Interior Department Opens the Floodgates to Single-Use Plastics in America’s National Parks
Oceana says ending policy to reduce plastic pollution puts national parks at risk
Press Release Date: May 21, 2025
Location: WASHINGTON
Contact:
Erin Vande Ven, Megan Jordan | email: EVandeVen@oceana.org, mjordan@oceana.org | tel: 303.829.3877, 202.868.4061
Yesterday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed a secretarial order reversing the Department of the Interior’s policy to phase out single-use plastics across national parks and other public lands by 2032. This rescinds the Biden administration’s June 2022 secretarial order to reduce the procurement, sale, and distribution of single-use plastic products and packaging in 433 national parks, including more than 80 ocean and coastal parks, and other public lands managed by the Interior Department. The 2022 order banned the sale and distribution of unnecessary single-use plastic products like plastic foam foodware, bottles, bags, cups, and utensils in these protected areas.
“Don’t be surprised when national parks are overflowing with plastic,” said Christy Leavitt, Oceana’s Senior Campaign Director. “Our parks and other treasured public lands deserve better. Each year, millions of people visit America’s national parks to experience their natural beauty, history, and culture, and plastic mars that experience, fouling the landscape, harming wildlife, and threatening native species. National parks are protected areas — but this action opens the floodgates to plastic. If the Interior Department won’t protect our national parks from plastic, Congress must safeguard these special places.”
In 2022, Oceana released a nationwide poll revealing that 82% of American voters would support a decision by the National Park Service to stop selling and distributing single-use plastic at national parks. Eighty-three percent agreed that it is important that national parks remain free of plastic trash, and 76% agreed that single-use plastic items have no place in national parks.
Background
Plastic has been found in every corner of the world and has turned up in drinking water, beer, salt, honey, and more. It’s been found in the air we breathe and the water we drink and it’s even showing up in our bodies, including blood, lungs, heart, and breast milk. Plastic poses environmental and public health threats at every stage from extraction and production to use and disposal. It’s also one of the greatest contributors to climate change. In fact, if plastic were a country, it would be the fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. With plastic production growing at a rapid rate, increased amounts of plastic can be expected to flood our blue planet with devastating consequences.
A 2020 Oceana report revealed evidence of nearly 1,800 animals from 40 different species swallowing or becoming entangled in plastic in U.S. waters between 2009 and early 2020. Of those animals, a staggering 88% were from species listed as endangered or threatened with extinction under the Endangered Species Act.
Less than 6% of plastic in the U.S. is recycled, yet the plastics industry continues to tout recycling as a panacea while pushing new plastic products onto the market. Companies need to dramatically reduce the production and use of unnecessary single-use plastic, provide plastic-free choices, and develop systems that refill and reuse packaging and foodware. Elected officials must enact policies to ensure they do so.
In February 2025, Oceana released the results of a nationwide poll revealing that an overwhelming majority of U.S. voters support policies that reduce single-use plastics. Overall, 81% of U.S. voters support reducing the amount of plastic that is produced. The national online poll, conducted for Oceana by the nonpartisan polling company Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®, surveyed 1,111 registered U.S. voters from December 13 to 15, 2024.
Included among the key findings:
- 80% of U.S. voters support state and local policies that reduce single-use plastic foam.
- 78% of U.S. voters support national policies that reduce single-use plastic foam.
- 85% of U.S. voters support increasing the use of reusable packaging and foodware.
- 80% of U.S. voters support requiring companies to reduce single-use plastic packaging and foodware.
To learn more about Oceana’s campaign to stop plastic pollution, please visit usa.oceana.org/plastics.
