Editor’s note: This letter to the editor is in response to EHN’s October 4 story, The US falls behind most of the world in plastic pollution legislation.
Hannah Seo’s article “US Lags Behind Plastic Pollution Regulation” missed one very important point. In spite of its regulations and goals, the EU is likely to miss its plastic recycling targets. An audit of progress towards meeting its goals, conducted by the EU’s auditors, showed not only is the EU lagging, but a new methodology for tracking recycling will cut the existing plastic recycling rate by up to 25%.
Yes, the US can and should do better. But we should also learn from the lessons of ongoing efforts. Instead of reinventing the wheel and repeating the same old mistakes, we can succeed where other countries are failing.
Chaz Miller
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