Monterey Bay Aquarium applauds U.S. Environmental Protection Agency national strategy to prevent plastic pollution

Today, the Biden-Harris administration finalized its National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, which provides a plan to prevent plastic pollution and protect human health and the environment in the United States. The strategy outlines voluntary and regulatory actions that multiple sectors—from governments to businesses, industry to nongovernmental organizations—can take to comprehensively “eliminate the release of plastic waste from land- and sea-based sources into the environment by 2040.”

Monterey Bay Aquarium Chief Conservation and Science Officer Margaret Spring welcomed the release of the strategy:

“This strategy is a part of a necessary shift in how the nation approaches safeguarding our blue planet, our health, and vulnerable communities,” Spring said. “The shift was led by bipartisan voices in Congress and by the Biden-Harris administration to address plastic pollution more directly than during any other period of federal leadership. Going forward, this challenge will require all of us working together. The Aquarium and our partners look forward to supporting further implementation of the EPA strategy, and we hope many leaders nationwide will join us.”

Spring continued: “The EPA is right to push forward with a strategy we can all work together to implement. We’ve known for years that the U.S. plays a sizable role in this global crisis and thus can drive solutions—and there’s no time to waste. We must deploy an array of interventions across the plastic lifecycle to effectively reduce plastic waste and pollution, address the severe human health impacts as well as the greenhouse gas emissions tied to plastic production and consumption, and alleviate and prevent direct harm to communities of color or frontline communities impacted by some industrial interests.”

The U.S. generates more plastic waste than any other country in the world, per capita and by total mass. The EPA strategy, which closely aligns with a 2024 White House Report, provides pathways to meet our national responsibility to help address this crisis.

The EPA’s final strategy, created at the request of Congress, is supported by strategic competitive funding grants awarded to communities across the United States to allow increased implementation. The final strategy reflects recommendations and interventions proposed by the 2021 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste, which was requested by Congress. Spring chaired the National Academies expert panel.

The EPA strategy was released days before the final round of international negotiations toward a global treaty to end plastic pollution. “The U.S. can continue to build on its leadership next week during this crucial global moment, in Busan, South Korea,” Spring said. “We urge the administration to utilize its existing authorities and continue its momentum by working toward an ambitious and effective treaty by year’s end.”

About Monterey Bay Aquarium

With a mission to inspire conservation of the ocean, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the most admired aquarium in the United States, a leader in science education, and a voice for ocean conservation through comprehensive programs in marine science and public policy. Everything we do works in concert to protect the future of our blue planet. More information at MontereyBayAquarium.org.