U.S. Approach to Addressing Marine Litter

OECD Marine Litter Workshop

Kathleen Salyer Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery U.S. Environmental Protection Agency June 11, 2020 Preventing Land-based Sources of Marine Litter  The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) • Ensure that wastes are managed in a manner that protects human health and the environment • Reduce or eliminate the amount of waste generated • Conserve energy and natural resources through waste recycling and recovery • Set up minimum national requirements for solid waste facilities • Banned open dumps and established well-engineered sanitary landfills

 EPA’s Trash Free Waters Program • Non-regulatory partnership program that works with federal, state, local, and private stakeholders to reduce and prevent land-based sources of trash from entering U.S. waterways and the ocean 2 U.S. EPA Transition to SMM

“An approach to serving human needs by using/reusing resources productively and sustainably throughout their life cycles, generally minimizing the amount of materials involved and all associated environmental impacts.”

Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead, EPA (2009)

3 International U.S. Government Activities

 Promote marine litter reduction globally through improved solid waste management

 EPA’s International Trash Free Waters Program

 USAID’s Clean Cities, Blue Ocean and Municipal Waste Recycling Programs

 NOAA Marine Debris Program

 U.S. Government participation in multi- lateral fora

4 Panama City community recycling center Potential Direction of OECD on Marine Litter We support the OECD’s planned efforts to support countries’ efforts to develop environmentally sound management waste systems, including by:  Utilizing the policy dialogues with countries to discuss developing and implementing national regulatory frameworks and voluntary initiatives to ensure environmentally sound solid waste management, including financing and program implementation.  Supporting countries in their efforts to understand plastics use, design innovations, secondary markets, and end-of-life management needs through the Global Plastics Outlook.  Note: Plastic waste management must be considered in the larger context of solid waste management. 5 Thank you! For more information please visit us at:

epa.gov/smm epa.gov/trashfreewaters

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