The current Administration issued a policy statement intending to phase out federal procurement of single-use plastic packaging by 2027 with completion across all Federal purchasing by 2035.  Ultimately, the Government intends to achieve net-zero procurement by 2050 in response to a 2021 Executive Order.

This is the first federal acknowledgment of the severity of plastic pollution and also the first initiative to develop appropriate, corrective action. The phase-out program was developed by the Interagency Policy Committee on Plastic Pollution and a Circular Economy, created in April 2023.

At this time, the federal government is encouraging, but not mandating, that contractors reduce single-use plastic packaging.  The announcement was supported by the World Wildlife Fund, an environmental activist group stating, “As the single largest consumer in the world, the U.S. federal government has an outsized role to play in curbing the use of problematic and unnecessary plastic products.”  The statement added, “This sends a message to the public and private sectors across the world, if we can make a change happen at scale, so can you.” 

The President of America’s Plastic Makers, a division of the American Chemistry Council took issue with the White House policy stating, “We agree with ambitions to make plastic production a more circular process.  A collaborative public-private approach that includes all technologies and possible solutions, coupled with clear federal standards and definitions will help make the United States a leader in this field.”

The American Chemistry Council objected to the recommendations involving alternative materials, noting differences between a General Services Administration rule and the White House initiative that apparently ignores efforts made by the plastic industry to design products that can be recycled.

The example set by the Federal government reinforces initiatives by the food industry to replace or recycle plastic packaging. We have come a long way since Mr. Robinson in The Graduate suggested to Benjamin that his future lay in plastics!