It was great to see a lot of plastic-fighting people at PASUP’s Plastic-Free Picnic! We enjoyed a wide variety of food that was bought, prepared, and served with the smallest possible amount of single-use plastic (SUP), and we talked about our journeys to that table picking our way around all the SUP in every grocery store. Many of us learned new things from our speakers, from our co-sponsoring organizations who had tables at the picnic, and from conversations with each other.

It was a wonderful day, but we’ve still got lots to do! Here are some ways you can take action:

Federal Legislation Related to SUP

Contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives and encourage them to support these bills:

  • The REUSE Act of 2025 (Senate Bill 2110, introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon) would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study the feasibility of reuse and refill systems for packaging food and personal care products for consumers, and for the wholesale shipping of retail goods.
  • The Farewell to Foam Act of 2025 (Senate Bill 897, introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland / House Bill 1819, introduced by Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas) would phase out expanded polystyrene foam in food containers, packing peanuts, coolers, egg cartons, and other single-use applications. No new ones could be sold after 2028.
  • The Microplastics Safety Act (Senate Bill 2353, introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon / House Bill 4486, introduced by Rep. Janelle Bynum of Oregon) would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study the major pathways by which microplastic particles get into human bodies and study the effects of microplastics on our endocrine systems, cancer, chronic illness, reproductive health, and children’s health. HHS would then recommend legislative action to address microplastic exposure.
  • The Reducing Waste in National Parks Act (Senate Bill 1926, introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon / House Bill 3768, introduced by Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois) would phase out SUP from our national parks: bottled water, food serviceware, gift-shop packaging, office supplies, and other plastic materials that all too often become litter degrading our beautiful scenery and harming native plants and animals. Bottled water is the primary focus; it would be replaced by water refill stations, visitor education about bringing your own durable water bottle, and selling BPA-free refillable bottles in the parks.

How to Contact Your Representatives

a speaker addresses the crowd, surrounded by signs: "Break free from plastic" "We bleed for your greed" "Stop feeding us plastic" "Save our planet, our future" "Honestly no more plastic needed"

Want to Do More with PASUP?

We’d love to have new members on our steering committee to bring fresh ideas and energy to PASUP! The steering committee plans PASUP’s in-person events, Zoom meetings, co-sponsoring of programs with other organizations, and appearances at community events.

Maybe you’d rather organize a specific program to tackle one kind of SUP or target one neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Do it with PASUP to reach like-minded people who’ll help you work out the details of how to make positive and lasting change.

Contact us at info@pasupnow.org to get more involved!

buffet of assorted food mostly in non-plastic washable dishes...but a plastic bottle of salad dressing is visible

Want to Save Money on Groceries *and* Save the World from Plastic Pollution?

Even worse than buying food in SUP packaging is letting SUP packages be produced and filled with food and then dumped uneaten into a landfill! One of our picnickers prevented this by buying a Giant Eagle bakery cake through Flashfood, an app that offers grocery items near their expiration date a reprieve from the dumpster by selling them at a reduced price. She even got them to write Less plastic, more cake on the cake! Too Good To Go is another app that reduces both SUP waste and food waste while saving you money, if you can be flexible about exactly which food you want–and of course picnics and other potluck meals are a great occasion for that.

a sheet cake decorated with pumpkinish frosting blobs and the words LESS PLASTIC, MORE CAKE! A note next to it: "Giant Eagle cake saved from landfill (while still edible) using the Flashfood app"

Thanks for working with us toward a Pittsburgh free of single-use plastic! For more information and inspiration, check out our recommended reading page and How to Get Your Friends to Go Green.