Plastic production, use and disposal each year saddles the US with up to $1.1 trillion in social costs, the bulk of which are due to human health impacts, according to a new report from Duke University that characterizes the tally as a “conservative” estimate.
When Philadelphia filed a lawsuit last month alleging two prominent companies were engaged in a “coordinated campaign of deception” regarding the recyclability of their plastic film products, the city joined a growing group of state and local governments hoping litigation can help stem a rising tide of plastic waste.
By Shannon Kelleher
As world leaders work on a global treaty to address mounting harms from plastics pollution, a Texas plastics plant seen as a “serial” corporate polluter is in the crosshairs of environmentalists who say the operation provides a prime example of the need for a halt to petrochemical development.