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Each year, the
United States produces tens of millions of tons of plastic
waste — waste that is not recyclable (since most plastics are
actually impossible to recycle). But most of us don't see
these types of landfills in our daily lives. So where does it
all go? To slowly rot in someone else's backyard, specifically
in less-wealthy nations such as Malaysia, where residents must
contend with American trash for generations to come.
Data from January 20201 shows the U.S. exported 48
million tons of "scrap plastic," with much of this ending up
in poorer countries. And the amount we're producing and exporting has
been increasing year over year.
This is despite the fact that,
in 2019, upwards of 180 countries around the world — including
the United Kingdom, India, China, Malaysia, Thailand, and also
the European Union — came together to sharply curtail this
type of "trade" in plastic waste. In particular, they limited
rich countries from simply dumping their plastic trash on the
lands of poorer countries. But the U.S. did not participate,
and remains one of only two countries to not have ratified
this accord. Even now, the U.S. is still shipping its
excessive waste to these countries' borders and simply passing
the buck, leaving it up to other governments to deal with.
The U.S. must pass regulations to stop plastic waste
from being dumped overseas. Sign the petition to demand that Joe Biden and
the U.S. Congress work together to ratify the Basel Convention
and its Plastic Waste Amendments now!
Thank you,
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Miranda
The Care2 Petitions Team
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P.S. This
abdication of moral responsibility and "passing of the buck"
is absolutely despicable. Tell the U.S. to stop saddling other countries
with our overflowing plastic pollution! |
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