This month we are celebrating a substantial win for clean drinking water and in our work on plastic pollution. As strongly recommended by Plastic Pollution Coalition’s Filtered Not Bottled campaign, and other leading experts and community advocates, on November 30, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) included language in the newly drafted Lead and Copper Rule Improvement (LCRI) that could mitigate the distribution and use of hundreds of billions of single-use plastic water bottles across the United States over the next 10 years. The newly drafted rule requires water systems with consistently high levels of lead to make filters available to customers, rather than polluting single-use water bottles.

This recent win is a significant step forward to protect communities across the country from toxic lead and plastic pollution, though more work is needed to protect the health of Earth’s waters, which are under increasing stress from plastic, petrochemicals, incineration, and other sources of pollution. With 99% of plastics made from fossil fuels, we must address plastics to address the climate crisis and protect Earth’s waters. Yet, more frequently water is being polluted, commodified, and wasted by industries—particularly those producing plastics, plastic products, and petrochemicals from fossil fuels.

Last month, Diane Wilson of San Antonio Bay Waterkeeper, Nancy Bui from Justice for Formosa Victims, Sharon Lavigne from RISE St. James, and other activists concluded a 30-day global hunger strike and established #OccupyFormosaPlastics, a 24/7 encampment at Formosa Plastics in Point Comfort, Texas. The activists demand justice for the people, lands, and waters harmed by the 2016 toxic chemical disaster at the Formosa industrial conglomerate’s steel mill in Ha Tinh province, Vietnam. We are deeply inspired by Diane Wilson, Nancy Bui, Sharon Lavigne, and other waterkeepers who are tirelessly and bravely working to hold Formosa accountable in Vietnam and around the world.

We are also inspired by you, our community, for continuing to care about and take action on these issues. Remember that it is important to take care of yourself too. We are all in this together—and we are all connected by water. That’s why we suggest taking time to decompress in the presence of water, whether a pond, lake, river, ocean, or even bathtub, to get your “Blue Mind” on—as our Scientific Advisor Wallace J Nichols says. We would also like to reshare with you our April 2022 webinar: “The Power of Service: Moving from Anxiety to Action for the Planet,” featuring Maya Penn, Dr. Britt Wray, and Heather White. We encourage you to take some time over the holidays to watch these webinars and fill your cup with energy for the new year. There is much work to do, and we’re looking forward to an exciting 15th anniversary year at Plastic Pollution Coalition in 2024, with many positive changes ahead!

Read on to find the latest news, events, and opportunities to get involved in solutions to plastic pollution.

Onward,

Madison Dennis
Project Manager
Plastic Pollution Coalition

P.S. Please consider supporting our work to educate, connect, and advocate for a world free of plastic pollution. When you donate by December 31, your gift will be matched up to $50,000.

★ New EPA Rule a Step Forward for “Filtered Not Bottled” Water, More Amendments Needed
As strongly recommended by Plastic Pollution Coalition and other leading experts and community advocates, on November 30, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) included language in the newly drafted Lead and Copper Rule Improvement (LCRI) that could mitigate the distribution and use of hundreds of billions of single-use plastic water bottles across the United States over the next 10 years. The LCRI strengthens the Lead and Copper Rule that was originally published in 1991 to control lead and copper in drinking water, and the Filtered Not Bottled campaign has been pushing for the inclusion of language to proactively recommend the distribution point-of-use filters to impacted households within the LCRI. Learn more.

★ Flip the Script on Plastics: Working with the Norman Lear Center & the Writers Who Continue His Legacy
Plastic Pollution Coalition has been working with the Norman Lear Center for the past three years, beginning with a report in 2021 that helped launch Flip the Script on Plastics, created by the Media Impact Project. We later partnered with the University of Southern California (USC) Norman Lear Media Center’s Hollywood, Health & Society (HH&S) to work with studios and TV writers, providing the facts about plastic pollution and helping them to incorporate plastic-aware storytelling into their scripts. On Wednesday, December 6, 2023, just hours after Norman Lear’s passing, television writers, producers, show runners, and stars gathered at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills for the HH&S Sentinel Awards. Learn more.

★ International Alliance Holds Hunger Strike, Seeks Justice for Victims of Formosa’s Industrial Pollution From Vietnam to Texas to Louisiana
On October 31, 2023, 75-year-old Diane Wilson, International Monitor Formosa Alliance (IMFA), and hundreds of people around the world launched a hunger strike in solidarity to demand that Formosa Plastics Group and its subsidiaries take action to adequately address the Ha Tinh steel plant’s 2016 industrial pollution disaster. As the environmental toll of industrial pollution grows globally with the size of polluting industries including Formosa Plastics Group, more communities are suffering from the ecological, health, and social injustices of being targeted for polluting infrastructure and activities. Learn more.

★ All That Glitters is… Microplastic? The EU’s New Glitter Ban & Plastic-Free Alternatives
In mid-October, the European Union (EU) implemented a ban on glitter made of plastic particles smaller than 5mm—considered microplastics—that are resistant to degradation. This translates to a total ban on loose plastic glitter often used in crafts and in decorating, as they are ready-made microplastics that easily pollute the environment and human bodies. But alternatives to plastic glitter do exist. Learn more.

★ Celebrate Reusables on Screen with Our New Tool
In the Northern Hemisphere, colder weather, longer nights, and time with family can often mean more opportunities to stream your favorite films and binge new or beloved TV shows. And if you’re anything like us, you can’t help but notice when a character you love has an emotional support water bottle, or when a beloved science fiction show knows enough about the harm of microplastics to make them a key storyline. But how can you mark it when you do spot these moments? With our new Reusables on Screen Form, you can help us celebrate reusable and refillable wins on film and TV. Learn more.

★ Oakland’s New Reusable Foodware Policy: Good for People, the Planet, and Small Businesses
On December 19, 2023, the city council of Oakland, California, passed a comprehensive new reusable foodware policy that is good for people, the planet, and small businesses. By requiring reusable foodware and beverage systems to exist at eateries, municipal facilities, and large events throughout the city, the policy works to address the urgent interconnected crises of plastic pollution, mass consumerism, and climate change. Learn more.

★ The 2023 Plastic-Free Holiday Gift Guide
We encourage avoiding consumerism during the holidays and all year round to help people and the planet. However, if you do plan to give physical gifts for the holidays, check out our 2023 Plastic-Free Holiday Gift Guide! The guide features exclusive discount codes on a wide range of eco-friendly products and services from Plastic Pollution Coalition Business Members committed to stopping plastic pollution. Discount codes are valid through December 31, 2023. Access the guide.

★ Join the Coalition
Not yet a member of Plastic Pollution Coalition? You may join as an individual, organization, or business. Apply here.

★ Student and Educator Mini Grants and Other Resources from the Wayfinder Society (Algalita)
The Wayfinder Society from our friends at Algalita is now offering mini grants of $300 to $2,000 to students in need of funding for education, projects, and other efforts related to addressing plastic pollution. Selected grantees will receive a total of up to $15,000 through the 2024 grant program. Opens January 2024. Learn more and apply here. Environmental educators may apply for mini grants of $100-750, here. Find lesson plans, classroom toolkits (free for public school educators), a student hub action list and more.

★ Community Change Grants from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
This month, the Biden Administration has opened a nearly $2 billion pool of grant money to help advance environmental justice in underserved communities harmed by pollution across the nation. The EPA’s Community Change Grants are the single largest investment in environmental justice going directly to communities in history, and are made available through the Inflation Reduction Act. Applications are now open and will be received on a rolling basis until November 21, 2024. Learn more.

➤ Find more in our Resource Library.

★ Support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act!
On October 25, 2023, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), 130 co-sponsors, and more than 200 supporting organizations reintroduced the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act in the 118th Congress. The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2023 expands and improves upon earlier versions of the bill by tapping into proven solutions that will better protect impacted communities, reform our broken recycling system, and shift the financial burden of waste management off of municipalities and taxpayers to where it belongs: the producers of plastic pollution. Sign the petition.

★ Tell the U.S. Government: Take a Stronger Stance on the Global Plastics Treaty
Plastic production, transportation, use, and disposal threaten Earth’s communities, air, water, biodiversity, and soils. With UN Plastics Treaty negotiations underway through the end of 2024, the U.S. Government (USG) has the unique opportunity to play a key role in the change we need on a worldwide level: instead of leading the world in generating the plastic pollution crisis, it's time for the USG to lead by forging ambitious solutions. Sign on to tell the USG to take a stronger stance on the UN Plastics Treaty. Outside the U.S.? Sign the petition calling on world leaders to create a bold, binding treaty to end plastic pollution.

★ Urge Coca-Cola to Bring Back Refill
Coca-Cola is the largest consumer-facing global seller of plastics, producing almost one quarter of PET plastic bottles globally—despite it once leading on refillables. The Story of Stuff Project has found that between the 1950s and 1970s, Coca-Cola gutted its own refillable infrastructure in the U.S., opting for single-use containers that externalized the cost of its new packaging waste onto the public. Call on Coca-Cola and its bottlers to bring back refillable bottles and support state-mandated refill quotas. Sign the petition, and check out this parody Coca-Cola ad by Greenpeace.

➤ Find more Petitions on our website.

★ January 18 Webinar: Plastic-Free Resolutions: Protecting Your Health in 2024
Join Plastic Pollution Coalition on January 18 for our first webinar of 2024: Plastic-Free Resolutions: Protecting Your Health in 2024. During this event, our panel will discuss why plastic should not come in contact with your food, drink, or body, and how to maintain your plastic-free resolutions all year long to protect your health, and the wellbeing of your friends, family, and the planet we all share. Register now.

➤ Find more Events on our website.