PLASTIC WASTE
Our Commitment
Reducing plastic production, consumption, and waste to keep human-made waste out of Virginia’s streams, rivers, and coastal waters.
THE ISSUE
Building on the growing concern and increased willingness to take action to decrease the amount of plastic waste in Virginia’s environment, now is the time to craft policies and laws that will keep man-made waste out of Virginia’s streams, rivers, and coastal waters. We can do this by eliminating the most harmful types of mismanaged waste, incentivizing sustainable disposal of what we do use, and prioritizing the shift to sustainable and reusable products.
Bill of the Day: Addressing Virginia’s Plastics Crisis
VCN is supporting efforts to address Virginia's plastics crisis, improving our understanding of the impact of plastic pollution on our environment and health.
Water Policy: 2023 General Assembly Review
Policies to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, reduce plastic pollution, and reduce toxins in our drinking water.
How Virginia Can Reduce Plastic Pollution
Eradicating plastic pollution is a top priority for many Virginians. Two proven solutions: increased producer responsibility and bottle bills.
ROUNDUP: Executive Order Increases Plastic Waste
Governor Youngkin shares an Executive Order incentivizing increased plastic waste in order to develop waste centers and revokes Executive Order 77, the state’s ongoing plan to phase-out on single-use plastics from public agencies and institutions.
Water Policy: 2022 General Assembly Review
The conservation community successfully passed water policy to increase flood resilience, conserve tree canopies, and reduce polluted runoff.
Water Conservation Education Week: Reducing Plastics!
Welcome to the third week of Our Common Agenda Education Series, featuring the Healthy Bay, Rivers, & Creeks chapter of Our Common Agenda.
RESOURCES
Banning Polystyrene in Restaurants
Katie Register and Zach Huntington from Clean Virginia Waterways provided commentary in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that phasing out polystyrene containers will not economically burden restaurants, as sustainable alternatives are available, affordable, and enhance customer support.
Report: Feeding the Plastics Industrial Complex
The Environmental Integrity Project released a report examining the disproportionate impact of 50 plastics plants on nearby vulnerable communities, including Black and Latino communities.
Plastic Bag Bans Work
Our Partners at Environment Virginia highlight the success of single-use plastic bag bans on reducing plastic bag use and associated litter and pollution.
Report: 50 States of Recycling 2.0
The 50 States of Recycling Report is a first-of-its-kind state-by-state comparable assessment of common packaging materials.
Breathing Plastic: The Health Impacts of Invisible Plastics in the Air (Report)
Breathing Plastic: The Health Impacts of Invisible Plastics in the Air analyzes the implications of micro- and nanoplastics moving through the air and entering the human body via inhalation.
Extended Producer Responsibility for Plastics Packaging Report
The Chesapeake Bay Commission and the Chesapeake Legal Alliance published a policy report addressing the threat of microplastics to the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
