Petition to Ban Single-Use Plastics in Our National Parks!

3728

Goal: 5000

Doing away with the sale and distribution of single-use plastic products and packaging across our public lands will help protect some of America's most biodiverse and treasured natural environments, and will be a step toward reducing the overwhelming harm done by plastic manufacturing, litter and disposal.

One June 8, 2022, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland issued Order 3407 directing the Department of the Interior (DOI) to reduce the sale and distribution of single-use plastic products and packaging with a goal of phasing out single-use plastic products on DOI-managed lands by 2032. This encompasses all national parks, monuments, sanctuaries, other federal lands and DOI offices. While Surfrider applauds the directive, we also continue to advocate DOI require a speedier enactment of the order with an emphatic focus on our National Park Service.

To that end, as DOI finalizes how NPS and other Interior bureaus and offices will meet the order’s requirement, we are petitioning Secretary Haaland, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz and National Park Service Director Charles F. Sams III to require a strong, speedy implementation plan for our national parks that does away with single-use plastic items including plastic and polystyrene food and beverage containers, bottles, straws, cups, cutlery, and disposable plastic bags.

Eliminating single-use plastics will reduce plastic pollution and save money for parks, visitors, concessionaires and park partners, while also advancing the Biden administration’s goals for addressing environmental justice and the climate crisis.

Additionally, this effort represents a small but important step for the National Park Service to honor the legacy of Indigenous stewardship and deepen its commitment to a more socially and environmentally just future.

First Name *

Last Name *

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Representatives

Dear [recipient position will go here] [recipient name will go here],

Your Letter *

I appreciate Secretary Haaland’s Secretarial Order No. 3407 requiring the phasing out of the procurement, sale and distribution of single-use plastic products and packaging across America’s federal lands. As a supporter of Surfrider Foundation, I am committed to eliminating single-use plastics and eradicating plastic pollution, especially from the natural places meant to provide joy and restoration for all people, and stopping the harm caused by plastic production and disposal.

I request that your commitment to eliminating unnecessary single-use plastics – including plastic bags, foodware and bottles – proceed without delay as you finalize the plans for the National Park Service and other Interior Department bureaus and offices by June 8, 2023. Moving toward reuse and refill systems, and eliminating single-use plastics will reduce plastic pollution and save money for parks, visitors, concessionaires and park partners, while addressing environmental justice and the climate crisis. Plastic trash is often visible in parks, impairing visitors' experiences of these treasured natural and historical sites.

I also acknowledge that our National Parks were once home to Native People who stewarded these lands for thousands of years. Native People were driven from these lands, in some cases specifically to convert the lands to national parks. As a nation, we can begin to honor indigenous stewardship by eliminating plastic pollution from these parks. The National Parks can be a leader in the movement towards a more socially and environmentally just future.

Ending the sale of single-use plastics in our National Parks will benefit park visitors, park budgets and park ecosystems, as well as contribute to larger goals on environmental justice and the climate crisis.

Sincerely,
[your name will go here] [your location will go here]

[node:og-group-ref] will keep [submission:values:first_name] and your constituents informed about your position on this issue.

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