Tag: packaging legislation

Consumer Reports

Producers of packaging need to be held responsible for how they are exposing consumers to harmful chemicals.

Chemicals in plastic packaging can leak into our food. Also, the plastic breaks into tiny particles (microfibers) that we consume when we are eating. None of this can be healthy for the consumer.

Harmful material in our food is upsetting. Producers of plastic need to be held responsible for the packaging they use. Corporations think they should regulate themselves. That is clearly not working! We need tough standards for our food packaging, but also in cosmetics, toys and other packaging as well.

Consumer Reports sent a letter to General Mills this week over relatively high levels of plastic chemicals called phthalates found in several products, including Cheerios, Yoplait, Progresso vegetable soup and cans of Annie’s organic cheesy ravioli.

Phthalates are “plasticizers” used in the production of plastic to make them stronger and softer and are commonly used in vinyl flooring, shampoos and plastic packaging. Health impacts in humans need further study, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but scientists have found strong associations between chronic exposure and issues with reproductive systems and child development.

Read the entire article:

https://www.startribune.com/consumer-reports-calls-out-general-mills-for-plastic-chemicals-in-food/600342084/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=evening_update

Just a year ago, the board at General Mills said that General Mills needed to reduce the plastic in their packaging https://foodindustryexecutive.com/2022/09/general-mills-shareholders-support-plastic-reduction-proposal-preliminary-results/

More articles:

Walter Morris, “Hyattsville residents raise concerns about plastic pellets spilled in train derailment,” NBC4 Washington, October 3, 2023.
2. Neel Dhamesha, “The massive, unregulated source of plastic pollution you’ve probably never heard of,” Vox, May 6, 2022.
3. Karen McVeigh “Nurdles: the worst toxic waste you’ve probably never heard of,” The Guardian, November 29, 2021.
4. Karen McVeigh, “Nurdles: the worst toxic waste you’ve probably never heard of,” November 29, 2021.
5. Lisa Frank, “New bill would stop companies from dumping plastic,” U.S. PIRG, May 25, 2022.
6. “Our waters shouldn’t be dumping grounds for plastic,” U.S. PIRG, October 3, 2023.
7. Doyle Rice, “Oh, yuck! You’re eating about a credit card’s worth of plastic every week,” USA Today, June 12

Endocrine Disrupters

If you missed this event, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgEmqi44ExI

Endocrine disruptors in plastics are associated with a 50% decline in adult male sperm counts over the past five decades and are implicated in the enormous leap in rates of autism and ADHD among children.

Please join Beyond Plastics, the Westchester League of Women Voters, and Bedford 2030 on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, at 7 p.m. ET U.S. for a Zoom conversation about the endocrine-disrupting chemicals in plastics. Our own Dr. Megan Wolff, Ph. D, MPH, will moderate a conversation between John Peterson “Pete” Myers, Ph.D., CEO and chief scientist of Environmental Health Sciences and co-author of the landmark book “Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival? A Scientific Detective Story” and New York State Senator Pete Harckham, chair of the New York Environmental Conservation Committee and sponsor of a landmark packaging and plastic reduction bill in New York State. The bill would reduce plastic packaging by 50% over the next 12 years.

Register now for this free educational webinar. >>

Endocrine Disruptors In Plastics: State Policy Options

In 1991, Dr. Pete Myers coined the term “endocrine-disrupting chemicals” (EDCs) to describe chemicals capable of hacking the human body’s hormonal systems. From the start, it’s been clear that these chemicals that are common additives in plastics can cause harm even at extraordinarily low doses. 

More than 30 years later, plastic pollution has become so widespread that microscopic flecks of plastic can be found in snow, soil, drinking water, and even human blood — and what Dr. Myers and others have learned about EDCs has grown even grimmer.

Endocrine disruptors in plastics are associated with a 50% decline in adult male sperm counts over the past five decades and are implicated in the enormous leap in rates of autism and ADHD among children.

Moreover, it is clear that a great quantity of the plastic in our lives was never necessary in the first place. Approximately 42% of plastic currently under production is used for packaging, much of which is discarded as soon as it is used. It is critical that plastic reduction and safer, healthier alternatives become law.

Many of our elected representatives are coming to recognize this reality. This past spring, New York State Senator Pete Harckham, chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee, introduced bold new legislation capable of reducing plastic packaging, strengthening recycling infrastructure, and banning several toxic plastic additives. The bill, the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (S.4246-a/A.5322-a), will be considered by the New York State Legislature when it reconvenes in January, and is one of several promising state policy options to reduce the negative impacts of EDCs on human health.

On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, please join us and our good friends at the Westchester, NY League of Women Voters and Bedford 2030 for a webinar discussion between Dr. Pete Myers and Sen. Pete Harckham that will cover what we know about EDCs in plastic, what they are doing to our health, and the most effective, politically feasible ways to reduce these toxicants (and plastic pollution) from our lives.

Register now for this free webinar on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, at 7 p.m. ET.

I hope you can join us. Please extend this invitation to your friends, family, neighbors, and elected representatives.