US government announces plans for single use plastics ban

The US government has announced plans to tackle local and global plastic pollution and waste, including a call for the banning of single use plastics within federal operations.

The Biden-Harris administration announced a new goal to phase out federal procurement of single use plastics within food service operations, events and packaging by 2027, with plans to eliminate the material from all federal operations by 2035.

"Today's actions further leverage the purchasing power of the federal government to reduce emissions, protect public health, and spur markets for new sustainable products," the statement issued July 19 said.

The statement also highlights further action for the administration's tackling of the "plastic pollution crisis", detailed fully in a complementary report titled "Mobilizing Federal Action on plastic Pollution: Progress, Principles and Priorities".

The report calls for steps to reduce pollution in the extraction of fossil fuels and production of plastics, developments of standards to promote circularity, decrease the use of virgin polymers in federal agencies and investment in waste management systems.

"The president is committed to taking ambitious actions throughout the full life cycle of plastics to end plastic pollution ... with the goal to reduce the global production and consumption of virgin plastics" Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Ali Zaidi, Biden's climate adviser, said in the report.

The announcement was followed by news over the weekend regarding President Biden's plans to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, with a variety of Democratic party officials subsequently coming forward to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the subsequent nominee. At the time of writing, it is unclear as to what impact this will have, if any, on the administration's sustainability commitment.

Initial reaction from the American polymer industry to the plans was negative, with industry associations questioning the validity of the focus on single use plastics within the statement form the Whitehouse.

"We are disappointed in today's White House announcement, which arbitrarily singles out plastic under the false pretence of a lower environmental impact," Matt Seaholm, CEO and President at the Plastics Industry Association said in response to the announcement. "Instead of implementing arbitrary bans that don't address our environmental challenges, we need to collaborate on sound policies that will truly help us achieve circularity".

Legislative intervention promoting the use of circular material has typically been seen as crucial in facilitating demand for and the long-term viability of sustainable materials by recycled polymer market players across global markets.

Recycled polymer materials typically command a strong pricing premium to their virgin counterparts, clipping wholesale consumption and commoditization of such markets and limiting affordability for consumers who procure material on a cost-competitive basis.

As such, the Biden administration's announcement is likely to be welcomed by players directly in the circular polymer industry in America, with the country previously seeing limited federal attention on promoting the circular economy. Previous governmental action on the issue has been focused on a localized basis, with strong variation between states.