Senator proposes 20-cent virgin plastic tax

The push for a national tax on virgin plastic is gaining momentum, with a key senator on ocean and climate issues introducing legislation for a 20 cents-per-pound fee on virgin material to boost use of recycled materials and "hold the plastics industry accountable."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who in the past has allied with the plastics industry on the Save Our Seas laws, introduced legislation Aug. 6 that would tax virgin plastic sold into single-use products as a way to make recycled resin more cost-competitive.

"On its own, the plastics industry has done far too little to address the damage its products cause, so this bill gives the market a stronger incentive toward less plastic waste and more recycled plastic," Whitehouse said in a statement.

The legislation, the Rewarding Efforts to Decrease Unrecycled Contaminants in Ecosystems Act, would put an excise tax on virgin plastic, starting at 10 cents a pound in 2022 and rising to 20 cents in 2024.

It would apply to virgin plastic in single-use applications, including packaging, beverage containers, bags and foodservice products. It exempts exported virgin resin, post-consumer recycled plastic and key medical uses.

An industry group said it opposed Whitehouse's measure, while noting his past support for two separate pieces of marine plastic and debris legislation, the Save Our Seas Acts, that plastics groups also supported.

The American Chemistry Council instead called on Whitehouse to back a plan it released in July for the federal government to require 30 percent recycled content plastic in products and take other measures.

"While we applaud Sen. Whitehouse's past efforts in helping to pass two Save Our Seas Acts, we believe our comprehensive strategy is a more effective approach to accelerate a circular economy for plastics," ACC said.

Whitehouse, who has spoken at industry conferences on plastic environmental issues, sits on both the Senate environment and finance committees, which would be key to hearing the proposal.

His plan comes two months after the head of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., put a similar but smaller 5-cent fee on virgin plastic into climate legislation in that chamber.

Whitehouse pointed to low recycling rates for plastic and damage from plastic pollution, citing studies that project more plastic than fish in the oceans by midcentury and health risks to low-income and communities of color near virgin plastic production facilities.

"The boom in global plastic production has led to a crisis of plastic pollution that threatens many of our most valuable natural resources and harms the poor and minority groups disproportionately," Whitehouse's office said in a statement.

He called plastic production a growing climate concern, saying it could account for 20 percent of global oil consumption by midcentury, and he pointed to low recycling rates and low production of recycled plastic.

"Only 9 percent of plastic waste in the United States is sorted for recycling, and less than 3 percent is actually recycled," his statement said. "Compounding the problem is low production of recycled plastic. In 2019, recycled plastic accounted for just 2 percent of global plastic production."

He said the U.S. has four percent of the world's population but accounts for 17 percent of global plastic waste.

In its statement, the American Chemistry Council said Congress should instead adopt a five-point plan for federal action it unveiled in July, including the 30 percent recycled content standard for plastic and a producer responsibility system to fund better collection of all materials, including plastic, for recycling.

"Unfortunately, the Reduce Act takes a piecemeal approach by adding an excise tax on certain plastics sold, plus a series of confusing rebates that appear to pick winners and losers among consumer product companies, with some paying the tax and others receiving a rebate," said Joshua Baca, ACC's vice president of plastics. "Such a scheme would essentially punish producers of valuable American products without advancing a circular economy for plastics."

Baca said it could lead to shifts to other materials that produce more greenhouse gas emissions than plastics.

Whitehouse's statement said the legislation would rebate the tax for companies that use virgin plastic to make medical products and packaging for medicine, personal hygiene and hazardous goods. The rebate would also apply to virgin plastic used to make nonsingle-use products, Whitehouse said.

The money from the tax would go into a plastic waste reduction fund for financing recycling infrastructure, marine debris cleanup and environmental justice and pollution impacts from plastic production.

Baca, however, said ACC is concerned about the economic impact of a tax and said any virgin plastic fee would be a double whammy, with Washington considering $14 billion in new Superfund excise taxes as part of any infrastructure deal.

"Congress right now is looking at placing significant excise taxes on the raw materials used to make plastics, which would effectively tax virgin plastics," he said. "It's not time to pile on even more taxes and further fuel inflation.

"We believe that a national standard requiring all plastic packaging to include at least 30 [percent] recycled plastics within the decade is a much more feasible, market-driven approach to increasing recycling and reducing waste, without resorting to harmful taxes," Baca said.

Whitehouse's plan drew opposition from another industry group and qualified praise from an environmental organization.

The Plastics Industry Association said companies "acknowledge there is a global waste problem" but viewed Whitehouse's plan as a money grab.

"This legislation proposes a massive resin tax that would be passed on to consumers in order to support an undefined government slush fund," the association said.

In a statement, it pointed to the Recycle Act and the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act as better alternatives.

Each received funding in the Senate's $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that passed Aug. 10, with the Recycle Act getting $75 million over five years for education programs and Save Our Seas getting $275 million for grants for recycling programs.

On the other hand, the environmental organization U.S. Public Interest Research Group welcomed Whitehouse's proposal.

"The premise of this legislation makes sense: A fee on virgin plastic in single-use products would encourage manufacturers to use more recycled plastic," said Alex Truelove, the group's zero waste director, who said other legislation like the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act is still needed.

"At the same time, we can only recycle what we actually collect and divert from landfills and incinerators," he said. "Plastic that's littered, exported or illegally dumped won't be addressed by this bill. Even if a plastic container is made up of recycled products, it's still pollution if it ends up in the ocean."

Key senator pushes virgin plastic tax to hold industry 'accountable'

Key senator pushes virgin plastic tax to hold industry 'accountable'

A senator who allied with the plastics industry in past efforts is now pushing a tax on virgin resin. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said it's needed to "hold the plastics industry accountable."