Reducing Single-Use Plastic Pollution

The Department of the Interior has taken proactive steps to phase out single use plastic products, which pollute waterways, harm wildlife, and pose risks to human health. Issued on June 8, 2022, Secretary's Order 3407 (SO 3407) aims to reduce the procurement, sale and distribution of single-use plastic products and packaging, with a goal of phasing out all single-use plastic products on Department-managed lands by 2032. It is part of the implementation of President Biden’s Executive Order 14057, which calls for federal agencies to take actions to reduce and phase out procurement of single-use plastic products to the maximum extent practicable.     

The Secretary’s Order defines single-use plastic products as plastic items intended to be disposed of immediately after use, such as plastic and polystyrene food and beverage containers, bottles, straws, cups, cutlery, and disposable plastic bags. 

In 2024, the Department was honored with a Presidential Federal Sustainability Award for its work to eliminate single-use plastics. The award recognizes the Department’s leadership in building sustainable supply chains and reducing plastic pollution. More information on the federal government’s efforts to reduce plastics pollution can be found at www.sustainability.gov. 

Key Action Areas

Partnering To Reduce Plastics for Sale 

The Department is working hard to use less plastic nationwide. The Department is collaborating with its commercial service partners, including food service providers, souvenir vendors, and other concessionaires and contractors to reduce sales of single-use plastics such as plastic straws in dining venues, plastic bags in retail stores, and single-use toiletry containers in hotel rooms. The Department and its bureaus and offices have developed procurement plans aimed at eliminating single-use plastics, which include reviewing procurement contracts to meet the Department’s goals. For example, the National Park Service has already eliminated single-use plastic water bottles from several of their facilities by working with concessioners. 

Increasing Water Bottle Filling Stations 

Water bottle filling stations facilitate the use of reusable bottles, a critical alternative to buying or bringing single-use plastic water bottles onto Department-managed lands. Adding more stations for staff and visitors is a priority across DOI bureaus and offices.  By 2027, all bureaus and offices will have at least one water bottle filling station available in each of its facilities.  

Messaging to Shift Public Behavior 

One key way to raise awareness and encourage people to take actions to reduce plastic pollution is through messaging and educational outreach to visitors and employees. By 2026, all Interior bureaus and offices will have developed messaging to employees or the public on the benefits of reducing single-use plastics, including through educational programming, signage, and other informational materials. For example, as part of a partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coastal and marine National Parks are raising awareness at their sites and in local communities about the impacts of plastic pollution in the ocean through information exhibits, art installations, and presentations at local schools to encourage the public to take action to prevent marine plastic pollution.  

Recycling

Interior is committed to reducing single-use plastics through the Four Rs: Refuse, Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle. While the Department works to eliminate the procurement of single-use plastics by 2032, it is also important that single-use plastics brought onto Department-managed lands do not become plastic pollution, but instead are recycled or disposed of responsibly. Interior is working to recycle or compost at least 50% of waste from landfills by 2025, and at least 75% of waste by 2030, as part of the Department’s sustainability plan.   

Cleanup of Plastic Marine Debris 

Coastal cleanup efforts regularly take place at coastal national wildlife refuges, islands within marine national monuments, national seashores, and other Department-managed coastal lands that accumulate marine debris, including plastic. The Department works with hundreds of volunteer groups across the country to coordinate litter clean-up events, many of which are on beaches and specifically target plastic pollution.  

Sustainable Procurement Plans  

In 2023, each bureau and office within the Department developed a sustainable procurement plan (SPP) to map out how to meet the goals of SO 3407, given each Interior divisions’ specific mission and needs. The SPPs are available here:  

• Assistant Secretary- Indian Affairs  
• Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) 
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
• Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) 
• Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement/Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BSEE|BOEM) 
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) 
• National Park Service (NPS) 
• Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) 
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 
• Stewart Lee Udall Building (OFAS) 

Continued Progress 

The Department is on track to fully eliminate single-use plastic products by 2032. It has set interim targets for reducing specific types of plastics as a roadmap to achieving this goal. Bureaus and offices will continue to collaborate within the Department, and with other agencies and partners, to develop and share best practices on how to “refuse, reuse, reduce, and recycle” single-use plastics. With this partnership and shared vision, the Department is well on the way to getting rid of single-use plastic altogether.