Have you felt a twinge of guilt every time you ordered take out food as you know the single-use plastic utensils, silverware and plastic bottles will end up in a landfill or be incinerated or will contribute to the trash in our neighborhoods and in our parks?
You are not alone. But now you can do something about it by signing our plastic petition! The Sierra Club DC Chapter is demanding incentives to reduce trash, including refundable deposits on all beverage containers, widespread water bottle refill stations, and reusable & refillable food and drink packaging. The path forward is clear—but collectively we need to ensure our voices are being heard.
Why is it important for you to join us in reducing single-use plastic? Single-use plastic pollution contributes to climate change, pollutes our parks and waterways and threatens our health. We need DC to invest in reusable food service ware. Reusable food service ware prevents trash being generated and reusable takeout container services create green jobs. A recent study shows that "the U.S. plastics industry’s contribution to climate change is on track to exceed that of coal-fired power in this country by 2030".
You may be as astounded as us to learn that the District of Columbia is projected to create a total of 142,812 tons of plastic waste in 2023 but we recycle only 6.5% of it. And sadly, plastic bottles make up 65% of waste by weight picked up in the Anacostia River—the same river used by birds and other wildlife and residents who engage in water sports.
And despite the District’s 5 cent bag fee law, did you know that District customers pay for at least 40 million new single-use plastic grocery bags a year that will end up as trash?
Help us demand more water bottle refill stations in all public buildings and facilities and milk dispensers in public schools so we can prevent plastic trash from happening in the first place.
Want to know more about our Sierra Club DC Single Use Plastic subcommittee campaign?
Check out the information and links on our Plastic campaign webpages.
And don’t forget to sign our plastic petition and pass it on.
You can also share your support for plastic reduction measures by commenting on the Draft Zero Waste DC Framework which will be developed into DC’s Zero Waste Plan based on residents’ feedback. Comments accepted through October 7, 2022. To access and comment on the Zero Waste DC Plan's Draft Framework, visit https://publicinput.com/ZWDCPlan