UC Law Science and Technology Journal
Abstract
This article will discuss the relevant and imminent need for government intervention to curb and reduce single-use plastic waste. It will look at the proposed 2019 REDUCE Act and consider potential outcomes and unintended consequences which the proposed plan may bring. The article will analyze the REDUCE Act through a discussion of: how similar policies have fared in the past, a historical survey of single-use plastics in US supply chain practices, how past tax laws have had a disproportionate impact on low-income taxpayers, the current market demands for single-use plastics, and an observation of how other countries are applying tax policies to reduce single-plastic waste in their territories. Finally, my article will assert that while the REDUCE Act is a well-meaning proposal and a step in the right direction in the fight to end single-use plastic pollution, there is an already existing, better, tax alternative available.
Recommended Citation
Ryann Wong,
Reducing Single-Use Plastic Waste: a Better Alternative to the Reduce Act Tax Proposal,
14 Hastings Sci. & Tech. L.J. 149
(2023).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_science_technology_law_journal/vol14/iss1/6