Organizing for Plastic Alternatives (OPA)

PFAS Law Suits Set to Drop   The New York Times (5/24/24)reported recently that plastic and chemical industries can expect a string of lawsuits that could rival or even surpass the tobacco company settlements.  Corporations have been producing and using PFAS (aka forever chemicals) for decades, fully aware of the toxic nature of PFAS (known carcinogen). A defense lawyer, according to the Times, warned that the lawsuits will be "astronomical".    PFAS are chemicals used for a variety of purposes including teflon non-stick pans, rain proof clothing, etc. However, they never decompose and are highly toxic in nature. They are now everywhere: drinking water, food, Antarctic snow and in the blood of every American. We have been drinking PFAS chemicals for years.   The US Environmental Protection Agency began to address this last year and is now requiring corporations and municipalities to remove PFAS from our drinking water sources. Many environmental activi...

 Zero Waste Lobby Day in Springfield Environmental and health advocates from around the State of Illinois traveled to Springfield on Wednesday, May 15, to lobby on behalf of several bills designed to curb the flow single use plastics into our waterways, land, waste streams and even bodies.  On tap for this legislative session are a number of policy initiatives that address the growing problem of single use plastics including the following: HB2374 & SB100 (Farewell to Foam) : This bill seeks to end the practice of using styrofoam to serve and package food. Styrofoam is widely regarded as the worst of the worst forms of fossil fuel-based packaging and has already been banned in numerous states.  HB4448 & SB2211 (Plastic Bag Ban) : This bill would prohibit most merchandisers from distributing plastic bags at retail outlets. Customers would now be responsible for bringing their own cloth bags or reusable/stitched handle bags. No more single use plastics being released...

 Industry Plays Over-sized Role in  UN Ottawa Plastics Negotiations  The United Nations has taken up the problem of plastics and is in the midst of negotiating an international treaty ostensibly to begin to limit the production, distribution, use, and disposal of the overwhelming amount of plastics in our waterways, land, waste sites, and the bodies of both humans and animals. As can be expected, industry played an oversized role , having significant and virtually unencumbered access to conference proceedings while activists, academic researchers, and environmental groups were held at the fringes of the conference. Companies like Dow and ExxonMobil. These companies are eyeing extraordinary profits from the production and sale of plastics, the burden of managing plastic waste is left to us - tax payers and the governments we elect to try to dispose of the waste. Corporations like Dow and ExxonMobil went all in on promoting themselves as being crucial to the life an...