Americans want federal government to pursue recycling 'Moon Shot'
93 percent feel national standards will help tackle packaging waste crisis
New research released by the Grocery Manufacturers Association shows that nearly eight-in-ten (77 percent) Americans believe the federal government needs to take a leading role in tackling packaging waste, similar to the leadership role it played in the Apollo space project.
A vast majority (86 percent) of Americans agree that the world is facing a plastic and packaging crisis — with 87 percent agreeing that single-use plastic and packaging is a problem and 88 percent expressing concern about the environment writ large. Even compared against major issues the country is facing, Americans consider plastic and packaging waste equal to or more critical than a host of other key societal issues, including: reversing climate change (52 percent); fixing crumbling infrastructure (45 percent); ensuring access to health care (40 percent); reducing the deficit (38 percent); and lowering taxes (36 percent).