- Office Home
- About Us
- Key Topics

HomeKey Topics – Office of Environmental Quality...Plastic Pollution

# Plastic Pollution

## Background 

Plastic pollution is a global problem that affects our natural world and its biodiversity.  It impacts our environment, health, food security, and economies.  An estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean each year. Often stemming from poor waste mismanagement, plastic pollution is a major environmental issue because most plastics do not biodegrade and instead break down into microplastics. Microplastics are estimated to persist in the environment for centuries, or even longer. 

We can combat plastic pollution through: 

          - Designing and using plastic products that can be more easily and more efficiently reused or recycled (also known as circular approaches); 
          - Implementing policies that reduce demand for certain plastic products; 
          - Environmentally sound management of plastic waste; and 
          - Trade-friendly policies that increase reuse, recycling and recovery of plastic. 

## A Global Agreement on Plastic Pollution 

At the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) in March 2022, the United States joined other countries in adopting a resolution on plastic pollution. The resolution launched a process to develop a new international agreement on plastic pollution, with the aim of concluding negotiations by the end of 2024. 

The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) established under this resolution is expected to conduct its work over the course of five negotiating sessions. Learn more about the process.  

          - INC-1 :   November 28 to December 2, 2022 in Punta del Este, Uruguay 
          - INC-2  : May 29 to June 2, 2023 in Paris, France,  
          - INC-3 : November 13-19, 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya,, 
          - INC-4  : April 23-29, 2024 in Ottawa, Canada,  
          - INC-5  : November 25 to December 1 in Busan, Republic of Korea. 

This is the moment to turn the tide on plastic pollution. The health of our communities and our planet is at stake.  The United States supports the development of an ambitious global agreement on plastic pollution that has universal obligations throughout the lifecycle of plastic.  We have been engaging with a wide set of stakeholders, including environmental nongovernmental organizations, industry, the scientific community, and state and local governments, as well as with Tribal nations, to take into account their perspectives in formulating our approach for an agreement that is ambitious, effective, and pragmatic. 

## State Department Work on Plastic Pollution 

The State Department, through the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES), leads the negotiation process for the U.S. government toward a global agreement on plastic pollution. OES is coordinating with the U.S. interagency and consulting with industry and NGO stakeholders and Tribal and subnational governments to leverage resources, craft innovative solutions, and drive domestic and international ambition to combat the plastic pollution problem. We have proposed that the agreement should work towards ending plastic pollution entering the environment by 2040. 

Beyond the negotiations, the United States is spearheading the End Plastic Pollution International Collaborative (EPPIC), an international public-private partnership that seeks to galvanize global action to reduce demand for plastic and advance solutions to enhance circularity across the plastics lifecycle.  Launched in 2023, with an initial $14.5 million EPPIC builds on existing networks and initiatives, while amplifying actions and securing commitments from governments, corporations, and other relevant stakeholders that reduce demand and advance plastics circularity. By convening a diverse range of stakeholders, the partnership is intended to foster collaboration to address the plastic pollution crisis that no single entity could achieve on its own.  It will also serve as a forum to exchange best practices on science-based solutions to reduce demand for plastic and reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic waste.

OES, in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), supports the development and implementation of National Marine Litter Action Plans in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Panama.  For example, OES is supporting pilot projects focused on solid waste management in remote communities, including assisting with the development of a marine waste management strategy for two national fishing sectors in Costa Rica.  EPA and OES also recently funded a small grants program in Central America and the Dominican Republic that supports community-led projects that improve solid waste management and address land-based sources of marine debris. 

OES supports a project in Senegal focused on improving solid waste management and encouraging innovation along the entire plastic supply chain. 

In 2022, the State Department and USAID committed $75 million for global, national, and local programs to combat plastic pollution and build capacity in countries around the world to address this important crisis.  The State Department is partnering with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and others to build capacity in key developing countries, including small island developing states in the Pacific and Caribbean, to participate ambitiously in negotiations on a new global agreement on plastic pollution, establish national action plans to combat plastic pollution, and share information and good practices on waste management.  

Along the margins of INC4 in Ottawa, UNEP will host its Third Coordination Meeting for capacity development to catalyze actions and commitments at the national and global level to reduce plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. This work is linked to the efforts of the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML), including the GPML Digital Platform, which facilitates knowledge sharing and provides tools to support project activities.  The GPML Digital Platform seeks to facilitate knowledge exchange, foster coordination, and propel collective action by all the relevant stakeholders working to eliminate plastic pollution and marine litter at all geographic levels, from local to global. 

The State Department is also supporting pilot projects under the Basel Convention Plastic Waste Partnership, providing seed funding for the Marine Debris Foundation, and contributing to action on plastic pollution through the World Bank Pro-Blue Fund. 

In 2022, USAID announced a landmark initiative to help stop plastic from getting into the environment: the Save Our Seas Initiative.  The Save Our Seas Initiative is implementing programs to reduce the flow of ocean plastic pollution in over 25 cities across more than 10 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Pacific Islands.  Save Our Seas works with local and national governments, businesses, civil society, and other organizations to help countries reduce, re-use, and recycle plastic. So far, Save Our Seas has helped prevent over 83,000 metric tons of plastic from getting into the environment—the equivalent of eight billion plastic bottles. 

In the past, OES also has supported grants and cooperative agreements to support other initiatives that aim to reduce marine debris, including: the 5-Gyres Asia Pacific Action Against Plastic Pollution; All Hands on Deck – A Community-Based Marine Litter Reduction Programme; Building Ecosystems to Reduce Waste in Our Oceans – Ocean Plastic Prevention Incubators; Social Mobilization for Marine Waste Management in Vietnam; and Accelerating Efforts to Reduce Ocean Plastic in Vietnam. 

Find further information on the Department’s work on sea-based sources of plastic pollution and marine debris. 

## Additional Resources 

Further information on U.S. government action on plastic pollution can be found can be found in our 2022 fact sheet and on the following websites: 

          - The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)   
          - **EPA’s International Initiatives on Environmentally Sound Management of Waste** 
          - EPA: Material-Specific Data for Plastics 
          - EPA: National Recycling Strategy   
          - EPA’s Trash-Free Waters   

          - Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee   
          - NOAA’s Marine Debris Program 
          - USAID’s Clean Cities, Blue Ocean 
          - **End Plastic Pollution International Collaborative (EPPIC), a new Public Private Partnership** 

Tags

Office of Environmental Quality

Back to Top