As plastics group holds virtual DC fly-in, green issues remain tops

With environmental issues topping its agenda, the Plastics Industry Association returned June 7 for its first executive lobbying day in Washington since the pandemic started.

Like many events during COVID-19, this one went virtual. Executives from 45 plastics firms joined 65 video calls with lawmakers and their staffs to make the case for their political priorities.

The association's meetings were "focused primarily on sustainability issues," said Matt Seaholm, vice president of government affairs. "We're really encouraging our members to tell their story."

A talking points memo prepared by the group and shared with Plastics News centered on recycling and plastics waste legislation the association either supports or opposes in Washington.

Beyond the immediate political concerns, though, Seaholm said the industry wanted to remind lawmakers of the role plastics firms played in the pandemic, as companies switched production lines to make personal protective equipment and supply other industries with critical materials.

"They get a chance to tell their member of Congress, 'Here's what we did: We turned this line into this to be able to make PPE,'" Seaholm said. "The headline, I think, for a lot of these conversations was 'This was an essential industry through this pandemic.'"

As well, workforce concerns were discussed repeatedly in often unscripted ways during the meetings with senators, representatives and their staffs, Seaholm said.

"It's come up in the majority of meetings that I've been part of, and I know for my colleagues as well," he said. "It's an issue across the board for these companies to try to find a qualified, capable workforce."

The association's meetings started June 7 and were scheduled to wrap up the week of June 14. For much of the past decade, the industry has held annual fly-ins to press its concerns face to face in the capital, although last year's was canceled in the early days of the pandemic.

Plastics waste and recycling challenges have been getting increased attention in congressional hearings and legislation in the last two years.

Similar to the industry's virtual lobbying event this year, environmental groups have been staging their own Washington grassroots days around plastics waste.

The group Beyond Plastics organized a May 26 call-in to congressional offices to support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. In addition, the California-based Surfrider Foundation made plastics one of the top three points its members talked about during its virtual lobbying event held the week of March 8.

Surfrider said 161 attendees held 163 virtual meetings, discussing limiting sewage discharges to waters, climate change and plastics, and urging lawmakers to pass the Break Free act.

In a video on its website for the lobbying day, Surfrider called the act "a landmark bill that will be the first federal proposal to address plastics pollution from its production to its disposal."

But the plastics association's talking points included specific opposition to the bans in the Break Free act and to what Seaholm called the "most egregious" part of that bill, a three-year moratorium on new and expanded resin plants in the U.S. while new emissions rules are written.

"We're happy to talk about different types of recycled-content requirements or even extended producer responsibility as some type of solution to the funding gap," Seaholm said. "But if you're just going to say no to any new or expanded facility, you're going to send jobs either overseas or to neighboring countries. Also, you're going to drastically increase consumer prices."

He said the association members lobbied in support of the Recover Act, which calls for spending $500 million to bolster recycling nationwide, as well as the Plastics Waste Reduction and Recycling Act and the Recycle Act, which provide smaller amounts of money for education, technology research and drafting a federal government strategy for recycling.

As well, Seaholm said the group was pushing for recycling funding to be included in the large federal infrastructure spending plans the Biden administration and congressional Republicans are debating.

"There's no doubt that there needs to be a discussion about recycling infrastructure in this country," Seaholm said. "We're a little disappointed it wasn't in the initial package that came out of the White House."

Many groups have been pushing for recycling to be part of infrastructure or stimulus spending.

The Break Free From Plastic coalition in February released a plan for $1.3 billion in federal stimulus spending to address plastics-related environment and public health concerns.

And a group of recycling, composting and sustainable business groups in May announced the "Recycling is Infrastructure Too Campaign" to add to the push.

Other plastics groups are also looking to step up their federal advocacy.

Leaders of the Association of Plastic Recyclers detailed plans for a stronger role for their sector at an early June meeting for its members, including setting up mapping tools to easily allow recycling companies to identify and communicate with elected representatives.

Like several other groups, President and CEO Steve Alexander said APR supports recycling being part of the nation's infrastructure spending, like roads and bridges.

And APR favors recycled-content mandates in legislation as a way to strengthen markets.

"We think mandated recycled content can help monetize the system," he said. While APR has not endorsed the Break Free act, that bill is the only legislative proposal in Washington to call for mandated recycled content in plastic packaging.

Alexander said recycling could be a very bipartisan issue but cautioned it may take all of the current two-year session of Congress, or even into the next two-year term on Capitol Hill, for consensus to build.

"I think this is still a fairly new topic for a lot of people on the Hill," he said. "Recycling can be a complicated issue and it takes people time to understand. What Congress wants to do is make sure that what they're spending money on does in fact work and does in fact help solve the problem."

Alexander said the increased attention on recycling is a positive change for Congress.

"For years there wasn't a whole lot of focus on recycling and plastics recycling in particular," he said. "I do believe that plastics recycling is one of the most potential bipartisan issues out there, and I do believe the discussions we're having will result in additional federal monies going forward."