Freedom from Plastics Campaign

To turn the General Synod resolution on Freedom from Plastics into a dynamic advocacy campaign, an initiative from the UCC’s Council for Climate Justice calls for creating a national campaign planning team that will focus on creating a detailed plan for how church and conference teams can promote Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation at the state level. As Beyond Plastics notes, EPR laws hold “producers legally and financially responsible for mitigating the environmental impacts of their products and packaging.” Well-crafted laws “can create jobs, reduce waste, preserve precious natural resources, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and lighten the financial burden for the under-funded municipalities and agencies tasked with waste management and recycling.”

Six states currently have EPR laws, while legislation is currently being debated in other states. The core objectives for EPR campaigns vary from state to state, ranging from seeking consideration, passage, and implementation. A national campaign planning team would determine activities and actions that could work to strengthen and support state level efforts in conjunction with organizations like Beyond Plastics, Just Zero, and the Plastics Working Group. It would also work to ground and articulate campaign objectives in theological imperatives outlined in the Freedom from Plastics resolution. Finally, it would identify roles that members of church and conference teams can carry out for a successful campaign.

Let us know of your interest by filling out this form created to identify support for three 2024 initiatives of the Council for Climate Justice. Other initiatives include the Electrification Congregational Checklist program and the Vote for Climate Hope campaign. A commissioning service for volunteers and ministry teams aligned with these three initiatives will take place at 1 pm ET on January 3, 2024.