PLASTIC POLLUTION & PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY

PLASTIC-TO-FUEL: A FALSE SOLUTION

[vcnva-agenda-items]

Plastic pollution is not only a litter problem; it is a fossil fuel, climate, public health, wildlife, agricultural, economic, infrastructure, and environmental justice problem. Nearly 40% of virgin plastic demand comes from packaging, much of it designed for short-term use, and recent reporting shows that the fossil fuel industry is increasingly reliant on plastics as markets for fuels change.^1,2 Virginia’s climate planning also identifies solid waste as a source of greenhouse gases and includes decreasing unnecessary single-use plastics among waste-sector climate strategies.³ 

Plastic is extremely difficult to recover from waterways. Chesapeake Bay modeling found that estuaries can retain most incoming plastic, and a 2025 analysis of more than 10,000 wildlife necropsies found plastic ingestion in 35% of seabirds, 12% of marine mammals, and 47% of sea turtles studied.^4,5,6 Plastic pollution also breaks into microplastics that move through air, water, food, and human tissue, while fossil-fuel-derived chemicals used in plastics – including phthalates, bisphenols, PFAS, and flame retardants – raise concerns for endocrine, reproductive, developmental, and cardiovascular health.^{7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16}

These impacts are not distributed evenly. Environmental justice experts and the United Nations Human Rights Council have recognized that plastic pollution’s life cycle, from extraction and production to disposal and ocean pollution, disproportionately burdens vulnerable communities, and threatens the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.^17,18,19

Virginia has taken meaningful but incomplete steps to reduce plastic pollution. State law allows any city or county to adopt a five-cent disposable plastic bag tax for grocery stores, convenience stores, and pharmacies.²⁰ Virginia also has an expanded polystyrene food service container ban that is in full effect as of July 1, 2026.²¹ These policies target common, low-value, hard-to-recycle products, but they do not solve the wider packaging and waste problem.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) draft 2025–2045 Solid Waste Management Plan states that Virginia manages about 22 million tons of solid waste annually, of which about 17 million tons originate in-state. This plan supports circular economy policies to keep products in the market and reduce waste through stronger product stewardship. Including Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging and paper, which would require producers to help finance the collection, recycling, and management of the materials they place on the market.²² The plan also notes Virginia’s limited local authority as a Dillon Rule state and identifies local material-regulation authority as one method municipalities could use to increase diversion.

Support for plastic bag reduction also extends outside of environmental organizations: Virginia Farm Bureau supports measures encouraging retailers to use paper or reusable canvas bags to reduce agricultural problems caused by plastic bag litter, such as animal ingestion or crop entanglement.²³  

Virginia can reduce its plastic pollution by pairing statewide producer responsibility with targeted source-reduction authority. A packaging and paper products Extended Producer Responsibility program requires producers to help finance and improve collection, recycling, reuse, and waste-prevention systems, shifting costs away from local governments and toward product design and management.^24,25

Beverage deposit programs offer another proven producer responsibility model; 65% of Virginia voters support bottle deposits, and Oregon’s deposit system achieved an 88.5% preliminary redemption rate in 2022, meaning 88.5% of beverage containers were recycled and the deposits returned through the program.^26,27 A recycling deposit and the subsequent redemption upon recycling is a highly effective tool to incentivize consumers to recycle which then increases recycling rates. 

The 50 States of Recycling 2.0 report modeled that stronger recycling policies like producer responsibility and a beverage deposit program in Virginia could result in $1.7 billion in total annual benefits by returning $210 million of recycled material to the market, avoiding 2.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually by reducing the need for virgin materials and improved waste management infrastructure, and increasing recycling-related jobs from 3,600 to 11,000.²⁸

Virginia can also reduce pollution before products reach consumers by strengthening controls on pre-production plastic pellets and requiring best management practices for discharge, handling, and transport.²⁹ 

Additionally, as a Dillon Rule state, Virginia can authorize a local option for single-use plastic bag bans. Virginia already allows cities and counties to tax disposable plastic bags, but not every community prefers a tax-based approach. A state-authorized local ban option, drafted with exemptions aligned with existing bag-tax law, gives communities another practical source-reduction tool to protect waterways, farms, wildlife, and public infrastructure. This initiative complements—but does not replace—producer responsibility, beverage deposits, pellet controls, recycling modernization, and public education.

¹ European Environment Agency. (2023, January 19). Nearly 40 percent of plastic demand comes from the production of plastic packaging. https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/maps-and-charts/nearly-40-percent-of-plastic

² Mosley, T. (2026, April 1). The oil industry is betting big on plastics. Here’s what that means for the future. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2026/04/01/nx-s1-5763690/the-oil-industry-is-betting-big-on-plastics-heres-what-that-means-for-the-future

³ Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. (2024, March). Commonwealth of Virginia priority climate action plan. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-03/commonwealth-of-virginia-priority-climate-action-plan.pdf  

⁴ López, A. G., Najjar, R. G., Friedrichs, M. A. M., Hickner, M. A., & Wardrop, D. H. (2021). Estuaries as filters for riverine microplastics: Simulations in a large, coastal-plain estuary. Frontiers in Marine Science. 8, Article 715924. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.715924

⁵ Murphy, E. L., Baechler, B. R., Roman, L., Leonard, G. H., Mallos, N. J., Santos, R. G., & Rochman, C. M. (2025). A quantitative risk assessment framework for mortality due to macroplastic ingestion in seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(48), Article e2415492122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2415492122

⁶ Aung, T., Batish, I., & Ovissipour, R. (2022). Prevalence of Microplastics in the Eastern Oyster Crassostrea virginica in the Chesapeake Bay: The Impact of Different Digestion Methods on Microplastic Properties. Toxics, 10(1), 29. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics10010029

⁷ Woodruff, T. J. (2024). Health effects of fossil fuel–derived endocrine disruptors. The New England Journal of Medicine, 390(10), 922–933. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra2300476

⁸ Wirth, D. A., Cropper, M., Axelrad, D. A., Bald, C., Bhatnagar, A., Birnbaum, L. S., Burke, T. A., Chiles, T. C., Geiser, K., Griffin, C., Kumar, P., Mandrioli, D., Park, Y., Raps, H., Roger, A., Smith, T. R., States, J. C., Straif, K., Tickner, J. A., Wagner, W., Wang, Z., Whitman, E. M., Woodruff, T. J., Yousuf, A., & Landrigan, P. J. (2025). Manufactured chemicals and children’s health — The need for new law. The New England Journal of Medicine, 392(3), 299–305. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMms2409092

⁹ Yang, Y., Xie, E., Du, Z., Peng, Z., Han, Z., Li, L., Zhao, R., Qin, Y., Xue, M., Li, F., Hua, K., & Yang, X. (2023). Detection of various microplastics in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Environmental Science & Technology, 57(30), 10911–10918. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c07179

¹⁰ Jenner, L. C., Rotchell, J. M., Bennett, R. T., Cowen, M., Tentzeris, V., & Sadofsky, L. R. (2022). Detection of microplastics in human lung tissue using μFTIR spectroscopy. Science of the Total Environment, 831, 154907. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154907

¹¹ Nihart, A. J., Garcia, M. A., El Hayek, E. E., Liu, R., Olewine, M., Kingston, J. D., Castillo, E. F., Gullapalli, R. R., Howard, T., Bleske, B., Scott, J., Gonzalez-Estrella, J., Gross, J. M., Spilde, M., Adolphi, N. L., Gallego, D. F., Jarrell, H. S., Dvorscak, G., Zuluaga-Ruiz, M. E., . . . Campen, M. J. (2025). Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains. Nature Medicine, 31, 1114-1119. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03453-1

¹² Hu, C. J., Garcia, M. A., Nihart, A., Liu, R., Yin, L., Adolphi, N., Gallego, D. F., Kang, H., Campen, M. J., & Yu, X. (2024). Microplastic presence in dog and human testis and its potential association with sperm count and weights of testis and epididymis. Toxicological Sciences, 200(2), 235–240. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfae060

¹³ Montano, L., Raimondo, S., Piscopo, M., Ricciardi, M., Guglielmino, A., Chamayou, S., Gentile, R., Gentile, M., Rapisarda, P., Oliveri Conti, G., Ferrante, M., & Motta, O. (2025). First evidence of microplastics in human ovarian follicular fluid: An emerging threat to female fertility. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 291, 117868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2025.117868

¹⁴ Ragusa, A., Svelato, A., Santacroce, C., Catalano, P., Notarstefano, V., Carnevali, O., Papa, F., Rongioletti, M. C. A., Baiocco, F., Draghi, S., D’Amore, E., Rinaldo, D., Matta, M., & Giorgini, E. (2021). Plasticenta: First evidence of microplastics in human placenta. Environment International, 146, 106274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.106274

¹⁵ Li, J., Wang, K., Lin, Z., Zhu, M., Xu, S., Cui, Z., Ouyang, Z., Wen, D., & Li, Q. (2025). Detection and quantification of microplastics in meconium by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (py-GC/MS). Journal of Chromatography A, 1749, 465868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2025.465868

¹⁶ Ragusa, A., Notarstefano, V., Svelato, A., Belloni, A., Gioacchini, G., Blondeel, C., Zucchelli, E., De Luca, C., D’Avino, S., Gulotta, A., Carnevali, O., & Giorgini, E. (2022). Raman Microspectroscopy Detection and Characterization of Microplastics in Human Breastmilk. Polymers, 14(13), 2700. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14132700

¹⁷ As ocean pressures mount, United Nations report calls for urgent global collaboration to protect marine ecosystems(2026, June 8). United Nations. [Press release]. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2026/06/press-release-as-ocean-pressures-mount-united-nations-report-calls-for-urgent-global-collaboration-to-protect-marine-ecosystems/

¹⁸ Otum, P., Black, J., Spring, M., & Waterhouse, C. (2023). The environmental justice impacts of plastic pollution. Environmental Law Reporter, 53, 10791. https://www.elr.info/articles/elr-articles/environmental-justice-impacts-plastic-pollution 

¹⁹ The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment: The ocean and human rights (A/HRC/RES/58/16). (2025). United Nations Human Rights Council. https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/RES/58/16

²⁰ Disposable plastic bag tax, Va. Code Ann. § 58.1-1745 (2026). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title58.1/chapter17/section58.1-1745/

²¹ Expanded polystyrene food service containers prohibited; civil penalty, Va. Code Ann. § 10.1-1424.3 (2026). https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title10.1/chapter14/section10.1-1424.3/

²² Draft Virginia solid waste management plan. (2025, October). Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. https://www.deq.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/32356/638983874081800000

²³ 2026 policies: Resolutions adopted by voting delegates at the 2025 annual meeting of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. (2026). Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.   https://www.vafb.com/Portals/FBA/PDFs_and_Resources/membership_at_work/vfb-policy-book.pdf

²⁴ State of the Science on Plastic Chemicals. (2025). PlastChem Project. https://plastchem-project.org/

²⁵ Peer, A. S. (2021). Plastic Paradox: Making Plastic Circular in Virginia. Extension School: Harvard University. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.28939.40489

²⁶ McKay, L., Register, K., & Raabe, S. (2022). Plastic pollution: Virginia’s voters support action: 2022 public perception survey. Clean Virginia Waterways. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/662fb7fa0784b14dfacd87d7/t/6645474a17798d4d97269857/1715816267676/REPORT+VA+Plastic+Pollution+Public+Perception+Survey+051223+with+Appendices+sm.pdf

²⁷ Heffernan, M. (2023). Oregon achieves 88.5% bottle return rate. Resource Recycling. https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2023/04/10/oregon-achieves-88-5-bottle-return-rate/

²⁸ The 50 states of recycling 2.0. (2023). Ball Corporation,. https://www.ball.com/sustainability/real-circularity/50-states-of-recycling

²⁹ Breaking the plastic wave: A comprehensive assessment of pathways toward stopping ocean plastic pollution.  (2020, October). The Pew Charitable Trusts & SYSTEMIQ. https://www.pew.org/-/media/assets/2020/10/breakingtheplasticwave_mainreport.pdf