Report: PA Lags Other States in Reducing Plastic

Study suggests state could do more to cut plastic waste, including single-use bags

By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service
The Tube City Almanac
July 22, 2025
Posted in: State & Region

About 40 municipalities in Pennsylvania have banned retailers from providing customers with single-use plastic bags, which are difficult to recycle. (Tube City Almanac photo)

A new report says Pennsylvania ranks near the bottom of all 50 states in its efforts to reduce pollution from plastic waste, including plastic bags.

July is Plastic-Free Month and the Ocean Conservancy’s “United States of Plastics” report gave the state a score of just 1.5 of a possible 5.

Anja Brandon, director of plastics policy for the advocacy group Ocean Conservancy and co-author of the report, said Pennsylvania has laws to support recycling of harmful chemicals. She said the state should consider doing the same with plastic waste.

Brandon the state could follow the lead of nearby Great Lakes and Northeast states by cutting back on single-use plastics. Brandon said turning to safer, proven alternatives could quickly benefit Pennsylvania’s environment.

State lawmarkers, she said, “could consider policies like comprehensive extended producer responsibility that combine the best parts of a bottle bill with the best parts of extended producer responsibility to significantly increase the amount of material that is recycled and kept out of the environment.”

While Pennsylvania has not yet enacted statewide bans or mandates banning plastic outright, it has created a framework for reducing plastic pollution through targeted legislation. In June, State Rep. Maureen Madden, Democrat from Monroe County, introduced House Bill 1547 to ban single-use plastic bags in retail establishments.

According to PennEnvironment, 40 municipalities have adopted local bans on plastic bags in Pennsylvania.

Brandon said about 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year from land-based sources — more than a garbage truck’s worth every minute. She said the U.S. is the top generator of plastic waste and the third-largest source of ocean plastic pollution.

While Pennsylvania is not on the coast, Brandon said plastic pollution knows no boundaries and added that inland states need to take stronger action, since all communities are connected to the ocean through rivers and streams that carry waste into the sea.

“I think states are not only on the front lines, but they’re also kind of in the best position of power to take action,” Brandon said. “Because they're already in charge of recycling and waste management and cleanup and education. So that's really why we chose to focus this on the state level.”

Brandon said it has been nearly a decade since the federal government took major action on plastic pollution. Although laws like the Save Our Seas Act have attempted to address the problem of garbage and waste polluting the oceans, no major efforts have succeeded since then.

Multiple bills including the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act, Fighting Fibers and Farewell to Foam Act and others have been introduced to tackle the issue. None has passed despite ongoing advocacy, according to experts.

Danielle M. Smith is a producer for Public News Service, where this story first appeared. An award-winning radio journalist/personality with more than a decade of experience in broadcast media, she is a former audio journalist with American Urban Radio Networks and Sheridan Broadcasting Networks who also hosts a weekly community affairs show “Good News” on WGBN (1360 AM/98.9 FM).

Originally published July 22, 2025.

In other news:
"PA Mulls Stronger Rul…" || "Fundraiser for Woman …"