A recent conference led by Connecticut Attorney General (AG) William Tong discussed the alleged problems and potential solutions associated with plastics use and waste. Conference attendees included nearly two dozen representatives from state AG offices, medical and public health researchers, and leaders in the recycling and reclamation industry. Conversations focused on plastics’ tendency to break down in the environment and, as a result, expose people and the environment to harmful chemicals. The concerns surrounding plastics in many ways parallel the concerns surrounding PFAS, an industry targeted recently by civil and criminal enforcement actions in multiple states. Businesses up and down the plastics supply chain should take note and prepare for potential state actions that put plastics in the crosshairs.
The three-day event came on the heels of the California AG’s historic lawsuit against a large oil and gas company. The California AG was the event’s keynote speaker on day one.
Plastics, Plastics, Everywhere
The conference focused on how plastics are produced and how they now permeate the industrial and consumer supply chain — from food packaging and disposable cutlery to electronic and medical products. However, the biggest area of concern was plastics’ role in single-use packaging. One presenter noted how a recent online order arrived in three separate packages, each of which contained plastic.
During the conference, public health, medical, and environmental researchers presented findings on how plastics are now found virtually everywhere in the world. This includes drinking water, ocean water, and both wild and domesticated animals. But what seemed to grab the attention of the AG offices was how microplastics have now been documented in the human body, including lungs, blood, and even breast milk.
One proposed response aimed at reducing the prevalence of plastics is extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes. An EPR scheme is designed to compel companies that sell plastic products, or use plastic packaging, to pay fees based on the amount of plastics they introduce into a state. Perhaps more importantly, EPR schemes also call for incremental reduction of virgin plastics in packaging and requirements that packaging be increasingly recyclable in local facilities. Five states have already adopted such laws.
Notably, nongovernmental panelists asked that AGs follow California’s lead and bar plastic producers and advanced recyclers from “greenwashing” their plastic products — i.e., overstating the environmental benefits of a product or process. The panelists also suggested making the oil industry pay for the costs of plastic waste and pollution. They even went so far as to identify specific chemicals that attorneys general and state legislatures should consider banning, such as vinyl chloride. California AG Rob Bonta’s plastics lawsuit may be a playbook for targeting plastics producers, laying out a variety of legal claims against the company, including public nuisance, false advertising, water pollution, and unfair competition. California argues that for decades, the plastics producers have deceptively promoted plastics as “recyclable” (first through mechanical recycling, now through advanced chemical recycling), encouraged the production and proliferation of single-use plastics, and caused widespread plastic pollution. California further argues that the industry continues to deceptively tout “advanced recycling” as a solution to plastic pollution even though the process yields less than 1% of truly recycled plastic compared to the volume of input plastic waste. The lawsuit may also open the doors to attacking other actors within the plastics industry, such as brands purporting to use “circular” plastics or plastics recyclers.
Why It Matters
The appetite for plastics-related disruption appears to be growing. The impact of such disruption could touch a wide array of industries, from the petroleum and chemical companies that make plastics to the restaurants and retailers that use them. End-of-cycle industries like reclamation entities and recyclers could also face increased scrutiny, especially given the conference’s focus on the limits of recycling. Regardless of where companies fit into the plastics supply chain, the conference made clear that now, more than ever, relationships with state AGs and other regulators are essential to crafting viable solutions for everyone involved.
