we are deeply concerned about microplastics, a sometimes invisible and growing threat. Microplastics, plastic particles under 5 mm in size, are highly mobile, in the food web and even in our own bodies. They carry with them toxic additives from the plastic production processing and can cause harms to human health that are not yet fully understood. To protect our communities and our environment from this threat, it is critical that the treaty includes meaningful actions to address microplastics. While we are grateful to see the zero draft text include options for purposely produced and intentionally added microplastics (i.e., primary microplastics, such as beads added to cosmetics), the vast majority of microplastic pollution in the ocean and the environment are secondary microplastics, microplastics that are shed or released from larger plastics as they break down. Critically, provisions to prevent, mitigate, or remove these types of microplastics are all but absent in the text. Once in the environment, microplastics are next to impossible to clean up and remove, which is why it is imperative that the treaty include upstream measures to prevent microplastics from entering the environment in the first place.
We strongly encourage the Administration to advocate for the inclusion of secondary microplastics in the “emissions and releases of plastic throughout its life cycle” section of the zero draft text, to ensure more robust consideration of actions to prevent and remediate secondary microplastics.
The Administration has existing authority to regulate these types of microplastics under the Clean Water Act through effluent limitations for runoff, NPDES permitting, and drinking water standards. The Administration should also work with industries known to be major sources of secondary microplastic pollution from tire manufacturers to washing machines and textile producers to determine upstream best practices to limit the generation of microplastics in the first place.
To fully meet the urgency of the moment, it is critical that the Administration advocate for a comprehensive agreement across the full lifecycle of plastic that addresses some of the most environmentally impactful types of plastic pollution, like unnecessary single-use plastics and microplastics, in addition to tackling the crisis at the source through binding reduction measures. The internationally legally binding instrument is an unprecedented opportunity to address our plastic pollution crisis head on and we stand ready to work with the Biden Administration to further these efforts on the federal level.