This was written by Rachel Meyer, our Ohio River Valley Field Organizer.
Not far away, a Shell plastics plant is spewing dangerous pollution into my community. That’s why I joined with neighbors in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday to demand that Shell be held accountable for polluting the air my four-year-old daughter and I breathe.
But my community isn’t the only one plagued by pollution from the plastics industry, and this problem could get a lot worse if we don’t take action ASAP.
Right now, the plastics industry is working overtime to convince EPA that plastic incineration should be rebranded as “chemical recycling” or “advanced recycling.”
Here’s the catch—nothing actually gets recycled. Plastic trash that enters a so-called “chemical recycling” facility gets burned, releasing harmful air pollution, contaminated oils, and toxic ash. This is far more dangerous than real recycling. If the plastics industry gets its way, these facilities would be free to emit as much harmful air pollution as they wish, without any monitoring, reporting, or control technologies.
But wait, there’s more. By presenting plastics incineration as “recycling,” the plastics industry is telling our leaders and the public that we have a solution to the plastic pollution crisis—which we don’t. Burning plastic waste hides it out of sight in the form of air pollution, helping the plastics industry to justify their plans to triple plastics production by 2050.
Plastics manufacturing and incineration are endangering the health of my family in Beaver County and families across the country. Don’t let the plastics industry get away with this.
TELL EPA: PROTECT OUR COMMUNITIES FROM PLASTIC INCINERATION POLLUTION