Senator Udall and Representative Lowenthal to Address the Plastic Waste “Crisis”

The Plastic Waste “Crisis” is to be addressed by legislation under development by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif). According to a July 18, 2019 news release, the bill would shift “… the large and growing financial burden of cleaning up plastic pollution from state and local governments to the companies that manufacture and sell the products … Producers will be required to design, manage, and finance programs for end-of-life management of their products and packaging as a condition of sale …”. The legislation would “… Place a national deposit requirement on beverage containers … [establish a] Carryout Bag Fee … [and] Ban use of expanded polystyrene in food-ware, disposable coolers and shipping packaging …”. The legislators are seeking comments by August 21, 2019 on the outline of the legislation.