encouraging fishermen and others who incidentally 

 recover plastic debris at sea to return that material 

 to port for disposal on land. 



At the time of the hearing, two related bills were 

 introduced by members of the House. On 11 August, Represen- 

 tative William J. Hughes introduced H.R. 5380, a bill to 

 establish the "Plastic Waste Study Act of 1986." The bill 

 would direct the Environmental Protection Agency and the 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to undertake 

 a joint 18-month study of the effects of plastic debris on 

 the environment, including fish and wildlife, and to develop 

 recommendations on ways to reduce or eliminate associated 

 problems. The second bill, H.R. 5422, introduced on 13 

 August by Representative Leon E. Panetta, was identical to 

 Senator Chafee's bill, S. 2596, mentioned earlier. 



By letters of 15 August 1986 from Representative Walter 

 B. Jones, Chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine 

 and Fisheries, the Commission was asked to provide comments 

 to the Committee on the two House bills. While not repre- 

 senting official Administration position, the Commission, by 

 letters of 17 October 1986, noted that, with respect to H.R. 

 5380 ( i.e. , the bill to establish the Plastic Waste Study 

 Act) , the proposed study of the problem had considerable 

 merit and that it offered a constructive approach for 

 identifying and developing appropriate solutions. In 

 addition, given research on the problem already conducted or 

 planned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- 

 tration and the responsibilities of the Environmental 

 Protection Agency, the Commission noted that calling for the 

 study to be undertaken jointly by the two agencies seemed 

 particularly appropriate and useful. It expressed support 

 for the concept and suggested that the two agencies also be 

 directed to consult with the Coast Guard on efforts to ratify 

 and implement MARPOL Annex V and with relevant State agencies 

 regarding their experience in developing and implementing 

 laws pertaining to the use of degradable plastics, recycling 

 used plastic containers, and other approaches to address the 

 problem. 



With respect to H.R. 5422 ( i.e. , the bill to establish 

 the Plastic Waste Reduction Act) , the Commission, again not 

 representing official Administration position, noted the 

 proposal for a study of the problem by the Environmental 

 Protection Agency would be more effective if it were con- 

 ducted as a joint study with the National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration, as proposed in H.R. 5380. Also, 

 because the proposed study presumably would examine con- 

 straints and opportunities in applying degradable plastic 

 technology, as well as the strengths and weaknesses contained 

 in relevant state laws requiring the use of degradable 



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