Proposed federal legislation would take on plastics at the manufacturing level

This article was originally published in the Monterey County Weekly.

Over the past few years, a number of cities in Monterey County have enacted laws restricting the use and sale of single-use plastic items. Carmel banned plastic straws and utensils for restaurants and food vendors in 2017, Monterey enacted a similar ban in 2018, and Pacific Grove banned single-use plastics for a wider range of businesses in 2019. At the state level, California voters opted to ban plastic shopping bags in 2016, replacing them with reusable bags (for a 10-cent fee). 

As the scale of worldwide plastic pollution becomes more apparent, the federal government may also take action, with the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. 

According to a recent press release, the bill would “phase out unnecessary single-use plastic products, hold corporations accountable for wasteful products, reduce wasteful packaging and reform our broken waste and recycling collection system.”

"We have seen firsthand the harm that plastics can do to our oceans,” said U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, a cosponsor of the House bill. “What we also are experiencing is the damage that plastics can do to our food supply and its negative impact on the climate crisis. Local communities have taken the necessary steps to reduce unnecessary plastic products. But now it is time for the federal government to demonstrate leadership and address this problem." 

Panetta spent part of the afternoon on Feb. 18 talking about plastic and sustainability initiatives at local institutions including the Portola Hotel & Spa, Happy Girl Kitchen and Monterey Bay Aquarium. One key takeaway: Even if customers and laws demand alternatives to plastic, it is challenging to find products from suppliers that are free of plastic. 

“We can make a change at the company level, and choose things that are not plastic,” says Jackie Olsen, director of marketing at the Portola. “But if what we’re buying is wrapped in plastic, then we look at our opportunities to change what we’re doing on a vendor level because we have to ask for change. And if not enough businesses are asking for change then it’s not going to happen, because change is expensive.”

The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act seeks to put pressure on the producers of plastic items, requiring them to find alternatives to single-use plastic items such as reusable and compostable options, and ensuring that recyclable materials find their way to the proper facilities once discarded. As such, the bill calls for producers of plastic “to design, manage, and finance waste and recycling programs,” ensuring corporations take more responsibility for the plastic they create.

Businesses like Happy Girl Kitchen in Pacific Grove take pride in shrinking the volume of trash they put out. “Everything we provide to the customer is either recyclable or compostable,” Chloe Ellwanger, cafe manager, said on Panetta’s tour. “We don’t provide anything that can be considered waste. All of our soups and jams come in jars that you can take home, wash and reuse.”

“We have an easy case to make, but it’s about having the evidence to back it up, to show to my colleagues,” Panetta says. “[These meetings] are great examples of people willing to take that extra step, understanding that it might cost a bit more. It’s awesome knowing there are attitudes such as these that are pushing up, and it’s my responsibility as a federal official to make sure we’re pushing down.”