# 119-s-1926: Reducing Waste in National Parks Act

119-s-1926, Reducing Waste in National Parks Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR); status in_committee (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1926
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1926
- Congress: 119
- Title: Reducing Waste in National Parks Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-06-02
- Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR)
- Cosponsors: 11
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**This bill would create a National Park Service program to** **reduce disposable plastic products** across park units, with a focus on phasing out single-use plastic beverage bottles where feasible and educating visitors about water access and refill options. - Visitors and families: Parks would limit sales and distribution of disposable plastic water bottles and other single-use plastics, and regional offices must roll out proactive visitor education so people know where to refill and can bring their own bottles. - Concessioners and cooperating associations: Park agreements would be updated to reflect the program and managers must weigh effects on sales revenue and existing contracts when reducing single-use plastic sales. - Park managers and regional directors: The Director would be required to set up the program within 180 days and regional directors would implement it consistently across units and report a program evaluation at least once every 2 years. - Public health and environment: The plan must consider public health input, refill station costs and testing, visitor safety about water access, and measure disposable plastic collection rates.

## Cosponsors (11)

- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2025-06-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2025-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT), 2025-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2025-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-07-15T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Less single-use plastic in parks: mixed, high. If enacted, the National Park Service would set up a program within 180 days to cut disposable plastic in parks. The program would try to stop selling water in single-use plastic bottles and other disposable plastic items where feasible. Regional directors would roll out the plan and add it to conc…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-1926 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1926)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1926 (as of 2026-09-10).