Plastic-Free Parks Are Possible!
Our national parks are drowning in a rising tide of plastic waste. Single-use disposable plastic bottles are the single biggest component of national park waste streams.
Mountains of plastic bottles burden wildlife, create greenhouse gases, and cost taxpayers to haul away. As crowds return to record levels following the pandemic, a tsunami of plastic waste will again swamp our parks.
Some major parks, like Grand Canyon, went bottle-free after building water “filling stations.” But the International Bottled Water Association snuffed this nascent bottle-free movement out. They successfully lobbied the Trump administration to bar any park superintendent from restricting the sale of plastic water bottles – no exceptions.
Reverse this Trump pro-plastic anti-park policy now.
Sign on with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, GreenLatinos and Beyond Plastics today.
Tell the Interior Secretary to –
- Outlaw sales of plastic water bottles at all national parks;
- Cut plastics discarded in parks by 75%;
- Ensure that there are adequate sources of free potable water available for park visitors; and
- Manage our parks to set a “green” example.
Help both our national parks and our planet – take a break from plastic.
PETITION TO
Secretary of the Interior
Dear Interior Secretary Deb Haaland,
Discarded single-use plastic water bottles are swamping our national parks. These plastic discards are the single biggest component of park waste. They are damaging human health and our environment with disproportionate impacts on low-income and communities of color. The proposed rule would be a step forward in President Biden’s efforts to right past wrongs and move toward environmental justice.
The International Bottled Water association convinced your predecessor to tie the hands of park superintendents who are now forbidden from restricting sales of plastic water bottles in any way – no exception.
This industry-sponsored restriction should not only be rescinded but also completely reversed by eliminating the sale of plastic water bottles in all parks.
We, the undersigned, are asking that you
- Outlaw sales of plastic water bottles at all national parks;
- Cut plastics discarded in parks by 75%;
- Ensure that there are adequate sources of free potable water available for park visitors; and
- Manage our parks to set a “green” example.
Please help our national parks go green.
Sincerely,
Undersigned
PETITION CLOSED
DELIVERY TO: Secretary Deb Haaland, June 23, 2021
SIGNATURES: 5,030
