Biden's angered allies

December 02, 2022

POLITICAL PLASTICITY — At least some Democrats are thinking plastics legislation will have a chance next year in a split Congress.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced a bill Thursday to curb permitting of new and expanded plastic production, including chemical recycling facilities, which industry is extremely bullish on, as Jordan reported earlier this week.

They’re taking a second swing after their Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021 failed to gain traction this session. A spokesperson for Huffman said the sponsors are looking to gain support in the lame duck before reintroducing the bill next session.

The American Chemistry Council is predictably opposed, calling it an “assault on U.S. manufacturing that threatens every American’s way of life.”

Environmentalists are hoping it will nudge the U.S. to take a stronger line in U.N. plastics treaty negotiations starting in Uruguay this week.

"The spirit and directive of the Protecting Communities Against Plastics Act ... is precisely what the U.S. should be bringing to the negotiations for a legally binding global instrument," Graham Hamilton, the U.S. policy officer at the environmental group Break Free From Plastics, said in an email.

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By:  Debra Kahn, Jordan Wolman, Allison Prang
Source: Politico