single-use plastics. good morning. welcome. the environmental oversight on evaluating alternative materials for single-use plastics will come to order. there is a saying that waste is a design flaw. today we have an enormous volume of plastics from utensils to bottles and even larger amount of plastic packaging. single-use p plastics and plastc packaging are often not recyclable or biodegradable. they often end up as a phrase goes burned, buried or out to sea. all that wasted those represented pretty large design flaw. ideally, we would love for all of our products to be sold in 100% reusable containers were biodegradable packaging so we don't have this challenge. the damage done by plastic pollution has expired many companies to develop alternatives to fossil plastic are often marketed as green or natural. some of those alternatives are revered to as bio plastics. that sounds like a win for everyone. companies get the benefits to continue the single-use items and packaging that is more durable than glass and aluminum and most successful implementation consumers get the peace of mind knowing the packaging or single-use item is being reused or composted. the world is more complicated than that. it's exciting to see how many small companies are working to develop alternatives on the front and that can be recycled or can be reused and hopefully out of those many research efforts and investor funded laboratories will have more alternatives but the goal is to understand where do we sit at this moment, what alternatives exist on the front and? what is truly recyclable and compostable, does it require special laboratories or facilities to be compostable as opposed to a compost bin in one's yard. so that leaves consumers very confused about how they are participating in the consumer economy and the best most responsible way. today we have witnesses who bring expertise to bear on this topic. according to the world wildlife fund that is represented here today, 450 million tons of plastic are produced each year a number that is expected to travel between now and 2050. plastics are made from climate chaos causing fossil fuels they generally don't biodegrade. we've had a testimony and the committee about the challenges of micro- plastics the average adult consuming some 800 particles per day or estimated to be a credit card worth of plastic per week that ends up in our blood, in our lungs and evea in the breastmilk that we feed to our babies. also there toxins that expose us to a number of endocrine disrupting chemicals so that's certainly a challenge as we think about our various daily activities and our hot coffee cup get from starbucks, what is it actually aligned with and atwhat is the result of the particles ending up in our bodies and we also have the production in the front line communities where it creates toxic pollution that endangers the health of the people that live there. there's many aspects to this complicated world and we look forward to learning more today and on our panel of experts we have a marine scientist and cofounder of the institute that seeks to understand the plastic pollution in our oceans and what we can do about it. they published the discovery and as an example where there was a very definable product and reaction which was we don't know if we can live without these in our cosmeticsan or skincare lotions and now they are not there so that's good. also is the vice president for plastic waste and business of the world wildlife fund helping companies reduce plastic solutions. she spent ten years working as a packaging engineer and knows about the packaging side and we are joined by roberto founder and ceo of up cycling that breaks down used plastics and makes them into new products. thank you for the time for sharing your expertise with the committee and i will turn it over to the ranking member for his remarks. >> thank you mr. chair. appreciate it. i thank you for allowing us and mr. markley has a long history studying plastics. while we may not agree on the solution, we definitely are in search of a solution to the problem and maybe it's coming from different angles i appreciate you having the hearing. i'd like h to start by thanking the witnesses. it's a challenge and sometimes thankless and you're not getting paid. we appreciate your time. time is valuable and i do appreciate each of you for being here. as everyone knows plastic exists in almost every aspect of our day-to-day life from consumer goods tor automobile parts to building materials while single-use plastics can contribute to our plastic waste issues certain types of single-use plastics essentially invaluable uses that need to be considered and discussed alternatives. a few examples of the single uses include blood bags, certain just to help healthcare remain affordable and insulated food packages to maintain hygienic standards reducing food waste. these uses play a vital role in our society and as restricted would have detrimental impact on our daily lives. the series of hearings has made it abundantly clear banning plastic production is not a real solution. rather than wasting our time talking about banning plastics or mandating alternatives consumers don't want we should be discussing the market-driven solutions. this includes state-of-the-art developments and advanced recycling. anyone serious about addressing plastic waste should support the advanced recycling. this promising technology can address plastics that cannot be recycled by traditional methods. it has a potential to turn the whole concept of singleal use on its head by converting an recyclable plastic sand valuable new commodities. let's be clear in improving the system is not only the solution but without question a legitimate solution that warrants all of our attention. you shouldn't be just taking my word for it. i would like to ask unanimous consent to enter two studies, one from the department of energy and one from the national academicsad of science. both reports demonstrate the potential value of commercializing the chemical recycling. that's why i'm thankful to be joined today by -- i'm pretty close from getting that right upscaling who traveled from spainn to be here with us today. that's a long flight. i get upset having to travel back and forth from oklahoma. an innovative chemical recycling company that can accept the most difficult to recycle plastics. the facilities can accept plastic ranging from single use to some scarred fishing nets. it's exactly the type we need here today because listening to you, we can start getting serious about addressing plastic waste and so i appreciate it once again. innovation not misguided regulation is the correct way to move forward. i look forward to hearing from the witnesses on ways to facilitate this and looking at chemical recycling and commercial scales. with that i yield back. >> thank you very much. >> good morning subcommittee chair, senator markley, senators and all committee members. i'm cofounder and researcher at the institute. our team has sailed around the world to study ocean posted pollution leaving 20 expeditions across all oceans. we've collected thousands of samples like the one that's right here and you can see that it's mostly micro- plastics. we recently published sixst mons ago a study looking at a 40 year trend from the late 70s to percent of micro- plastic abundance in the world's oceans. in the first 25 years from 1980 to 2005 the quarter-century the amount of trash increases slowly but since 2005, there's been this exponential increase on the point that today we estimate 170 trillion particles of micro- plastics in the global ocean and the point is we need urgent action. why does this matter? a few years ago i went back to kuwait. i'd been there 30 years ago as a marine infantry. i returned recently as a marine scientist. our team surveyedci the gulf of arabia. we also went deep into the desert and found a few camel skeletons and i will show you what i dug out of one skeleton. we estimate about 2,000 plastic bags in one camels got into this adds to the thousands of organism worldwide impacted by our trash into the point i want to make here is i've been across oceans, across mountains, roadsides and we are not talking about cell phones were blood bags. we are talking about a single use throwaway plastics ubiquitous across the globe. what solutions are clear. we are not going to recycle our way out of the problem but the private sector is rising to the challenge. refill and reuse them entrepreneurs in this economy are successfully delivering products to consumers without packaging waste. thousands of entrepreneurs are proven successful in their refill business models at the same time biomaterials are promising innovation we've researched what happens when biodegradable plastic products are lost in real environmental settings. the one toto understand how do they perform if they get lost so it's 22 different kind of products talking about biodegradable cholesterol sand cutlery and film from bags and we put them into the environments the ocean in california, the ocean in florida,he maine, the forest in maine, f everglades, desert in california, six environments over 18 months a year and a half and the findings are fascinating. so i show you this. this is our study we took five kinds of strolls and here you see the different kinds of biodegradable materials. in 16 weeks they function that they degrade within 16 weeks. in this it matched the degradation of a paper straw. look at film we had several kinds of biodegradable plastic and found over 16 weeks the same thing the biomaterial are disappearing, degrading over time. this piece of film is practically gone. utensils the same thing for different types they are practically gone even faster than the wooden utensil but if you look here the fork, the polyethylene strahl they are as new as the day we got them. in closing, i'd like to say that the problem is getting worse based on our work in the world's oceans and land. we urgently need to smart policies. businesses that refill and reuse are thriving and functional alternatives to some kinds of packaging. i'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. thank you. >> thank you very much. that's a fascinating display you brought. much appreciated. ms. simon. please make sure your microphone is turnednk on. >> thank you. good morning mr. chairman and ranking member. i am the vice president and head of plastic waste at the world wildlife fund i want to a thank you for thewo opportunity to testify on such an important topic, one that has quickly become the b topic of environmental concern for many americans and that is the growing plastic pollution. it can be found in every corner of thehe planet from the city sidewalks to the top of mount everest. it's estimated as you mentioned that there is an enormous amount of plastic pollution 11 million metric tons entering the oceans every year that's about a dump truckk a minute. plastic pollution negatively impacts more than 2,000 species of wildlife and places a significant tool and local economies, public health and vulnerable communities. it also harms the world's most important ecosystems like coral reefs. unless we act now as you mentioned the trajectory will worsen, we will double the amount of plastic reproducing to triple the amount in the oceanst by 2040. it's undeniable that plastic is a material that keeps food m frh and medication safe however we currently rely on plastic as a single use resource in the system where products and packaging are created, used and thrown away. the crisis has taught us that it no longer economically, socially or environmentally is sustainable to prioritize the production of single use products in the no matter where they are made. all natural resources are finite and we are taking the materials faster than the earth can sustain. as we look forward to the future of innovation we need to mend the broken system no matter what the material is. this means getting rid of those things we don't need, increasing's recycling and composting, shifting to sustainable inputs and alternative business models such as the reuse and refill systems and moving to alternative materials when appropriate. alternative materials to replace could include fever, metal, glass or bio-based material however no matterr the material we must always be thoughtful and thorough considering the use of alternatives to avoid the negative trade-offs. all have environmental and social impacts. it's critical that we take necessary steps to source those that have stronger environmental and social benefits when compared to the conventional plastic and to know for example they have intensive extraction processes so the overall sustainability performance is largely tied to the ability to recapture the materials through reuse and recycling. even if we look for solutions to reduce and replace we might still need some plastic but it doesn't need to come from fossil fuels. they can be made from alternative sources such as plants, bio-based plastics offer the opportunity to decouple the fossil resources, achieve greenhouse gas savings and contribute to the economy when produced in accordance to best practices. to realize the potential, we have to follow them no one-size-fits-all solution provider waste plastics and also follow the shared set of principles to guide at the choices to effectively recycle the composted. it's critical that we pay attention to food security labor practices, deforestation and conversion and impact on water quality as well as the necessary recycling infrastructure for the recovery. thee conversations around all materials are a central and independent of any alternative solutions we need supporting infrastructure and policy to tackle the system and that includes a system to collect, reuse and compost anything that is produced. in the united states, they are already setting ambitions around the reuse and recycle. i will be on a panel later today in this room with coca-cola, walmart talking about the condition we are seeing from m many of the private sector including enabling government policies like the producer responsibilities. the united states has an opportunity to be a global leader in this. in thes. end, we need everybodyo do their part. we hope p that today's conversation will pave the way for further development and implementation of the robust policiesem in the state, policis that call attention to the consideration and advantages of the reuse and other plastic alternatives as we seek to address the problem of plastic pollution. ame economy is only sustainable if we only have a way forward and we are working together. it begins by reevaluating the use and moving towards a system that prioritizes environmental health and justice. this reality may seem vicious but there are policies and changes in technologies we can use to move forward today and creates a more efficient system for the holy planet and future generations. thank you. >> thank you very much and we are going to turn over. >> i'm founder and ceo of up cycling. i appreciate the opportunity to appear before the subcommittee today.y. i will discuss three aspects of the innovation that enabled. first we can up cycle all types of used plastics back into feedstock. the second we deliver substantial improvements in energy and environmental performance on the recycling process. third, we create a strong economic incentive for communities to use plastics. the first breakthrough takes advantage of the proprietary materials commonly known as carbon byg adding material to useded plastics and any municipl or industrial entity will be able to up cycle to 80% plus including dirty and contaminated plastics that are too hard to recycle and are lost. examples of this include packaging material about 45% of the global problem as well as medical devices, automobile parts, circuit boards and degraded plastics. we recently revealed this in the atdemonstration collected from local fishermen. the materials enabled the process to occur for half the temperature 450 degrees fahrenheit instead of 800 and with a 30 to 60% improvement in performance thus significantly reducing energy costs and associated greenhouse gases per unit. just as consequentially process also captures 60 to 99% such as bromide, fluoride and chlorine and other contaminants of major health and environmental concerns. these contaminants condemned the disaggregated responsible disposition. the second breakthrough takes advantage of the proprietary mix of biological science by placing them in direct contact with used plastics we can pulverize it back and unlike other methods it takes place at room temperature without the added heat or energy consumption and without chemical based solvents that other processes require. we've proven it cannot only cane plastics such as soda bottles buts also that are otherwise expensive lee made and completely mechanically recycled for example styrofoam materials or electronic plastic waste we are developing similar treatments for packaging materials. the output of both of the innovations is a high quality feedstock that can economically compete froml fossil fuels in other words plastic back to plastic. the objective is to decouple production from fossil based sources and just as important it means it can occur at a profit creating economic incentives for local communities to construct affordable facilities to collect and convert all of their plastics into valuablela feedstocks at a net savings to their budget rather than at cost. in the summary the technology and innovations are able to process all types of used plastics including the greatest and high quality feedstock that can readily be converted into new plastic. we can perform up cycling at room temperature and significantly reduce the heat needed driving substantial reductions in energy consumption and associated pollution and greenhouse gas and we can capture and disaggregate chemical contaminants. for example this is where this would fall into place making the plastics too valuable to burn or throw away we can help make plastic circularity a global reality. i want to thank you for this time and consideration of the testimony, and i look forward to your questions and comments. >> thank you to all the witnesses. much appreciated. i want to start out with doctor erickson. we always referred to wax paper cups. paper cups today are coated in plastic. is there a particular reason that for at least cold drinks we couldn't return to wax paper cups? >> i see no reason why we couldn't return. some of thete materials we grewp with. the wax coating on paper does function as a moisture barrier so yes we could. they exist today if you look at the packages forul lettuce and e agricultural sector using wax coated cardboard utilized as a water barrier. >> i want to turn to your powerful display of whatay you found in the gut of a single camel or from inside the skeleton of a single camel. i've seen the similar displays from many marine species. is it fair to say that we are looking at the gut of, i say that again, i've seen them from dolphins and sharks and so forth that we also seend a huge often accumulation and in marine birds as well in the oceans affecting our wildlife? .. >> all kinds of random fragments of plastic. a lot of this stuff. yes, the impacts are not just camels in the desert but here close to home you see two innocent packs. >> this looks like mostly bags i think you said. >> yes. >> you pointed out in your chart for better alternatives a variety of alternatives to plastic that biodegrade better and you set those in different types of ecosystems, i think you said forests, deserts. >> everglades. >> ocean settings. >> and had those bags that are -- that you found in the camel gut, if they had been made out of this other materials w
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