Single Use Plastic Campaign

Tell the Mayor and the Department of Public Works: End single-use plastic littering and trash dumping. It's an environmental justice issue!

Want to see the Mayor and DPW get serious about ending single-use plastic littering and trash dumping? Sign our petition to demand incentives to reduce trash (refundable deposits on all beverage containers), widespread water bottle refill stations, and reusable & refillable food and drink packaging. https://bit.ly/SierraDC-PlasticPetition

Why reduce single-use plastic?

• Single-use plastic pollution contributes to climate change, pollutes our parks and waterways and threatens our health. It’s time for action!

• 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". 

• The District is projected to create a total of 142,812 tons of plastic waste in 2023 but recycle only 6.5% of it.

• Plastic bottles make up 65% of waste by weight picked up in the Anacostia River bottles

• Despite the District’s 5 cent bag fee law, DC customers pay for at least 40 million new single-use plastic grocery bags a year

We can reduce single-use plastic

How do we reduce single-use plastic in the District? Here’s what the Sierra Club, DC Chapter Single-Use Plastic subcommittee works on. Our actions make a difference:

• Serve-on-request. Requirements for restaurants to only serve single-use plastic utensils, condiment packets and napkins on request: 

  • Starting on July 1, 2021, food ordering apps were required to update their online ordering platforms to enable customers to opt-in to request specific items.

  • Starting on January 1, 2022 restaurants can only provide these items if a customer requests them.

  • Let your favorite restaurant know about the serve-on-request requirements

  • You can leave DOEE a tip if you suspect a business is not in compliance 

  • The subcommittee conducted outreach to restaurants to raise awareness of the serve-on-request requirements.

• Reusable food service ware, including for onsite dining and takeout. Reusable food service ware prevents trash being generated. Reusable takeout container services create green jobs. We need DC to invest in reusable food service ware. 

  • Check out our webinar Exploring Innovative Reusable Takeout Container Solutions 

  • Check out our webinar Turning Takeout Green: Exploring Reusable Takeout Container Strategies in DC

  • We conduct advocacy for the DC Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE) to provide grants to incentivize restaurants to adopt reusable food service ware and for DC restaurants to use reusable food service ware for onsite dining once restaurants have recovered from the pandemic..

• Advocacy. We advocate for a plastic bag ban in all stores in favor of reusable bags.

• Styrofoam, straws & stirrer ban. DC’s bans on expanded polystyrene (styrofoam) food service ware, straws & stirrers. The subcommittee conducted outreach in 2019 to restaurants to raise awareness for the straw & stirrer ban.

• Brand audits. The DC Chapter also conducts brand audits on plastic and glass bottles and drinks cans cleaned up by partner organizations such as the Anacostia River Keepers (ARK) and Ward 8 Woods. These brand audits demonstrate which companies’ products are found polluting our parks, waters and neighborhoods. DC clearly has a beverage container pollution problem when ARK volunteers can clean up over 1600 drinks containers at Pope Branch Park in just three hours and over 1200 drinks containers were cleaned up by Ward 8 Woods volunteers near Serenity Rehab in Anacostia in two hours.

• We also need more water bottle refill stations in all public buildings and facilities and milk dispensers in public schools to prevent plastic trash from happening in the first place.