A pair of House lawmakers Thursday introduced a bipartisan bill that would set a recycled content requirement for all plastic packaging of up to 30 percent by 2030, according to legislative text shared first with POLITICO.
The legislation led by Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) and Don Davis (D-N.C.) would also establish a legal framework for technologies like chemical recycling, require EPA to establish national recycling standards and order a life-cycle study on the carbon footprint of various products.
Plastics policy has become increasingly polarizing in recent years amid a flurry of state efforts to minimize plastic pollution and a global push to finalize a U.N. plastics treaty, which countries are racing to complete by the end of the year.
Ross Eisenberg, vice president of the American Chemistry Council’s plastics division, said in an interview that he views the bill as a “really nice signal” that the U.S. is willing to put forward solutions that can “be the backbone of a national action plan” to support a treaty.
