Damage From Plastics Producers to U.S. Cities and States May Have Broken Laws, Report Finds

A new report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) — Making Plastic Polluters Pay: How Cities and States Can Recoup the Rising Costs of Plastic Pollution — examines the economic and financial impacts of the plastics crisis on governments and how they can seek legal remedies.

The report also documents the growing burdens plastic pollution has put on the economies, resources and budgets of states and municipalities in the United States, a press release from CIEL said.

“States and cities are on the frontlines of the growing plastics crisis and the mounting costs it imposes on governments and economies. From increased waste management and infrastructure costs, to lost revenues for tourism and fisheries, as well as rapidly-growing health costs from pervasive plastic pollution, states and communities are sacrificing budgets, resources, and revenues to the plastics crisis,” said Carroll Muffett, co-author of the report and president of CIEL, in the press release. “This report not only highlights the key corporate drivers of that crisis, but equips governments with robust legal tools to seek remedies, recover costs, and hold polluters accountable.”

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The endless production, use and disposal of plastics products damages recycling and waste management systems while clogging stormwater and drainage systems and disrupting water treatment facilities. It also demands increased infrastructure, operations and maintenance costs.

Local and state governments bear the cost burden of cleanups of waterways and public lands, as well as face repercussions in industries that depend on clean environments, like fisheries and tourism.

Increasingly, plastics end up in water, soil, air and food, as well as our bodies, driving up the costs of healthcare and illnesses associated with plastics and the toxic chemicals they carry.

The production of plastics is predicted to triple in the next 40 years.

The report said plastics producers may be breaching various U.S. laws, including those having to do with consumer protection, product liability and public nuisance, reported The Guardian.

“We’re in the midst of a population-scale human experiment on the impacts of multigenerational toxic exposures,” Muffett said, as The Guardian reported. “Plastics are at the epicenter of that.”

The report looks at the increasingly overwhelming evidence that plastics companies have known the risks of their products for a long time. It includes a guide for states and cities to identify companies that are the most responsible for impacts at the local level, evaluate their responsibilities and start to hold them accountable.

It discusses available legal pathways, building upon precedents established by earlier environmental lawsuits and ongoing climate litigation. It also provides a detailed exploration of how the legal tools can be implemented to tackle the ongoing problem of plastics.

“The plastics crisis has reached an inflection point and states like New York, California, and others are already taking action to hold the companies behind it accountable,” said Steven Feit, legal and research manager and senior attorney with CIEL’s Fossil Economy program, in the press release. “Despite decades of industry obstruction, obfuscation, and misdirection, there is still time to act. Our report is designed to equip local government officials with the knowledge to identify, quantify, and seek remedy for the diverse and detrimental impacts of plastic pollution.”