Our plastic pollution solutions

Plastic pollution is a serious problem for Virginia’s waterways and wildlife but we can’t just recycle our way out of this problem.

The first thing we need to do is eliminate the most harmful types of single use plastic (such as plastic bags, foam cups and takeout containers, straws, etc.) But what next? How do we handle the the increasing amount of plastic pollution- largely caused by single use items that may be more difficult to out right ban?

We need to reduce plastic pollution at the source as well as build a robust recycling system. We can do this by requiring manufacturers to have financial and/or physical responsibility for the end of the life of their products. This is called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Most importantly, EPR encourages manufacturers to use less and design products to last longer. It also build can a more efficient recycling program.

Environment Virginia state director, Elly Boehmer, shared this and other plastic policy solutions at the 2022 Marine Debris Summit as well as on the Virginia Conservation Network’s Clean Water & Flood Resiliency Educational Webinar. You can learn more about our solutions by checking out that webinar here.