Sunday, August 28, 2022

Leave a public comment telling the GSA to reduce federal spending on plastic.

 


Tell the GSA to reduce the amount of plastic it purchases for the federal government before the public comment period closes on Sept. 5.

As one of the biggest contributors to our planet's plastic waste crisis, our country needs to do everything it can to reduce our consumption of plastic. Add your voice to help shift government spending away from single-use plastic products.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/07/07/2022-14403/general-services-administration-acquisition-regulation-gsar-single-use-plastics-and-packaging

Every 15 and a half hours, Americans throw out enough plastic to fill the largest NFL stadium in the country, and the pile grows larger every year.1

As one of the biggest contributors to our planet's plastic waste crisis, our country needs to do everything it can to reduce our consumption of plastic -- and especially the single-use plastics that we just don't need.

One way our federal government can act right now? By phasing out its own purchase of plastic bags and other single-use plastic products. Add your name today.

The U.S. government is the biggest purchaser of consumer goods and services in the world, spending $650 billion per year. The goods it purchases include a mountain of plastic products -- the single-use plastic bags, utensils, straws, bottles, packaging and other plastic products purchased for use in government buildings and at official events.2,3

By wielding its purchasing power more responsibly -- phasing out the purchase of all these single-use plastics -- the federal government can make a dent in our country's overall plastic consumption.

Right now, the Goods and Services Administration (GSA) is reviewing a proposal that would do just that. We can't miss any opportunity to take a bite out of our growing plastic waste crisis.4

Tell the GSA to reduce the amount of plastic it purchases for the federal government before the public comment period closes on Sept. 5.

Given that the lifespan of a single plastic bag is 1,000 years and doesn't ever fully degrade, this kind of regulation is long overdue.5

1. Alex Truelove, Adrian Pforzheimer, "Trash in America," U.S. PIRG Education Fund, September 2021.
2. Sharon Udasin, "NGOs petition the Biden administration to stop buying single-use plastic," The Hill, February 4, 2022.
3. Jack Forrest, "Feds consider phasing out single-use plastics," E&E News, July 8, 2022.
4. Jack Forrest, "Feds consider phasing out single-use plastics," E&E News, July 8, 2022.
5. Sharon Udasin, "NGOs petition the Biden administration to stop buying single-use plastic," The Hill, February 4, 2022.

More information: 

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/federal-purchases-of-single-use-plastics-targeted-by-bidens-gsa

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