New Program to Disclose Plastic Pellet Spills ‘Falls Short’

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT: Stefanie Spear, [email protected], 216-387-1609

BERKELEY, CA—DEC. 13, 2019—The American Chemistry Council and Plastics Industry Association announced today a new program to help manage and prevent the accidental release of plastic pellets into the environment. The program requires companies to report unrecovered releases greater than 0.5 liters or 0.5 kilograms. Reported releases will then be aggregated and publicly reported annually.

Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president of As You Sow, had this to say about the new program:

“Some transparency is better than no disclosure which has been the policy since Operation Clean Sweep’s founding in 1991. However, this policy falls short of the individual company disclosure needed for corporate accountability for this growing threat to oceans and already agreed to by ExxonMobil Chemical, ChevronPhillips Chemical and Dow, due to our efforts. The recent $50 million settlement by Formosa Plastics for pellet spills demonstrates the financial risks to companies and their investors from poor handling practices and the need for individual corporate accountability. We will continue to press individual companies on disclosure and have planned shareholder proposals with more companies for 2020.”

Last year, As You Sow engaged three major petrochemical companies, each of which agreed to disclose pellet spills. Pellet spills are believed to be the second largest source of microplastic pollution in the ocean.

For more information on As You Sow’s work on plastic pellets, click here. To learn more about As You Sow’s Plastic Solutions Investor Alliance, click here.

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As You Sow is a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies. See our resolutions here.