Federal lawmakers debuted the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act on Tuesday, after months of build-up kicking off what is likely to be a heated fight over the legislation. The bill would enshrine extended producer responsibility (EPR) for plastic bottles, packaging and assorted items, along with creating a national container deposit system.
It’s an edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of oil palm trees, the scientific name is Elaeis guineensis. Two types of oil can be produced; crude palm oil comes from squeezing the fleshy fruit, and palm kernel oil which comes from crushing the kernel, or the stone in the middle of the fruit.
Halfway between Hawaii and California in the north Pacific Ocean sits the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the world’s largest buildup of plastic. This floating mass, made up of an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, will never disappear. Instead, aided by wind and sea currents, it will degrade into minute shards of microplastics, endangering even the smallest organisms and damaging entire ecosystems. It’s just one of six giant garbage patches swirling around in our seas. Since 1950, when plastics became ubiquitous, humans have generated 8.3 billion metric tons of the stuff, and the vast majority of plastic waste ends up in landfills, oceans and other natural environments.
