Actor and environmentalist Ted Danson urged Congress to pass legislation to reduce the production of “single-use plastics,” saying they are dangerous to the world’s oceans:

“We must stop the runaway increase of plastic production and reduce the amount of plastic companies make and are foisting on us, because it will last forever.”

“Recycling is like trying to mop up water from an overflowing bathtub while the faucet is still running. We need to turn off the faucet and reduce production of plastic,” he added.

Danson added that “[plastic] has been incredibly useful and now it has become incredibly dangerous.”

Danson’s …

BACKGROUND

Single-use plastics are the new targets of policymakers and environmental advocates who believe that Americans’ way of life is incompatible with protecting the environment, leading to more and more legislation governing the use of everything from plastic bags to straws to Styrofoam containers to even some paper bags.

Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle are among the major cities with plastic bag bans in place. Vermont has placed restrictions on plastic straws. Hawaii’s largest island has banned non-biodegradable plastic bags at checkout.

Advocates are pushing to bring a plastics ban to Colorado as well:

The outrage was