Lynn L. Bergeson Quoted in Bloomberg Law Article “EPA Strategy Coming to Combat Plastic Pollution, Boost Recycling”

On October 14, 2021, Lynn L. Bergeson, President, The Acta Group (Acta^®), was quoted by Bloomberg Law regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to release a national strategy to reduce plastic waste, improve recycling, and boost the market for recycled goods. Ms. Bergeson discussed these issues during the “Moving Towards “Cradle-to-Cradle”: Regulatory Drivers and Barriers in Reducing Waste and Achieving Sustainable Lifecycle Management and a Circular Economy” session of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources 29th Fall Conference.

The agency’s waste and chemicals offices are exploring ways to tackle plastic waste jointly, Shaw said. She responded to challenges Lynn L. Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson and Campbell, said the Toxic Substances Control Act can raise for companies wanting to recycle plastics.

Recyclers, for example, must be careful about which plastics they use to avoid inadvertently creating a new chemical, which would trigger TSCA requirements, Bergeson said.

The EPA’s decades-old system of identifying different chemicals also can put barriers to the use of substances made with algae, soy, or other renewable sources of oil, instead of petroleum, she said.

Bergeson urged the agency to use reduced fees, quicker reviews, and other incentives to encourage the use of new chemicals that are less toxic, reduce pollution, or offer other benefits.

Policies the agency’s pesticide office uses to encourage the use of less risky substances illustrate possible options, she said.

See – https://bnanews.bna.com/environment-and-energy/epa-strategy-coming-to-combat-plastic-pollution-boost-recycling (subscription required)