Interior Sec. Deb Haaland today issued a Secretarial Order aimed at phasing out the Interior Department’s procurement, sale, and distribution of single-use plastic products by 2032.
Haaland said that the Order “will ensure that the Department’s sustainability plans include bold action on phasing out single-use plastic products as we seek to protect our natural environment and the communities around them.”
Under the Order, if justification is provided, sustainable procurement plans to be developed by DOI bureaus and offices can provide for (1) exemptions for medical, public safety, public health, or scientific items or items for which there is proof of a circular economy plan, and (2) short-term exemptions if no alternatives currently exists or for the term of an existing concession or procurement contract.
