National Parks to phase out single-use plastics, prioritize refill stations
H.R. 3604 — Reducing Waste in National Parks Act · Filed by Mike Quigley (D-IL) · 48 cosponsors · Introduced May 23, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill requires the National Park Service to establish a program within 180 days to reduce and eliminate the sale of disposable plastic products—especially single-use water bottles—across all national park units. Regional directors must implement the program by considering costs, visitor safety, infrastructure needs, and impacts on park concessionaires (vendors), with a focus on installing water refill stations and educating visitors to bring their own bottles. The NPS must evaluate the program every two years and report results to the Secretary of Interior.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a direct mandate to the National Park Service to reduce and eliminate disposable plastic products from park operations. It is a straightforward environmental and public-health measure with no hidden riders or narrow beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- Concessionaire revenue may decline if visitors stop purchasing bottled water and other plastic-packaged goods; the bill acknowledges this but prioritizes environmental goals over vendor profits.
- Implementation costs (refill stations, utilities, testing, signage) fall on the NPS budget; the bill does not appropriate new funding, so parks may need to reallocate existing resources.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
Water refill station manufacturers and installers; Reusable container manufacturers (BPA-free products); Environmental and waste-management consulting firms