Trump administration finding fixes to plastic waste in oceans
Florida residents take pride in keeping their 663 miles of beaches and more than 11,000 miles of rivers, streams and waterways clean from marine litter, including plastic pollution. Because of such efforts, Florida’s abundant natural resources and breathtaking landscapes continue to attract tourists, boost agriculture and support thousands of jobs throughout the Sunshine State.
But too often, plastic washes up on Florida’s shores from faraway places, threatening the ecosystem and the jobs it supports.
President Trump and the Department of Energy are committed to tackling marine litter, including the plastic waste issue, head-on and advancing innovative technology that will not only break down existing plastics, but also help develop materials that are easier to recycle fromthe start.
While this issue is a globally created problem, American ingenuity will be the solution. To make that solution a reality, DOE recently announced more than $27 million in funding for projects led by some of the best and brightest experts on this issue.
This funding will support research and development focusing on reducing plastic waste in the environment, making more-biodegradable plastics and innovating our entire recycling process.
The money will fund 12 projects across the United States in the private and academic sectors that will support the development of advanced plastics-recycling technologies, aswell as new plastics that are recyclable by design.
These projects will focus on three areas:
Developing highly recyclable or biodegradable plastics that have improved performance over plastics in use today. These new materials will bemore cost-effective to recycle. And if they can’t be recycled, they will biodegrade completely into the environment or in compost facilities.
Pursuing ways to generate energy-efficient recycling technologies that can break down plastics products more easily, allowing them to be transformed into higher-value products.
Working with the private sector through collaborations with key DOE National Laboratories and universities to design new plastics and recycling strategies.
These projects are part of the latest efforts in what we call “BOTTLE”—(Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment— which is part of the comprehensive Plastics Innovation Challenge launched by the Trump administration in 2019.
The plastics challenge focuses the department’s resources on dramatically reducing plastic waste in oceans and landfills and positions the United States as a global leader in advanced plastics-recycling technologies.
Earlier this year, DOE also launched the BOTTLE Consortium. The Consortium, comprised of National Laboratories, academia and industry partners, is focused on developing new plastics that can be efficiently broken down into chemical building blocks, which can then be recycled tomake higher-value products.
The BOTTLE Consortium aims to not only develop new processes and plastic chemistries that are scalable and cost-effective, but towork with industry to catalyze a new up cycling supply chain for plastics.
Marine litter, including plastic waste, is an environmental problem that is affecting Florida’s economy and all Americans throughout the country. We cannot rely entirely on foreign nations to meet our high standards of waste management; our nation has the research enterprise to innovate and find practicable solutions.
The technology and products that will stem from these efforts will be used to keep Florida clean and the economy churning. DOE is proud to support innovative research on plastics recycling and plastics production. This work will benefit Americans, and theworld, for decades to come.