Elections seen as sharpening focus on plastics in Washington

Industry and environmental groups expect the Nov. 3 elections to lead to more focus on plastics waste issues in Washington, with both sides pointing to potentially significant changes.

The new head of the American Chemistry Council's plastics division, for example, said growing support within industry for things like packaging fees and recycled content standards could open the door to legislation in the next Congress.

Environmental groups as well said they expect more attention on the issues, arguing that a Joe Biden administration could lead to federal agency activity in areas like pellet pollution and climate, in addition to more interest in new legislation in Congress.

Both caution that it remains hard to predict how exactly the debate will move forward in Washington, particularly with control of the Senate hinging on two races in Georgia and President Donald Trump challenging election results.

But in reading the situation thus far, they both predict more interest in legislation and executive action, even as they identify somewhat different factors behind it.

Joshua Baca, who took over as head of the ACC's plastics division this year, sees a consensus building within industry around issues like extended producer responsibility fees on packaging and requirements for recycled content.

"There seems to be growing momentum for issues like recycled content standards," Baca said. "There's broad momentum and coalitions and partnerships for … the need for there to be more standards when it comes to recycling.

"I think there's a growing movement within the brands and a bunch of other organizations who are working through the Recycling Partnership on advancing forms of EPR like packaging fees and landfill disposal fees," he said.

Ahead of the election, industry lobbyists saw a divided government in Washington, with control of Capitol Hill and the White House split between the two major parties, as a good election outcome.

In a Nov. 10 interview, Baca said he thinks it's possible to have some plastics-related legislation move in a divided Washington because the partisan splits around them may not be as sharp as with other environmental issues.

He pointed to the developing consensus within industry groups as potentially more important than agreements among Republicans and Democrats.

"The most important thing is that you have pretty wide agreement among industry on how to deal with some of these issues right now," Baca said. "And often when you're dealing with some of these big battles that involve industry in Congress, you're usually having to bring industry kicking and screaming along. I don't really think that's the case right now."

What's not clear yet, though, is whether the details of any consensus would prove workable to enough industry, environmentalists, local governments and lawmakers to win passage.

Industry associations including ACC, the Consumer Brands Association and The Recycling Partnership have in recent months come out with various platforms endorsing combinations of packaging fees, recycling standards and recycled content.

Lawmakers from both parties in Congress have noted concerns around plastics in the environment, but bipartisanship legislative progress has been more limited to measures like the Save Our Seas Act in 2018 and an updated version that seems headed to approval this year.

Both versions have focused on global efforts to fight plastics in the oceans or funding for recycling grants in the U.S. — areas that are less controversial and complex than new fees to finance major reforms of recycling or national laws requiring recycled content.

Legislation that included EPR, recycled content provisions, plastics bans and limits on plant expansion introduced this year by Democrats did not advance. That bill, the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, does count influential Democrats among its supporters.

Baca argued a bipartisan approach will be needed, saying he reads the election as voters "deliberately" choosing divided government.

"If we're strictly talking about the legislative process itself, the way it looks like our government will be made up next year, no one party is going to have the ability to dictate what needs to get done," he said. "I think there's going to be a window of opportunity for us to work on some of these solutions."

He said the industry wants to solve the problem of plastic waste in the environment and pointed to billions of dollars in announced investments in plastics recycling in the U.S. since 2017, as well as industry funding for the $1.5 billion Alliance to End Plastic Waste.

He also said the industry would be pushing for chemical recycling to be part of any solutions.

While President Trump has not conceded the election, ACC issued a statement Nov. 7 congratulating "President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect [Kamala] Harris on a fair and transparent [and] historic and hard-fought victory."

Environmental groups also say they see more activity around the issues in Washington, and some expect a Biden administration to use its administrative authority to put more limits on the plastics industry.

"I am optimistic that we will see a significant change on plastics policy with the new administration," said Judith Enck, president of the group Beyond Plastics and a former regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Some groups plan a continued focus. The Surfrider Foundation said Nov. 6 that plastic pollution will be one of top three priorities in a Biden administration and will be part of a virtual Washington lobbying day it plans for its chapters in March.

Others suggest Biden executive agencies will take more action.

Christy Leavitt, plastics campaign director for Oceana, said that could include rules to prohibit discharges of plastic pellets in waterways.

She argued that the Biden administration's stated focus on climate change means that plastics will receive attention.

"We're confident the Biden administration will take an interest in the plastic pollution crisis and identify approaches to reduce plastic pollution through rule-making," she said. "The plastic pollution crisis is also closely tied to the climate crisis."

Enck and others pointed to a likely focus in a Biden administration on environmental justice issues. It's listed as a priority on the Biden-Harris transition website, and Enck noted Biden talked about it in a presidential debate.

"He understands the problem and knows that most often it is low-income communities and communities of color that carry a heavy pollution burden from industrial operations and fossil fuel power plants," Enck said. "He gets it."

She predicted a Biden administration focus on climate policy could put more pressure on plastics industry expansions.

"As we witness more investments in renewable energy and cleaner transportation options, the demand for fossil fuel is on the decline," Enck said. "The petrochemical industry is looking at plastic production as their Plan B. The Biden-Harris commitment to drive down greenhouse gas emissions will weaken that approach.

"There is keen interest in stopping the petrochemical build-out in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas and Louisiana," she said.

Enck said the fate of the Break Free act is linked to which party controls the Senate. Leavitt predicted more action both in Congress and in state and local governments.

"I'm optimistic about the progression of single-use plastic legislation, as there continues to be strong interest in Congress, as well as on the local and state level," Leavitt said.