INTERIOR PHASING OUT PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES AT NATIONAL PARKS

The Interior Department said it will phase out sales of plastic water bottles and other single-use products at national parks and on other public lands over the next decade, targeting a major source of U.S. pollution.

An order issued by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland calls for the department to reduce the purchase, sale and distribution of single-use plastic products and packaging on 480 million acres of federally managed lands, with a goal of phasing out the products by 2032. The order directs the department to identify alternatives to single-use plastics, such as compostable or biodegradable materials or 100% recycled materials.

"As the steward of the nation's public lands, including national parks and national wildlife refuges, and as the agency responsible for the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats,' the Interior Department is "uniquely positioned to do better for our Earth," Haaland said in a statement.

The order essentially reverses a 2017 Trump administration policy that prevented national parks from banning plastic water bottle sales. Only a fraction of the more than 400 national parks, but some of the most popular ones like the Grand Canyon, had implemented such a ban.

Environmental groups hailed the Biden administration's announcement, which advocates and some Democratic lawmakers have been urging for years.