Federal Purchases of Single-Use Plastics Targeted by Biden’s GSA

The General Services Administration is targeting the federal purchases of single-use plastics and packaging, the agency proposed Thursday in an action that environmentalists called an encouraging step.

The agency is seeking public comment for future rulemaking of reducing unnecessary single-use plastics in government purchases, material that is often used in packaging and shipping.

“GSA has the ability to make a difference by addressing single-use plastics in our construction, concession, and facility maintenance contracts as well,” the notice says. “With single-use plastics being a significant contributor to the global plastic pollution concern, it is a logical step for the agency to examine this.”

The action follows a legal petition in February from about 180 other groups asking the GSA to prohibit agencies from buying disposable, single-use plastics.

Prioritizing Purchases

The groups made the case that the US government is the largest consumer of goods and services in the world, and that President Joe Biden’s executive orders highlight the need for federal agencies to prioritize purchases of reusable products.

The Interior Department last month announced plans to cut back on the procurement of single-use plastic on public lands, including national parks and wildlife refuges, and eventually eliminate their use by 2032.

The GSA in October 2021 updated its acquisition manual to require consideration to reduce content waste, including packaging, as part of requirements planning for GSA acquisitions.

Oceana, a conservation group part of the legal petition, said it’s critical that the Biden administration addresses plastic pollution through source reduction.

“This new rulemaking has the potential to effect real change in protecting our future, and it’s exciting to see it come on the heels of the Biden administration’s recent decision to eliminate the sale, distribution, and procurement of single-use plastic in national parks and other public lands,” Oceana plastics campaign director Christy Leavitt, told Bloomberg Law.

Greenpeace USA, a global network of independent campaigning organizations, said more work remains to be done in regards to the plastic pollution crisis, and that without leadership from the White House, many US agencies will move in the wrong direction.

“President Biden has been slow to address the plastic crisis, despite its impact on our climate, our oceans, and human health,” said John Hocevar, Oceans Campaign Director for Greenpeace USA. “Reducing federal government purchases of single use plastic is an encouraging step in the right direction.”

Curbing single-use plastics in federal purchasing is one action in a plastics action plan endorsed by more than 550 organizations. The plan asks the Biden administration to take eight key executive actions to combat plastic pollution.

Interested parties have until Sept. 6 to comment on the GSA proposal.