Senate Bill 984, the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2021, is a comprehensive act aimed at reducing plastics waste. This bill aims to amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to reduce the production and use of certain single-use plastic products and packaging, to improve the responsibility of producers in the design, collection, reuse, recycling and disposal of their consumer products and packaging, to prevent pollution from consumer products and packaging from entering into animal and human food chains and waterways, and for other purposes. Several notable aims of this bill include:

• Nationwide ban on single-use plastic bags, straws, Styrofoam cups
• Nationwide bottle bill which would impose a deposit on each can or bottle of beverage purchased, including water.
• Extended producer responsibilities programs
• Pauses on issuing permits to build chemical recycling plants and waste-to-energy plants.

The bullet points above are just a few of the items targeted in the bill. You can read the text of the bill as re-introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) on the lawmakers’ websites, and you can follow the legislative developments of S984 on the Congressional Bill Tracking website link for this bill.

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Posted on 8 April 2021