Joe Biden Has a Plan to Phase Out Single-Use Plastics in Federal Buildings

In July, President Joe Biden announced a wide-ranging commitment to phasing out single-use plastic products in the federal government, pledging to move away from single-use plastic products across all U.S. federal agencies and operations by 2035 while also working to end the use of single-use plastics in government-related food service events and operations by 2027. 

“President Biden is committed to taking ambitious actions throughout the lifecycle of plastic to end plastic pollution and is working with the global community to do the same,” the White House wrote in a fact sheet. The administration explained that it will attempt to meet these goals by “selecting reusable, compostable, and highly recyclable products” instead of single-use plastics. It also said that it will try to decrease the amount of “pollution pathways” — preventing the use of materials that may end up as waste or pollution — by adding water refill stations, for example, to cut down on the use of plastic bottles. 

“With its multitude of environmental impacts across its supply chain, broad global effects, and severe public health consequences, plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing and consequential environmental problems in the U.S. and around the globe,” the White House wrote in an 83-page report, called Mobilizing Federal Action on Plastic Pollution: Progress, Principles, and Priorities. 

“Tackling plastic pollution and its associated impacts will require unprecedented action at every stage of the plastic lifecycle — from reining in the pollution from petrochemical production that is poisoning communities and driving climate change, to reorienting infrastructure to ensure dramatic increases in recycling and reuse, to investing in innovative materials to replace the pervasive use of plastics in our society.” 

Conservation organizations have applauded the Biden administration’s efforts. “As the single largest consumer in the world, the U.S. federal government has an outsized role to play in curbing the use of problematic and unnecessary plastic products,” Erin Simon, the vice president and head of plastic waste and business at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said in a statement. “The administration’s commitment to removing single-use plastic products across an entity this large goes beyond the positive environmental effects, sending a message to the public and private sector across the world: if we can make change happen at scale, so can you.”

And Oceana, a nonprofit organization that focuses on protecting and restoring the health of the world’s oceans called it a “reason to celebrate.”  

“We applaud the Biden administration for committing to phase out single-use plastics,” the organization said in a statement. “This positive step reduces U.S. reliance on single-use plastics, which harm our oceans, climate, and communities. We look forward to the successful and swift implementation of this effort to eliminate single-use plastics across the government and move to refillable and reusable products.” 

Last month, Oceana surveyed over 1,000 registered voters in the United States. Two-thirds (75%) of respondents supported national policies that would reduce single-use plastic, while 84% were in favor of the increased use of reusable food packaging and cutlery, making it a potentially bi-partisan win.