Plastic Pollution

Plastic Pollution

Plastic Pollution

Plastics, mostly single-use, proliferate our daily existence, environment, and ecosystems. Tiny microplastic particles are found in the air we breathe and the water we drink, exposing us to a multitude of toxic substances. And the production of these products are polluting our communities, often Black, Brown, and low-income. We must act to regulate plastics at all levels—from production, to transportation, to use, to disposal. The era of single-use plastics in our everyday lives is one that needs to be relegated to the past—and quickly.


Video provided by LonelyWhale's #HydrateLike campaign.

Sierra Club Zero Waste Policy

Our current methods of extracting natural resources, turning them into products and packaging used for ever shorter periods of time, and then discarding them is not sustainable! This "use & throw" culture contributes significantly to a wide variety of negative impacts such as forest and open space destruction, ocean pollution, litter, water and air pollution, and climate change.
Read the Policy

Support the Break Free from Plastic Act

Our government can act to help solve this crisis by passing the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act, which was first introduced in 2021. This ambitious bill will tackle single-use plastic waste and production. Learn more about the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act and how you can support it below!
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July 1, 2019

Oakland, CA— Sierra magazine’s July/August edition is now on newsstands and arriving at subscribers’ homes. Among other articles, the latest issue includes:  You Can’t Recycle Garbage: A cover story by Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Humes on what’s…

May 17, 2019

Today, over 125 people on land and 50 people on water gathered at the “No Methanol Land and Water Action Community Camp-Out” opposing the proposed fracked-gas-to-methanol refinery in Kalama, WA. Speakers called on the Washington Department of…

March 12, 2019

Maryland is on the brink of becoming the first state to ban expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam food containers, as the State House passed a bill that would ban restaurants, grocery stores, and other food providers from using foam food containers…

January 18, 2019

The Sierra Club and partner organizations filed an appeal today challenging a key permit for a massive proposed petrochemical facility known as an “ethane cracker” in Belmont County. The plant is part of the industry’s push to steeply increase U.S.…

December 13, 2018

Hundreds of people from Cowlitz County and neighboring areas attended a public hearing held by the Port of Kalama and Cowlitz County on the proposed fracked-gas-to-methanol refinery in Kalama, WA.

1000

years it takes for plastic to biodegrade

2M

plastic bags per minute used each year

1M

seabirds killed by plastic each year

500M

plastic straws used every day in the US