The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should enact targeted regulatory reforms to enhance America’s global competitiveness in the plastics manufacturing sector, according to 16 business and industry organizations from across the commonwealth.
“While we are on the right track, the administration can unleash a manufacturing renaissance — creating new jobs and fostering economic growth — through targeted regulatory reforms to enable greater plastics manufacturing and remanufacturing,” the groups wrote in a July 8 letter sent to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “As a global energy and manufacturing leader, Pennsylvania is poised to lead this charge by advancing collaborative, science-based policies and regulations.”
According to their letter, plastics support more than a quarter of domestic manufacturing operations, but growth is consistently hampered by both old and new regulations.
“Conflicting and often outdated state and federal regulations stifle innovation, impair economic growth, and directly hurt American competitiveness,” wrote the groups, noting that the EPA has the power to direct regulatory reform for plastics manufacturing that can unleash the next decade of growth in the manufacturing sector.
“The impact of this reform will be felt locally and nationally, with significant benefits for Pennsylvanians specifically,” they added, pointing out that in 2023 alone, plastics contributed $5.19 billion to Pennsylvania’s gross domestic product and chemicals, plastics, and rubber production support roughly 97,000 direct and related jobs.
The groups that signed the letter are: the Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council (PCIC), the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, the American Petroleum Institute Pennsylvania, Catalyst Connection, Clearly Ahead Development, Consumer Energy Alliance-Mid-Atlantic, DRIVE, Energy & Manufacturing in Appalachia, Focus Central Pennsylvania, the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and CREDC, the Marcellus Shale Coalition, the Northeast Pennsylvania Manufacturers and Employers Association, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, the Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council, Pittsburgh Works Together, Shale POWER, and the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.
The groups also wrote that prioritizing domestic production would help keep American workers and consumers safe, while also better protecting the environment.
“Plastics are essential to modern life quality and are used to manufacture most of the products we use every day,” said PCIC President Steven Kratz. “In contrast to many countries, our manufacturers are held to rigorous regulatory standards.”
Jim Welty, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, added that Pennsylvania’s abundant natural gas resources can fuel the feedstock of U.S. manufacturing with the right rules and regulations in place.
“Strategic regulatory reform to support plastics manufacturing and bolster domestic manufacturing is a win for consumers, our manufacturers, and our nation,” said Welty.
With American plastic producers supporting more than 25 percent of domestic manufacturing, the groups urged the EPA to advance policies and regulations that support growth and job creation and eliminate threats that undermine the success of American manufacturing excellence.
They also acknowledged current efforts by the EPA to streamline regulations and foster a domestic manufacturing resurgence, but wrote that “there is more work to be done.”
“As a global energy and manufacturing leader, Pennsylvania is poised to lead this charge by advancing collaborative, science-based policies and regulations that benefit families, farmers, small businesses and consumers,” Consumer Energy Alliance Mid-Atlantic Director Mike Butler said. “Now is the critical moment to unleash American manufacturing, bolster our supply chain and national security, and significantly enhance our global competitiveness.”