Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act
This bill, known as the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act, directs the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the discharge of pre-production plastic pellets and related materials into wastewater and runoff from specific industrial facilities. It requires the EPA to issue new rules within 60 days that prohibit these discharges from factories that make, use, package, or transport plastic pellets, as well as from facilities regulated under existing federal water pollution regulations. The law mandates that these new restrictions be included in all wastewater and stormwater permits issued by the EPA and state programs, as well as in performance standards for affected industrial point sources. This legislation directly impacts manufacturers and distributors of plastic pellets and aims to prevent plastic pollution from entering water systems during the production and packaging stages.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
President
Introduced Mar 24, 2026
Last action Mar 24, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
2
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Mar 24, 2026
Committee
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text: CR S1583)
upper
Mar 24, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
1 primary · 9 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Richard J. Durbin
DDemocratic
Co
Alex Padilla
DDemocratic
Co
Chris Van Hollen
DDemocratic
Co
Christopher Murphy
DDemocratic
Co
Cory A. Booker
DDemocratic
Co
Edward J. Markey
DDemocratic
Co
Jeanne Shaheen
DDemocratic
Co
Jeff Merkley
DDemocratic
Co
Richard Blumenthal
DDemocratic
Co
Tammy Duckworth
DDemocratic
Ask Maddy
·
AI policy assistant
Ask Maddy about S 4181
Scope: US
Hi! I can help you understand S 4181. What would you like to know?
Try one of these
i
Maddy answers using official bill text and legislative records. Always verify before sharing.
Sources cited inline