Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Rhode Island’s U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37) today reintroduced their resolution designating July as Plastic Pollution Action Month. The bicameral resolution spotlights the dangers plastic pollution poses to both human health and the environment, and calls on Americans to protect our planet by taking steps to reduce their plastic pollution, this month and beyond.
“Most of us have been taught the three Rs—reduce, reuse, and recycle; but too often the reality for plastics is the three Bs—buried, burned, and borne out to sea,” said Merkley. “By recognizing Plastic Pollution Action Month, we’re bringing attention to the urgency of the plastic pollution crisis—which disproportionately harms communities of color and low-income communities—and demanding bold action. Everyone deserves the right to live free of plastic pollution.”
“Plastic pollution fills our oceans, and microplastics seep into the human food chain,” said Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and the co-founder of the bipartisan Senate Oceans Caucus. “Plastic Pollution Action Month is a chance for us to renew our commitment to protecting marine ecosystems and human health, and to cleaning up the plastic trash that clogs the nets of Rhode Island fishermen.”
“From the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink to our greenspaces and waterways, plastic waste and pollution affect us in so many ways,” said Doggett. “With so much misleading propaganda from plastic makers, this resolution serves as a reminder of the many dangers posed by plastics. Until we overcome industry opposition to take meaningful action, these health and environmental dangers will only intensify.”
The Plastic Pollution Action Month resolution is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Peter Welch (D-VT).
Merkley is a long-time leader and fierce advocate for reducing plastic pollution. As former Chair of the Senate EPW subcommittee overseeing environmental justice, chemical safety, and waste management, he held a first-of-its-kind series of hearings investigating plastic production and pollution. His hearings examined: environmental and climate damage from plastics, impacts of plastics on environmental justice communities, reuse and refill systems, beverage container waste, and consumer challenges to recycling. He also leads the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act, the most comprehensive plan ever introduced in Congress to address the plastic pollution crisis that is poisoning our air, water, and land and disproportionately affecting communities of color and low-income Americans.
Full text of the bicameral resolution can be found by clicking here.
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