Dear Congress,
As a parent, I am asking you to protect our families, and especially our children, from legislation that would promote plastic-waste incineration and exempt it from the Clean Air Act. The plastics industry's so-called "advanced recycling" is neither advanced nor recycling, and it does not deserve special protections from Congress. This is a form of incineration that has been around for decades and produces hazardous air pollutants, including benzene, mercury, and dioxins, in addition to climate-warming gases and toxic ash.
EPA has long classified chemical recycling facilities as incinerators and has regulated them accordingly, under Section 129 of the Clean Air Act. Unfortunately, the plastics industry is seeking to rebrand pyrolysis and similar processes as forms of recycling or manufacturing (rather than incineration) as a way to sidestep the pollution controls, monitoring, and reporting requirements of Section 129. This would protect industry, not humans. It would endanger the health of our children. Many of these facilities are located in historically disinvested neighborhoods and in communities of color. Allowing these incinerators to operate without regulation would expose local communities to an elevated risk of cancer.
Read this fact sheet to learn more dangers of "advanced recycling": https://www.momscleanairforce.org/resources/chemical-recycling-101/
It's obvious that burning trash is not recycling. I strongly oppose the efforts of the plastics industry to pass a bill to exempt plastic-burning facilities from important Clean Air Act safeguards. I urge you to reject any requests to co-sponsor or sponsor any legislation that would remove "advanced recycling" from Clean Air Act incinerator standards.
