Angeles Chapter Proposes Plastic Procurement Reduction (Everywhere)

Plastics are made to last forever. Yet, many of the products are used only for a few moments. When plastic enters the environment, it breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces that act as magnets for harmful chemical pollutants and become dispersed in the air, water, soil, and ocean, entering the food chain for people and wildlife. Plastic has been found in drinking water, food, and human breast milk, placenta, lung, blood, heart, liver and gut tissues. 

 

From production to disposal, plastic poses environmental and public health threats at every stage. Just to give a few examples: pollution during the extraction of fossil fuels used to make plastic; air and water pollution from petrochemical plants; spills of pre-production plastic pellets during production and transport; pollution from incineration or landfilling of plastic waste; exporting plastic waste to third-world countries; and the plastic that enters the environment — including an estimated billion pounds of plastic that enter the oceans every year. Environmental justice communities located near chemical and plastic production facilities and incinerators suffer disproportionate harm from plastic pollution. Chemicals that are a part of plastic production put fenceline communities at a higher risk of developing cancers, developmental and reproductive problems, and nervous system impairments. If current plastic production trends continue, the U.S. plastic industry’s greenhouse gas emissions are expected to outpace that of the country’s coal-fired power plants by 2030.  

 

Sierra Club has a number of campaigns that are in connection with plastic reduction, such as Beyond Dirty Fuels and Fossil Free Finance. Legal action has also been taken against the Coca-Cola Company (bottler of Dasani), BlueTriton Brands (bottler of Arrowhead, Poland Spring, Deer Park, and Ozarka), and Niagara Bottling (bottler of Niagara and store brands). Club members across the country have long been advocating for legislation and programs aimed at plastic reduction.

• Between 2022 and 2024, Sierra Club and dozens of allies sent five requests to the U.S. General Services Administration and Department of the Interior, on phasing out the procurement, sale, and distribution of single-use plastic products and packaging. Our engagements with state and local governments started even earlier. And in 2023, 10 chapters in the country received Sustainable Event Awards for implementing Sierra Club California's sustainable event resolution, which shares the overarching goal of reducing plastic consumption.
• Club members across the country have played a significant role in passing laws that prohibit the sale, distribution and use of single-use beverage bottles, balloons, etc. 
• Alongside dozens of organizations, The Angeles Chapter supports City of Los Angeles’ Comprehensive Plastics Reduction Program, which includes banning single-use printer cartridges. 
• While not all battles have been won, we continue to advocate for the mitigation of microfibers shed or fragmented from polyester, nylon, and rayon textiles, which pose a significant threat to both oceans and farmlands. Synthetic microfibers are one of the most dangerous forms of microplastic.
• Open window envelopes (without plastic) are readily accessible options.