REDUCE Act reintroduced to Congress

This week, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas reintroduced legislation that, if enacted, would impose a 20-cent-per-pound fee on the sale of virgin plastic resin used to make single-use plastics.

The Rewarding Efforts to Decrease Unrecycled Contaminants in Ecosystems (REDUCE) Act was first introduced by Whitehouse in 2021 with the goal of creating an incentive to recycle plastic and help reduce plastic waste he says “is disrupting coastal economies, overwhelming ecosystems and threatening public health.”

RELATED: REDUCE Act receives support from environmental groups, while plastics industry voices concern

In a news release, Whitehouse says, “We are living with a flood of plastic pollution. Microplastics have reached the most remote parts of Antarctica, and they’ve been found in human blood and infant formula. This plastic deluge is choking our oceans, hastening climate change and threatening people’s health. A polluter fee would hold the biggest plastics companies accountable for the damage they’ve caused and increase the amount of plastic that actually gets recycled.”

The REDUCE Act is cosponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Robert Menendez of New Jersey, in addition to 26 members of the House of Representatives. A number of environmental groups also have endorsed the legislation, including Californians Against Waste; Clean Air Council; Environment America; Fenceline Watch; Greenpeace; Inland Ocean Coalition; Ocean Conservancy; Oceana; Plastic Pollution Coalition; Surfrider Foundation; Upstream; U.S. PIRG; and World Wildlife Fund.

“Runaway plastic pollution is hurting waterways like our treasured Chesapeake Bay and in turn harming our coastal communities and those whose lives and livelihoods depend on them,” Van Hollen says. “This bill will make sure big corporate polluters help foot the bill for the cleanup costs while reducing plastic waste, increasing recycling and promoting better human health.”

According to data gathered by Whitehouse, about 450 million tons of plastic are produced yearly—a number projected to triple by 2050—while single-use plastics account for at least 40 percent of the plastic produced each year. Less than 3 percent of plastic scrap is recycled into a similar-quality product.

The news release continues, “Because utilizing recycled plastic for new products is more costly than using virgin plastic, a fee on virgin plastic production would give the market a stronger incentive to use recycled plastics. Leveling the playing field for recycled plastics would make environmentally friendly product options more accessible and affordable to consumers. The legislation would also ensure the plastics industry bears some of the burden for the environmental damage it causes.”

The 2023 version of the REDUCE Act mirrors the one introduced in 2021, and would:

• Establish an excise tax on virgin plastic resin where manufacturers, producers and importers would pay 10 cents per pound in 2024, increasing gradually to 20 cents per pound in 2026. This fee would apply to virgin plastic used to make single-use products, including plastic packaging, beverage containers, bags and food service products. Exported virgin plastic resin and postconsumer recycled resin would be exempt.
• Establish a Plastic Waste Reduction Fund. The bill would direct revenue from the virgin plastic fee into the fund, making the money available to carry out plastic waste reduction and recycling activities, including making improvements to recycling infrastructure; carrying out marine debris reduction; detection, monitoring and cleanup activities; and addressing environmental justice and pollution impacts from the production of plastic.
• Exempt certain products and small businesses. Virgin plastic used to make medical products, containers or packaging for medicines, personal hygiene products, any packaging used for the shipment of hazardous materials and any non-single-use products would not be subject to the fee. Companies that produce or import small amounts of virgin plastic resin or earn less than $25 million in gross receipts would be exempt from the fee.

“Our addiction to plastic has gotten way out of hand,” says Lisa Frank, executive director of Environment America’s Washington legislative office. “Plastic is atop our highest mountains and in the depths of our oceans. It’s choking animals and filling our landfills, and most of it is never recycled. The REDUCE Act is a helpful step away from wasteful plastic and toward a more sustainable approach. We urge Congress to pass it.”

RELATED: ACC taps Ross Eisenberg to lead Plastics Division, America’s Plastic Makers

The Washington-based American Chemistry Council’s (ACC’s) Plastics Division, which represents the country’s plastic makers, expressed concern over the legislation, saying the proposed tax on plastic materials would be “a step backward for the environment and inflation.”

In a statement, ACC Plastic Division head Ross Eisenberg says the tax introduced in 2021 was the wrong approach and remains so today. He encourages Congress to focus on bipartisan bills such as the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act, the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act and the upcoming Save Our Seas Act 3.0.

“Our nation needs modern plastic materials to minimize food waste, improve safety and protect valuable products Americans depend on every day,” Eisenberg says. “The tax would incentivize a switch to alternative materials, many of which create significantly more lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. And, unwittingly, it would harm U.S. manufacturing by favoring imported plastic products coming mainly from China, where environmental practices and protections are not as robust as the U.S.

“Everyday Americans would bear the brunt of the tax,” he adds. “The bill is misguided and would cost our nation high-tech, high-paying American jobs. It also would do little to create the systems needed to keep used plastics in our economy and out of our environment.”

Eisenberg points to five actions the ACC has previously called for Congress to focus on to accelerate a circular economy, including requiring all plastic packaging to include at least 30 percent recycled content by 2030 through a national recycled plastics standard and establishing an American-designed producer responsibility system for packaging to help raise funds to increase recycling infrastructure, collection and outreach for all materials, including plastics.

“We believe a national standard requiring all plastic packaging to include at least 30 percent recycled plastics within the decade is a much more feasible, market-driven approach to increasing recycling and reducing waste, without resorting to harmful taxes,” Eisenberg says. “We encourage Congress to take up the five actions to accelerate the circular economy and help end plastic waste.”