Trump Reversed Efforts to Reduce Plastic Bottles in National Parks – Now Let’s Take Action!

Given the terrifying statistics that show how much plastic Pollution there is on the planet, one would think that urgent action to curb plastic waste would be a no-brainer. It turns out, however, that is not the case after all. Recently, the Trump Administration reversed a 2011 National Park Service policy that encouraged national parks to stop selling plastic water bottles, which helped reduce Pollution in these protected areas.

The reversal of the policy is another example of a federal agency working against the most pressing environmental issues. According to a Care2 petition, although the anti-plastic bottle policy was not a ban per se, it was successful in causing 23 national parks, including Grand Canyon National Park and Zion National Park, to limit their water bottle sales. The restriction naturally led to alleviated Pollution and less harm that the plastic waste causes to the environment and animals.

Plastic waste finds its way into many places, from the streets in our neighborhoods, to seemingly untouched natural sites. National parks are also not safe from that dangerous litter. Plastic Pollution causes harm to the environment and wildlife in a number of ways – one of them being the ingestion of plastic which happens both under water and on land. Every year, Americans use around 50 billion plastic water bottles – and only a small percent of those are getting recycled!

Plastic water bottles should not be making a comeback in any way – especially since they are not a thing of the past yet, although more people are stepping up and using reusable bottles. We produce 300 million tons of plastic every year and nearly every single piece of this plastic that has ever existed will live longer than any of us will. With 8.8 million tons of plastic entering our oceans and no major policy in place to limit the production of plastic, we all need to do our best to fight this scourge. To learn more about how you can limit your everyday plastic use, check out One Green Planet’s #CrushPlastic campaign.

And to protect our national parks, click here to sign the petition asking Grand Canyon National Park and Zion National Park to carry on their restrictions on water bottle sales and help the environment and wildlife.

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