Microplastics Regulation Revs Up in 2025, More Action Expected in 2026

State and federal regulatory measures to address microplastics are flourishing. This trend is expected to continue in 2026. Provided below is an overview of microplastics regulatory and policy developments from 2025 to date.

Federal Actions

A bipartisan bill (H.R. 4486) “[t]o direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to conduct a study, and submit to Congress a report, on the human health impacts of exposure to microplastics in food and water” was introduced on July 17, 2025. The bill seeks a study into pathways of microplastics exposures and whether these exposures impact human health, with a focus on children’s health, the endocrine system, cancer, chronic illness and reproductive health. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

On Aug. 5, 2025, H.R. 4903 was introduced “[t]o amend the Public Health Service Act to carry out, expand and coordinate programs relating to plastic exposure health research, to authorize grants, contracts and agreements with respect to such research, and for other purposes.” The bill proposes to “carry out, expand and coordinate programs” to study the impacts of microplastics exposures, and to fund those projects and programs.

The bill asks for $10 million per fiscal year from 2026 until 2030 to implement these directives. The American Chemistry Council expressed support of the bill, noting that filling in informational gaps will help lawmakers and policy experts make sound and reasonable, fact-based decisions moving forward. 

In addition to the introduction of microplastics bills, the “Make Our Children Healthy Again Report,” released on May 22, 2025, identifies microplastics as a contaminant that warrants further study to better understand the impacts of cumulative exposure. Microplastics are also discussed in a congressional report published March 7, 2025, that overviews global plastic production, use and disposal statistics, and discusses microplastics as a source of freshwater and ocean contamination.

State Actions

Microplastics state legislation introduced in 2025 has run the gamut from bans on single-use plastics to bans on specific products to study bills aimed at informing future legislation. Many jurisdictions are taking action to ban or limit products that break down into microplastics. Notable state actions in the microplastics regulatory space include: 

• Oregon passed a bill relating to plastic waste (S.B. 551), an expansion of the state’s 2019 plastics bags ban. Effective in 2027, this law will limit establishments from providing single-use plastic bags to consumers.
• Several bills passed in previous legislative sessions have 2025 start dates or deadlines. Illinois’ Small Single-Use Plastic Bottle Act (S.B. 2960), passed in 2024, had an active date of July 1, 2025. This law prohibits hotels of certain sizes from providing customers with small bottles of “personal care products” (like shampoo and lotion).
• Minnesota’s S.F. 1389 would have sought a study on the presence of microplastics in meat and poultry, and is the only state bill introduced this session that approached microplastics from an agricultural perspective.
• Rhode Island’s S.B. 406 and H.B. 5492 both pushed for the creation of a state Microplastics Reduction Act, which would prohibit the sale or distribution of products containing synthetic polymer microparticles, among other administrative actions. 
• California has proposed a rule that would add microplastics to the state’s Candidate Chemicals List (CCL). Inclusion on the CCL does not itself create any regulatory obligations but opens the door for tracking whether the contaminant is present in consumer products, in which case it can be designated a chemical of concern through rulemaking. 

Discussion

As states continue to implement a range of regulations, a national framework for microplastics will become more important. Industry groups, manufacturers and others in the regulated community may benefit from federal regulatory schemes that bridge the gap between and among state-by-state jurisdictional differences. 

At all levels, scientists and lawmakers agree that more information is needed about microplastics, their modality and their impacts. With limited health impact studies and gaps in information, existing microplastics data are often insufficient to make scientifically sound and fact-based regulatory decisions. Acknowledgement of the need for additional microplastics studies and data is largely bipartisan, and multiple agencies under the current administration have noted microplastics as an area of regulatory interest. 

Ongoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other efforts will likely result in additional data. Mandated study bills proposed or passed will also add to the effort to gain more comprehensive and reliable information about microplastics’ health and environmental impacts.

As information is gathered and a deeper understanding of microplastics is formed, the public perception and political landscape surrounding microplastics are likely to adjust to accommodate the growing understanding of the plastics. This will put greater pressure on industry to address plastic pollution and microplastic exposures.