Don't Let Industry Roll Back Progress on Plastic Pollution
Surfrider strongly opposes a set of harmful federal bills currently in the House of Representatives. Together, they would promote plastic incineration, increase consumer deception, undermine states’ rights, and weaken the Clean Air Act — putting community health and environmental protections at risk.
Over the past three decades, Surfrider, along with community members and organizations, has worked tirelessly to help pass strong statewide plastic reduction laws. These federal bills not only threaten to erode that progress but increase environmental and human health harm through pollution.
The three bills are:
- Packaging and Claims Knowledge Act (PACK Act; HR 6832): Proposes a weak, voluntary federal framework lacking meaningful enforcement— revoking stronger state policies and opening the door to widespread greenwashing.
- Recycled Materials Attribution Act (HR 7502): Would legitimize deceptive accounting and marketing practices for plastic recycled content claims, allowing virgin plastic to be marketed as recycled plastic.
- Recycling Technology Innovation Act (HR 6566): Proposes to gut the Clean Air Act by classifying advanced/chemical recycling as manufacturing rather than solid waste incineration, allowing hazardous air pollution directly in communities.
Take action to stop these industry-backed bills that put human health at risk and weaken efforts to reduce plastic pollution. Sign our petition to the House Energy & Commerce Committee today.
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Don't Let Industry Roll Back Progress on Plastic Pollution
Please sign our petition to members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee to stop these harmful bills.
Don't Let Industry Roll Back Progress on Plastic Pollution
Dear Chairman Guthrie, Ranking Member Pallone, and esteemed members of the Energy and Commerce Committee,
We write to express our opposition regarding a suite of industry-backed bills that would roll back important advancements made in tackling plastic pollution. Combined, the following harmful bills would promote false solutions like plastic incineration, increase consumer deception, undermine states’ rights, and weaken the Clean Air Act — putting community health, consumer transparency, and environmental protections at risk.
The three bills are:
We write to express our opposition regarding a suite of industry-backed bills that would roll back important advancements made in tackling plastic pollution. Combined, the following harmful bills would promote false solutions like plastic incineration, increase consumer deception, undermine states’ rights, and weaken the Clean Air Act — putting community health, consumer transparency, and environmental protections at risk.
The three bills are:
- Packaging and Claims Knowledge Act (PACK Act; HR 6832): This bill would undercut state efforts to create and enforce strong standards around recyclability and compostability claims. In place of effective state oversight, it proposes a weak, voluntary federal framework lacking meaningful enforcement—opening the door to widespread greenwashing.
- Recycled Materials Attribution Act (HR 7502): This legislation would promote deceptive accounting and marketing practices through plastic incineration. It also preempts states from taking stronger action and allows harmful chemical recycling to be counted towards “recycling”.
- Recycling Technology Innovation Act (HR 6566): This bill would gut the Clean Air Act by classifying advanced/chemical recycling as manufacturing rather than solid waste incineration. This would lead to more hazardous air pollution directly in communities, including known human carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and heavy metals.
Community members and organizations like the Surfrider Foundation have worked tirelessly to help pass strong statewide plastic reduction laws. These bills not only erode that progress but would increase environmental and human health risks through pollution and increase the ability for producers to mislead consumers about the recyclability and recycled content of their products. Furthermore, these bills would remove key safeguards for human health and the environment by weakening existing plastic pollution reduction laws and blocking future ones from passing.
For these reasons, we urge you to oppose the above mentioned bills in order to protect the rights and health of U.S. consumers.
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Don't Let Industry Roll Back Progress on Plastic Pollution
Surfrider strongly opposes a set of harmful federal bills currently in the House of Representatives. Together, they would promote plastic incineration, increase consumer deception, undermine states’ rights, and weaken the Clean Air Act — putting community health and environmental protections at risk.
Over the past three decades, Surfrider, along with community members and organizations, has worked tirelessly to help pass strong statewide plastic reduction laws. These federal bills not only threaten to erode that progress but increase environmental and human health harm through pollution.
The three bills are:
- Packaging and Claims Knowledge Act (PACK Act; HR 6832): Proposes a weak, voluntary federal framework lacking meaningful enforcement— revoking stronger state policies and opening the door to widespread greenwashing.
- Recycled Materials Attribution Act (HR 7502): Would legitimize deceptive accounting and marketing practices for plastic recycled content claims, allowing virgin plastic to be marketed as recycled plastic.
- Recycling Technology Innovation Act (HR 6566): Proposes to gut the Clean Air Act by classifying advanced/chemical recycling as manufacturing rather than solid waste incineration, allowing hazardous air pollution directly in communities.
Take action to stop these industry-backed bills that put human health at risk and weaken efforts to reduce plastic pollution. Sign our petition to the House Energy & Commerce Committee today.
