With the attention of lawmakers and government agencies focused on the global coronavirus pandemic, polluting industries have seized on the opportunity to advance their own interests.
In the days leading up to President Donald Trump’s signing of a $2.2 trillion relief bill, lobbyists descended on Washington in an attempt to squeeze as much as possible out of the U.S. Treasury. Some industries, including agriculture and aviation, got major boosts; others, notably coal and clean energy, were left disappointed.
As the number of infections and deaths from the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise and the economic fallout starts to hit more Americans, industries are scrambling to stay afloat and save jobs. But some, critics say, are exploiting the situation to their advantage, potentially at a cost to the climate.
This week, after a request from the oil industry, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a suspension of its enforcement of environmental laws, a move that critics say will let the industry pollute indefinitely.
Environmental and advocacy groups say they are concerned that other agencies will follow suit, allowing industries to capitalize on the crisis. And some are already trying to get what they can.
The plastics industry, for example, is using the COVID-19 pandemic to try to save what has become in many peoples’ minds a global villain—the single-use plastic bag.
Their actions come after a growing number of states and cities have banned plastic bags or slapped fees on their use in retail and grocery stores. Plastic bags and all kinds of other plastics are choking the oceans, with microscopic bits of plastic getting into human bodies, giving the industry a bad reputation. And plastics manufacturing and incineration are contributing to global warming.
But seeing an opportunity in the global crisis, the Plastics Industry Association has asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to declare the bans on plastic bags a health risk, and “to speak out against bans on these products as a public safety risk and help stop the rush to ban these products by environmentalists and elected officials that puts consumers and workers at risk.”
The industry cites studies or reports, including at least one paid for by the plastics industry, that claim dirty reusable bags spread germs. Those are findings that are disputed by others, including Greenpeace, which describes the industry efforts as “a profit-driven distraction.”
But the industry is succeeding in getting some traction, at least temporarily:
- Maine delayed its ban on single-use plastic bags from April 22 to Jan. 15, 2021.
- New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu temporarily banned reusable bags in grocery stores, as did Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, who also lifted all local plastic bag bans in his state.
- Charleson, South Carolina, had banned plastic bags effective on Jan. 1, but last week suspended that ban for 60 days, as part of its response to COVID-19.
New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, has delayed enforcing its new statewide plastic bag ban until April 1, but officials said that’s only because of a legal challenge unrelated to the pandemic.
Some retail stores are prohibiting their customers from using reusable bags while others still allow them, or do so only if customers fill them.
To Judith Enck, a former regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who runs the Beyond Plastics campaign, the industry’s efforts are unfortunate.
“I am quite disturbed that the plastics industry is exploiting this pandemic with unfounded information,” Enck said, adding, “What I am most worried about is permanent repeal of plastic bag bans.”
Source: Insideclimate News
