National Parks to phase out single-use plastics, prioritize refill stations

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.
• Visitor behavior change is assumed but not guaranteed; some visitors may bring fewer water bottles or resort to surface water if refill stations are inadequate, creating potential public-health liability.
• The bill's feasibility depends on regional variation in water availability and infrastructure; parks in arid regions may face higher costs and greater operational challenges than water-rich parks.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary park visitors and the general public benefit from reduced plastic waste in national parks, cleaner park environments, and access to water refill infrastructure. The bill explicitly protects visitor safety by requiring consideration of dehydration risks and mandates visitor education, ensuring the transition does not harm public health.

Who stands to gain

• Water refill station manufacturers and installers
• Reusable container manufacturers (BPA-free products)
• Environmental and waste-management consulting firms

Named in the bill

National Park Service (NPS), Director of the National Park Service, Regional directors (NPS), Park superintendents, Concessioners (park vendors), Cooperating associations, Secretary of the Interior, Office of Public Health (NPS)

Where it stands

50 cosponsors: 49 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• May 23, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• May 23, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

4 lobbying clients named this bill on 6 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $783,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 24 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.

Mike Quigley, the sponsor, reported $552,948 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Ocean Conservancy — $403,000 on 2 filings
• Oceana Inc — $280,000 on 1 filing
• Flexible Packaging Association — $80,000 on 2 filings
• Coalition to Protect Americas National Parks — $20,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.