Lawmakers call for EPA to more tightly regulate plastic production and cut ties with chemical recycling
Source: https://www.wastedive.com/news/congress-booker-letter-epa-plastic-chemical-recycling/642703/
Author: Megan Quinn
A group of 48 federal lawmakers is once again urging the U.S. EPA to reject chemical recycling as a plastics management solution and focus more on reduction and reuse strategies. In a Feb. 9 letter sent to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, the lawmakers, led by Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; and Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., urge the EPA to refine its focus on the plastic pollution fight by further regulating the plastics industry. “We need bold action to protect our communities and our climate from plastics, and we must do this by looking upstream to the plastic production stage,” the lawmakers said. “While recycling is important, recycling alone will not get us out of this crisis, especially with misguided solutions like chemical recycling.”The group criticized chemical recycling, saying it won’t reduce the amount of plastic in the environment and could cause further harm by putting more resources into plastics production. They also said chemical recycling facilities could disproportionately impact disadvantaged communities that live near them. The group also called for the EPA to update its regulations to require financial assurance requirements for new or expanded plastics facilities and to use its rulemaking authority to do a wide-ranging review of “the entire petrochemical industry, from their facilities to specific chemicals used, to understand how these chemicals, alone or mixed, impact human health.”