Attorney General Bonta Supports Federal Government’s Proposed Rule to Reduce the Purchase of Unnecessary Single-Use Plastic Packaging

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 11 attorneys general in submitting a comment letter supporting the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)’s proposed rule to reduce federal purchases of unnecessary single-use plastic packaging. The proposed rule would encourage the federal purchase of products that use single-use plastic-free packaging and incentivize suppliers to develop sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic packaging. In the comment letter, the attorneys general commend the proposed rule, and recommends GSA to implement a mandatory phase-out of all single-use plastic products, with reasonable exceptions for products whose plastic composition is necessary for health or safety reasons. The implementation of this rule would be an effective tool in the fight to address the plastic pollution crisis across this country. 

“While the GSA is moving in the right direction, the plastic pollution crisis is only going to get worse without prompt federal action to eliminate plastic consumption,” said Attorney General Bonta. “That’s why, alongside attorney generals nationwide, we are calling on the federal government to adopt an aggressive timeline not just to phase-out the purchase of single-use plastic packaging, but to phase-out all single-use plastic products in federal procurement. By tackling this issue head-on, we can build a healthier planet for future generations to come.”

The rapidly increasing production of single-use plastic products has long overwhelmed the world’s ability to manage them. Every year, tens of millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean. Plastic pollution is pervasive in California, polluting the state’s rivers, beaches, bays, and ocean waters and costing the state an estimated half a billion dollars each year in clean up and prevention. Plastic does not fully degrade, instead breaking down into smaller pieces called microplastics. Microplastics have been found in our drinking water, our food, and even the air we breathe. 

The federal government is the largest consumer of goods and services in the world, and likely one of the largest consumers of single-use plastics in the United States. Policy changes to the federal government's procurement of single-use plastics would be an important first step to reducing consumption of single-use plastics nationwide. In the letter, the coalition argues that GSA has authority to expand the scope to reduce and ultimately eliminate the federal procurement of all single-use plastics.

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia in filing the letter.

A copy of the letter is available here.