The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a report on packaging recovery, entitled “Dialogue on Sustainable Financing of Recycling: Dialogue Report on Consumer Packaging“. The report is grossly misguided, as it is focused entirely on recycling – the final “R” in the order of preference for sustainability.

It is imperative that groups supporting sustainable packaging comment on this report, as the US EPA will be use it as the foundation of their future approach to packaging issues. So far, comments from environmentally-conscious actors and citizens are outnumbered by those from industry insiders. Comments on this report are due February 9th. The focus of comments should be on the need for source reduction and industry responsibility for packaging waste they generate.

We cannot let this opportunity pass to steer the EPA away from adopting the plastic industry’s reversal of the sustainability model to prefer recycling over reduction and reuse. Recycling will never solve all the problems associatedwith plastic packaging including: human health concerns, impacts on the environment and wildlife, and costs to local governments that are burdened with pollution control.  Please see the attached sample comments submitted by Legal Policy Director Lisa Kaas Boyle on behalf of Plastic Pollution Coalition and Leslie Tamminen submitted on behalf of Seventh Generation.

Steps to Comment:

1. Click on this link.
2. Click on the link in the search results which says “Memorandum to open docket for public access”.
3. In the top right corner, click on the “Submit Comment” button.
4. Fill out the information fields on the comment page. Be sure to both paste your comment in the large and attach a document file with the comment in it.
5. Click submit.