Last week, Representatives Don Young (R-AK) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Co-Chairs of the House Oceans Caucus, introduced legislation to strengthen efforts to remove and prevent marine debris.
Every minute, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic is dumped into our ocean. According to the United Nations, that is more than eight million metric tons a year. The bipartisan Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, H.R. 3969, will address the staggering amount of plastic in the ocean by improving the domestic cleanup and response to marine debris, incentivizing international engagement on the issue, and strengthening domestic infrastructure to responsibly dispose waste materials. The legislation builds on the successes of the Save Our Seas Act, which was signed into law last year.