Sec. 203. United States leadership in international fora
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In implementing the policy described in section 201, the President shall direct the United States representatives to appropriate international bodies and conferences (such as the United Nations Environment Programme, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Group of 7, the Group of 20, and the Our Ocean Conference) to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States, consistent with the broad foreign policy goals of the United States, to advocate that each such body— commit to significantly increasing efforts to promote investment in well-designed waste management and plastic waste elimination and mitigation projects and services that increase access to safe waste management and mitigation services, in partnership with the private sector and consistent with the constraints of other countries; address the waste management needs of individuals and communities where access to municipal waste management services is historically impractical or cost-prohibitive; enhance coordination with the private sector— to increase access to solid waste management services; to utilize safe and affordable reusable alternatives to disposable plastic products, to the extent practicable; to encourage and incentivize the use of recycled content; and to grow economic opportunities and develop markets for recyclable, reusable, and repurposed plastic waste materials and other efforts that support the circular economy; provide technical assistance to foreign regulatory authorities and governments to remove unnecessary barriers to investment in otherwise commercially-viable projects related to— waste management including recycling; the use of safe and affordable reusable alternatives to disposable plastic products, to the extent practicable; or beneficial reuse of solid waste, plastic waste, plastic products, and refuse; use clear, accountable, and metric-based targets to measure the effectiveness of such projects; and engage international partners in an existing multilateral forum (or, if necessary, establish through an international agreement a new multilateral forum) to improve global cooperation on— creating tangible metrics for evaluating efforts to reduce plastic waste and marine debris; developing and implementing best practices for collecting, disposing, recycling, and reusing plastic waste, including building capacity for improving waste management at the national and subnational levels of foreign countries, particularly countries with little to no solid waste management systems, facilities, or policies in place; encouraging the development of standards and practices, and increasing recycled content percentage requirements for disposable plastic products; integrating tracking and monitoring systems into waste management systems; fostering research to improve scientific understanding of— how microfibers and microplastics may affect marine ecosystems, human health and safety, and maritime activities; changes in the amount and regional concentrations of plastic waste in the ocean, based on scientific modeling and forecasting; the role rivers, streams, and other inland waterways play in serving as conduits for mismanaged waste traveling from land to the ocean; effective means to eliminate present and future leakages of plastic waste into the environment; and other related areas of research the United States representatives deem necessary; encouraging the World Bank and other international finance organizations to prioritize efforts to combat marine debris; collaborating on technological advances in waste management and recycled plastics; growing economic opportunities and developing markets for recyclable, reusable, and repurposed plastic waste materials and other efforts that support the circular economy; and advising foreign countries, at both the national and subnational levels, on the development and execution of regulatory policies, services, including recycling and reuse of plastic, and laws pertaining to reducing the creation and the collection and safe management of— solid waste; plastic waste; and marine debris.