There's been some buzz in the political and environmental activist communities about a reported reversal by Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for U.S. president, over whether to ban plastic straws.
In 2019, when Harris was running for president, she'd supported a plastic straw ban. But in 2024, members of her campaign staff tell news organization Axios that she longer does. That may be interesting from a political perspective, but I think it overlooks the literal thousands of words on public policy and the environment related to plastics that have come from the White House the past few years that go far beyond straws.
President Joe Biden's administration has called for reductions in single-use plastics purchasing in government programs and an announcement just last month from the White House said it was supporting calls to virgin plastic production as part of the United Nations' plastics treaty.
In July, the White House issued a plan that calls for phasing out single-use plastics in foodservice operations, events and packaging across the federal government by 2027.
"Tackling plastic pollution and its associated impacts will require unprecedented action at every stage of the plastics life cycle," White House officials said in July.
A Harris administration could ignore those proposals in favor of her own spin, but since she has spent the last four years as Biden's vice president, it's unlikely her take on plastics and environmental issues will strongly differ from those already put forward by the current White House occupant.
