“Our representatives let us down today,” said CLF attorney Peter Blair. “This effort disguises burning plastic as recycling and will spread toxic pollution into New Hampshire’s communities while keeping single-use plastic in production. Governor Sununu must veto this naked attempt to prop up the fossil fuel industry at the expense of our health.”
It’s the most wonderful (and wasteful) time of the year! As retailers bombard your inbox this holiday season, we challenge you to think outside the box – literally. To help you out, we’ve crafted a list of our top Zero Waste gifts to give this year.
Today’s throw-away culture exists because plastic producers and manufacturers choose to make single-use products and packaging that cannot be recycled. But we can change that by passing legislation that will hold producers accountable for the waste they create.
On December 2, 2020, a ship carrying plastic waste from abroad was being unloaded when 5,000 pounds were lost to Maine’s Penobscot Bay. The spill sparked outrage and left many people asking the same question: Why is the U.S., which generates the most plastic waste globally, importing even more plastic waste?
Recycling is confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. By holding Big Corporations responsible for the flood of single-use packaging they create, we can incentivize them to redesign their products and containers to be truly recyclable, or better yet, reusable.
Humans have been producing trash for generations. But how we dispose of it hasn’t improved in ages. By implementing zero-waste policies, we can begin to redesign our waste systems and produce less trash – while also protecting our environment and our communities.
The waste industry claims that their so-called “waste-to-energy” technologies can help combat the climate crisis by reducing climate-damaging emissions. But these claims are misleading and inaccurate. Burning trash to create energy will not solve the climate crisis or our growing waste problem.
The plastic industry has been trying to take advantage of the pandemic to maximize profits. But fueling fear during a public health crisis is outrageous and must be called out. To truly protect public health and the environment long-term, we need full-scale reuse systems.
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, staffing concerns caused many New England states with bottle return programs to temporarily stop enforcing collection requirements at grocery stores, supermarkets, and liquor shops. Connecticut was among the states pressing pause on bottle bill enforcement. But as of May 20, the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has reinstated bottle collection requirements at these retail sites.
Under cover of the pandemic, the waste industry is trying to demolish critical environmental protections. In April, the waste industry and Vermont’s Department of Environmental Conservation asked the legislature to delay Vermont’s food scrap ban and trash recyclables, all under the guise of protecting the health of workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But they appear to be part of a push from waste industry groups to use the crisis to advance their own agenda in several New England states.
