Microplastic Policies
It is estimated that between 9 to 14 million tonnes of plastic debris enters our oceans every year. Our rivers serve as funnels of plastic pollution into the ocean, with just 1,600 rivers accounting for close to 80% of plastic emissions (United Nations Environment Programme, Meijer et al., Sci. Adv. 2021). As this non-biodegradable plastic trash drifts through ocean currents seemingly clogging our waterways in perpetuity, smaller, more hazardous iterations of plastic begin to emerge in the form of microplastics. Microplastics are small fragments less than 5 mm in diameter that form from a variety of sources. Larger macroplastic debris can break apart into continuously smaller pieces of microplastic as it swirls in ocean currents, or microplastic microbeads and fibers slip past water filtration systems as they rinse down the drain from cosmetics and exfoliants (National Ocean Service). While studies on microplastics are emergent, they pose a potentially dangerous threat to aquatic and human health. These microplastics can move through the food chain, from marine life to our plate as seafare. But they also can enter our bodies through inhalation and absorption and wind up in our organs (United Nations Environment Programme).
Despite what little we currently know about the environmental and human health risks of microplastic pollution in our drinking water and oceans, the issue has begun to permeate the policy sphere in recent years. Here in the United States, much of the major legislation addressing microplastic pollution has been proposed, but not passed, into law. The only major legislation to date at the federal level tackling microplastics is the Microbead-Free Waters Act (HR. 1321), signed into law by President Obama in 2015. This law bans the manufacturing, distribution, and introduction of rinse-off cosmetics that contain microbeads. However, this law addresses a mere fraction of the total sources of microplastic pollution. Nearly two thirds of microplastic release are from the washing of synthetic textiles in our laundry and the erosion of tires on the road while driving (IUCN).
In the last three years of U.S. federal legislative sessions alone, several proposed policies aim to improve recycling efforts and eliminate single-use plastic products from U.S. production and waste streams. A single-use plastic product is one that is designed to be disposed of after one use. With half of the roughly 300 million tonnes of plastic produced globally serving as single-use, these plastics greatly contribute to the growing hazard of microplastic pollution, as they are very challenging to recycle (NRDC). The Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Research Act (HR.2821) and the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021 (S.984) would work to bolster the competitiveness of the American recycling industry and would establish mandates and incentivize the reduction of single-use plastic product production. Other proposed legislation illuminates the federal government’s interest in studying the health and environmental impacts of microplastics in our drinking water, with bills such as the MICRO Plastics Act of 2020 (S.3306) and the Save Our Seas 2.0: Improving Domestic Infrastructure to Prevent Marine Debris Act (S.2260). S.3306 would instruct the EPA to establish a pilot program aimed at testing the effectiveness and cost of tools and technologies that can remove and prevent microplastics from the environment. S.2260 would allow the EPA to send grants to local governments to help improve plastic waste removal (including microplastics) from drinking water. If passed, the bill would also instruct the EPA would also conduct a study with the National Academies on the effects of microplastics in food supplies and drinking water sources.
Looking more regionally in the scope of PolyGone’s research, New York and New Jersey state legislation have yet to truly dismantle the microplastic problem in any passed or proposed laws. Both states created their own Microbead-Free Waters Act, however, only New Jersey successfully passed a state ban on microbeads in 2015 (Bill A3083). Both states have been able to pass bans on plastic bags, taking a strong step in the direction towards single-use plastic elimination. New Jersey’s Plastic Pollution Reduction Act goes even further to additionally ban the acquisition and selling of polystyrene foam food service containers and products, limit the use of plastic straws and paper bags, and appropriate money towards public education (ANJEC). Perhaps the most exemplary state that is a trailblazer in microplastic pollution prevention policy is California - passing laws such as the California Safe Water Drinking Act (SB-1422) requiring water testing for microplastics, and creating a Statewide Microplastics Strategy (SB-1263) that enforces the California Ocean Protection Council to address and decrease the risks associated with microplastics in marine ecosystems.
As research continues to shed light on the harmful effects of microplastics in our waterways, productive solutions to adequately protect human and marine life from this growing problem can originate from improved legislation at the local, state and federal level. While progress is slow, there still exists large gaps in plastic pollution management and recycling in the United States. Ultimately, comprehensive bans on all single-use plastics or improved recycling methods at the state and federal level would go a long way to mitigate further perpetuation of microplastic pollution.
What Can You Do?
Tell your Federal legislators to support local and state initiatives on microplastic and plastic pollution. Find out who your Members of Congress are for your state here:
Senate
House of Representatives
You can search what current microplastic legislation at your state and federal level is being proposed here:
State
Federal
You can call, email, or send a letter to your elected officials and tell them the specific bills you want to see passed! Use this template by the North Los Angeles County Regional Center to help you craft your letter and for tips and tricks on how to address your elected officials.
What Are We Doing?
Technology is already paving the way to designing solutions to our global plastic problem. Here at PolyGone, our goal is to remove microplastic pollutants from water systems through developing a portable and affordable microplastic sequestering device, the Plastic Hunter. This device utilizes root biofilters to remove microplastics from rivers, while simultaneously monitoring levels of microplastic pollution in freshwater systems. Make sure to follow us on Instagram, and Facebook to follow our journey to clean up the world’s microplastics.