Sound Public Policy - Nudges Us Forward

One thing this global pandemic has done, has made it very clear to most of us what sound, thoughtful public policy looks like. Sound policy, nudges behavior in the right way (like making vaccines highly available). It doesn't come in with a heavy hand, but it moves society forward in the right direction. It allows for the private sector to get creative to solve problems, but the policy helps ensure that no one, or more importantly, no thing (including our planet) is taken advantage of, or left behind in the process.

And after really, really studying recycling and pollution over the past year, we have to say that much of what has been proposed in the new Break Free From Plastics legislation is sound, thoughtful policy. We should be designing waste out of our packaging. We should be ensuring that consumers have the right incentives to recycle and we should be eliminating things like single use plastic bags, where viable alternative already exist.

We know that the Break Free From Plastics bill is built on things that work. And, despite its' somewhat hyperbolic title, we know that it balances the benefits of plastic (lightweight packaging that keeps food fresh), with the environmental impacts of it not being handled properly (currently, only 9% is getting recycled - the rest is incinerated, or ends up in landfills or our oceans).

The plastic industry might want to tell you that this bill is evil. Consumer brands might tell you that we should be focusing on curbside collection instead. They might even say that consumers just need more education on how to recycle right. But what they are missing is that we don't have to pick one thing over another. We can use technology to provide a solution that offers the convenience of curbside and the effectiveness of returns. We can use data to ensure that consumers have all the education they need to recycling right. We don't have to choose. Technology allows us to have both and if you don't believe us, just download the MeCycle app and you will see for yourself.

So, thoughtful policy can nudge us forward in any meaningful way. Then, we just need to let the innovation come rushing in to really make a difference. We believe that this bill is sound policy for dealing with our massive plastic pollution problem so we fully support it and we hope you do too.