Tennessee 'needs improvement' with plastic waste, study says

Tennessee "needs improvement" when it comes to addressing plastics waste and pollution, according to a new study.The study evaluated each state and rated it based on how its laws do or don't address plastics waste. Tennessee was among 33 states that received a "needs improvement" score. Only 11 states scored "fair," five "good" and one state scored "very good."Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit advocacy group, conducted the study and released it Tuesday."While states have proven to be leaders in passing laws to reduce plastic pollution, the results of our nationwide study of state laws find that there is a clear need for increased action to address the plastic pollution crisis with the urgency it demands," the study stated.Tennessee has no laws regulating single-use plastics, compared to other states like California, Colorado, Florida and others. Those states regulate single-use plastics like bags, straws and cutlery.Tennessee state law forbids its local governments from enforcing any kind of policy that would regulate, prohibit or restrict the use of plastics, whether they're reusable or single-use. That includes materials like paper, plastic, cardboard, cloth, aluminum and glass.The law, signed by Gov. Bill Lee in 2019, also prohibits local governments from charging a fee on things like plastic straws, bags or cutlery.Tennessee was also docked points by the advocacy group based on its regulation of chemical recycling, also referred to as molecular recycling or advanced recycling.Chemical recycling typically uses heat or another kind of chemical reaction to break down plastics and turn them into fuel or a new form of plastic. It allows different kinds of plastics to be recycled together.Ocean Conservancy says chemical recycling processes create harm for the environment in other ways and that there should be more investment in improving mechanical recycling, a more common way of recycling plastic.Mechanical recycling recovers plastic through processes that don't significantly change the plastic's chemical structure, like grinding and washing.While the Ocean Conservancy group evaluated how many state laws were in place regarding plastics waste, they did not evaluate how effectively those laws were being implemented.Global plastics waste is expected to triple in about 35 years, according to the international Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.Jorgelina Manna-Rea is an environmental reporter with Six Rivers Media through Report for America.