Do they have the legislative authority to do this? What specific law passed by the duly elected Congress gives them this authority? Didn’t the Supreme Court just rule on stuff like this?
Priorities: Biden Admin to Eliminate Plastic Cutlery in Move to Save the Planet
The Biden administration will reportedly phase out the use of plastic cutlery in all federal departments to combat “climate change.”
The administration announced the plan in July as part of its “Mobilizing Federal Action on Plastic Pollution: Progress, Principles, and Priorities,” per the New York Post.
“The President is committed to taking ambitious actions… to end plastic pollution and is calling upon the global community to do the same, with the goal to reduce the global production and consumption of virgin plastics,” the White House said.
The White House said that it will eliminate single-use plastics like “plastic and polystyrene food and beverage containers, bottles, straws, cups, cutlery and disposable plastic bags.” The order came after a previous executive order reducing the sale of single-use plastics on public lands.
While I certainly have concerns with plastic waste from a purely environmental point of view, this is nuts, and doesn’t seem to be something authorized by the Legislative Branch. It would be seemingly outside their Constitutional powers, as well. Should we go back to glass bottles? Studies have stated that glass is worse than plastic. Biden is trying to make cookouts and parties all sorts of fun.
Some Republican lawmakers called the order “laughable” and “absurd.”
“The world’s on fire and he’s worried about plastic forks,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told the Daily Mail.
“It’s more messaging and ridiculousness, and it’s a direct shot to that whole industry,’” said Sen. James Lankford (R-OK). “It’s also clearly not where everybody is. It’s going to raise costs for a lot of folks so it seems to be just irrelevant on deficit issues.”
Do citizens even care that much? All for a scam.
Since this applies ONLY to federal agencies, it’s well with the President’s Article 2 powers, and Congress has nothing to say about it.
It certainly doesn’t affect me, and it won’t prevent Kroger, or Safeway, or whoever from selling plastic utensils to the general public.
I listen to a lot of old time radio over the internet. It’s sometimes striking to hear ads for stuff they’d never advertise today. Mostly cigarettes, but one show is sponsored by Anchor-Hocking glass. They’re always going on about their new use once then throw away glass bottles.
I think I’d rather see those than plastic. If they aren’t recycled, they get ground up back into sand by nature, or polished into “seaglass” and sold to tourists. 🙂
Or made into fiberglass. “Pink stuff” to add insulation to your walls
Proving once again, as Nanzi says; “Such a consequential president of the United States, a Mount Rushmore kind of president of the United States.”
So the guy who is not running for re-election and has zero support from either party gets to have all the great ideas now? If this is such a great idea, why doesn’t the Democratic party candidate to be named later run on it as a party agenda?
Once again, the Democrats focus like a laser beam on those issues most important to Americans: Plastic straws.
While working at a facility that makes plastic pellets, I asked one of their engineers about different plastics, and recycling. According to the engineer, plastics are designed for a specific use, and if contaminated, or mixed with other plastics, the plastic can only be used for things that don’t require an uncontaminated blend. Otherwise, such plastics, even if from what are considered special plastics, are used for such things as trash bags.
I don’t know the complete story on plastics, but I do know protocol was not followed on a rail car full of plastic pellets. The $300,000 load was sold at $50,000 because one of the loaders didn’t guarantee a suction hose was cleared before hooking it to the rail car. It was probably still good, but the manufacturer couldn’t guarantee the plastic fit the engineered design.
Recycling sounds like a good thing, until it becomes a waste of money, or becomes dangerous. Mandating the procedure only makes it worse, since anything the government touches is ruined for most anything but the perpetuation of the bureaucracy. Personally, I wouldn’t want the dashboard of my car, or any other plastic component made with recycled plastic, if it will fail, or deteriorate due to the blend used for recycling.
Breitbart: The Biden administration will reportedly phase out the use of plastic cutlery in all federal departments
They might have that authority.
Congress does not discuss and vote on every policy or rule, but rather give that responsibility to experts in agencies that they create and authorize. These agencies are authorized by Congress to establish rules that carry the force and effect of law. Agencies must follow a complex rulemaking process established by the Administrative Procedure Act.
Chicken Little Karen Man
These agencies are authorized by Congress to establish rules that carry the force and effect of law. Agencies must follow a complex rulemaking process established by the Administrative Procedure Act.
And the USSC just cut their nuts off.
Care to explain?
Chicken Little Karen Man
Really? You really don’t know??
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-chevron-regulations-environment-5173bc83d3961a7aaabe415ceaf8d665