By: Laurie Anderson, Colorado Field Organizer
Date: April 6, 2026
About: Docket #EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0068-0001
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Laurie Anderson. I am a field organizer for Moms Clean Air Force - raising my family in Broomfield, Colorado.
Moms Clean Air Force strongly opposes the EPA’s proposal to remove pyrolysis incineration from the Other Solid Waste Incinerators Rule. Allowing plastics‑burning facilities to operate without the protections of this rule would expose families to unlimited amounts of toxic pollution — including dioxins, lead, mercury, and other carcinogens. We cannot afford to weaken safeguards at a time when communities are already struggling with polluted air.
I live along the Front Range in a wildland-urban interface where we have become all too familiar with red flag warnings and the resulting wildfires. Already this year, a wildland fire broke out just a couple of miles from my home, triggering evacuation notices — thankfully it was quickly contained. However, each new fire reminds us of the Marshall fire, which burned more than 1000 homes in the middle of winter and overwhelmed our communities with smoke, ash, and toxic debris. The cleanup process was long and emotionally exhausting, and it reminded us how fragile our climate — and our sense of safety — really is.
And now, as I reflect back on that tragic disaster, the idea of adding more pollution to communities that have already endured so much is seriously ill-informed. When a community is already burdened by wildfire smoke, the last thing it needs is additional combustion layered on top — whether from flammable and explosive pyrolysis units burning plastics or from Air Curtain Incinerators burning wood waste. Our kids’ lungs don’t distinguish between wildfire smoke or incinerator smoke – it all adds to the cumulative burden on their growing bodies.
What’s even more infuriating is that this rule – which claims to support natural disaster cleanup – includes provisions that would create further harm to our communities. While plastics industry lobbyists are counting on this decades-old "pyrolysis" incineration technology to justify their plans to triple plastics production by mid-century, our communities will pay the price. Plastic waste doesn’t disappear — it is transformed into toxic air pollution that ends up in children’s developing lungs.
I live in the eight-county Denver Metro/North Front Range ozone nonattainment area where our air is already unhealthy on many days. Burning plastic creates significant climate-warming greenhouse gas pollution while simultaneously releasing a host of toxic pollutants known to harm health. These include VOCs like benzene that further contribute to ozone formation — worsening the very air‑quality crisis we are already struggling to solve.
The health of our communities must be prioritized. EPA must not remove pyrolysis incineration from the OWSI Rule. Plastics‑burning facilities must remain subject to the pollution controls that protect children’s health. Allowing them to operate without limits would expose communities to dangerous levels of dioxins, PFAS, heavy metals, and other carcinogens — and that is unacceptable.
As a mom, I’m asking you to prioritize our families and ensure the EPA protects our health – allowing our children to grow up breathing clean, healthy air.