Giving Compass' Take:

· Angela Howe at the Surfrider Foundation explains that there has been movement on federal plastics legislation with the Save Our Seas Act being passed through Congress and signed by the President.

· Why is the passing of this act important? How will this affect the amount of plastic in the environment?

· Read about the state of plastic use and recycling happening today.

This week the federal Save Our Seas of 2018 (S.O.S. Act) passed through Congress and was signed by the President. This is one of the only federal plastics bills that has passed the legislature in the past three years, after the bipartisan Microbead Free Waters Act passed in December of 2015.

This bill offers needed funding for the NOAA Marine Debris Program that works on single-use plastics, fishing gear and net removal and on convening stakeholders, such as those that gathered at the 6th International Marine Debris Conference. The program is authorized to receive $10 million in funding per year through 2022.

The bill also offers assistance for severe marine debris events, which may result from tsunamis and other major weather events. Specifically, it allows the NOAA Administrator to declare severe marine debris events and authorize funds to assist with cleanup and response. The governor of an affected state may request the NOAA Administrator make this declaration.

Read the full article about federal plastics legislation by Angela Howe at the Surfrider Foundation.