Dear John,

As an Official Nominator for the third year running, Plastic Pollution Coalition is excited to announce our nominees for The Earthshot Prize 2024. This year, we selected two nominees that are scaling solutions to an increasingly urgent plastic pollution crisis: The High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, and Mycelium Technology by Ecovative. We are honored to be among the 432 Official Nominators from 75 countries to select projects with ambitious but achievable goals that have the potential to restore our planet for generations to come. Winners of the prize gain exposure, mentorship, technical support, and resources, including a monetary prize to scale their solutions of GBP £1 million.

In more exciting news, as recommended by Plastic Pollution Coalition’s Filtered Not Bottled initiative, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently included language in the newly drafted Lead and Copper Rule Improvement (LCRI) that could prevent the distribution and use of hundreds of billions of single-use plastic water bottles and protect families from toxic lead across the United States over the coming decades. The draft LCRI requires water systems with consistently high levels of lead to make filters available to customers, rather than polluting single-use water bottles. However, EPA must strengthen the draft rule language so that water systems distribute water filters to customers at no cost, provide in-depth education materials on filter efficacy and maintenance, and reduce the number of lead action level exceedances and time period needed to require filter distribution. Sign the petition to ensure families have access to clean water without toxic lead and plastic pollution.

Read on to find the latest news, events, and opportunities to get involved in real solutions to plastic pollution.

Onward,

Aidan Maguire
Coalition Program Manager
Plastic Pollution Coalition

P.S. Please consider supporting our work to educate, connect, and advocate for a world free of plastic pollution.

★ Chemicals in Plastics Added $250 Billion to U.S. Health Care Costs in One Year
Health problems linked with harmful plastic chemicals cost the U.S. health care system $250 billion in increased costs in the year 2018 alone. This cost is equal to 1.22% of the nation’s annual gross domestic product. The U.S. has historically considered plastics and their chemical ingredients as a point of economic productivity. Yet this new study reveals that the health care costs of treating illnesses that trace back to plastic chemicals are extremely steep—and experts say plastic’s health costs will only increase if industries are permitted to continue pumping out plastics into the world. Learn more.

★ Study Finds Hundreds of Thousands of Plastic Particles in Bottled Water
Plastic water bottles are finding their way into human bodies in huge quantities—well, pieces of them are. A recent study shows just how much plastic we drink with bottled water: Researchers from Columbia University and Rutgers have found at least 240,000 plastic particles in the average liter of bottled water, a major health concern. Learn more.

★ On ‘National Drinking Straw Day,’ I’m Calling for Stronger Policies to End Plastic Pollution in National Parks—and Beyond
On National Drinking Straw Day on January 3, Plastic Pollution Coalition Advocacy and Engagement Manager Jackie Nuñez called for stronger policies to end plastic pollution in National Parks—and beyond. She described how new research on PFAS in paper straws was used to give rise to a U.S. policy amendment that could undermine orders to eliminate the sale and distribution of single-use plastics—which are far more toxic—from public lands. Learn more.

★ WATCH PPC January Webinar: Plastic-Free Resolutions: Protecting Your Health in 2024
Our January Webinar: Plastic-Free Resolutions: Protecting Your Health in 2024 focused on tangible, common sense ways to reduce the amount of plastic you use in your daily life. We discussed why it’s important to avoid plastics, provided DIY and low- and no-cost solutions, and highlighted helpful products you may turn to when you need an extra hand. Our panelists for this inspiring conversation included Queer Brown Vegan Isaias Hernandez; Zero Waste Farmer Manju Kumar; and Co-Owner & Co-Founder of Life Without Plastic Jay Sinha. The conversation was moderated by MADE SAFE Founder Amy Ziff, and is available in English and Spanish languages, thanks to Alejandra Warren from Plastic Free Future who joined us to translate live into Spanish. Watch the recording.

★ Plastic Pollution Coalition February Webinar: From the Frontline: Petrochemicals, Plastics, and Cancer Alley
Join us on February 15, from 5–6pm ET, for our February webinar with a panel of frontline activists from communities of color across America’s industrial plastic and petrochemical corridors, who will discuss how they are taking action to protect themselves and their neighbors from pollution and injustice—and how you can too. Our panelists for this important conversation include “The Father of Environmental Justice” Dr. Robert Bullard; RISE St. James Louisiana Executive Assistant Shamyra Lavigne; and Founder & CEO of Hip Hop Caucus, Reverend Lennox Yearwood. The conversation will be moderated by Plastic Pollution Coalition Communications Manager, Erica Cirino, author of Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis. Register here.

★ How NY is Holding Pepsi Accountable for Its Plastic Pollution – & Your State Can, Too
This past November, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued PepsiCo for misleading the public about its goals to eliminate single-use plastic, and for endangering the environment. Beyond Plastics will host a conversation on Tuesday, February 20, from 7–8 pm ET,with Lemuel Srlovic, Chief of the Environmental Bureau of the New York Attorney General’s Office, about the details and significance of the suit. In part two of the webinar, Judith Enck and Dawn Henry of Beyond Plastics will lead a discussion about how residents of other states can urge their own Attorneys General to file similar suits. Learn more.

➤ Find more Events on our website.

★ Member Spotlight: Karma Wallet, Made Safe, Naturepedic, Perpetual
This month, we highlight four Plastic Pollution Coalition members who are helping people start the new year with less plastic by making more informed purchasing decisions, navigating the toxicity of everyday products, and adopting less consumptive habits. Learn more.

★ Watch: Sarah Paiji Yoo Discusses her Journey to Eliminate Single-Use Plastic on CBS News 
CBS has recently highlighted Sarah Paiji Yoo, co-founder and CEO of Blueland, a PPC Coalition Member, on its "Changing the Game" series. Blueland specializes in creating lower waste, healthier cleaning products and is on a mission to eliminate single-use plastic. Watch here and sign the petition by Blueland to ask EPA to regulate PVA.

★ Join the Coalition.
Not yet a member of Plastic Pollution Coalition? You may join as an individual, organization, or business. Apply here.

★ Tell EPA: Don’t Replace Lead Pipes with Plastic Pollution
On November 30, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Draft Lead and Copper Rule Improvement (LCRI) to control lead and copper in drinking water. As strongly recommended by Plastic Pollution Coalition and other leading experts and community advocates, the newly drafted rule requires water systems with consistently high levels of lead to make available filters certified to remove lead from water, rather than single-use water bottles. This is a significant step forward. However, EPA must strengthen the draft language to proactively distribute filters at no cost to communities, and move up the timeline. Learn more and sign the petition.

★Support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act
On October 25, 2023, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), 130 Co-Sponsors, and more than 200 supporting organizations reintroduced the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act in the 118th Congress. The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2023 expands and improves upon earlier versions of the bill by tapping into proven solutions that will better protect impacted communities, reform our broken recycling system, and shift the financial burden of waste management off of municipalities and taxpayers to where it belongs: the producers of plastic pollution. Sign the petition.

★ Tell the U.S. Government: Take a Stronger Stance on the Global Plastics Treaty
Plastic production, transportation, use, and disposal threaten Earth’s communities, air, water, biodiversity, and soils. With UN Plastics Treaty negotiations underway through the end of 2024, the U.S. Government (USG) has the unique opportunity to play a key role in the change we need on a worldwide level: instead of leading the world in generating the plastic pollution crisis, it's time for the USG to lead by forging ambitious solutions. Sign on to tell the USG to take a stronger stance on the UN Plastics Treaty. Outside the U.S.? Sign the petition calling on world leaders to create a bold, binding treaty to end plastic pollution.

➤ Find more Petitions on our website.

★ The Global Plastic Laws Database
Global Plastic Laws is an extensive database and resource library focused on plastic legislation that has been passed around the world. Designed for use by policymakers, researchers, educators, students, community advocates, and others interested in plastics policy, the database includes 9 topics covering the full life cycle of plastics along with key issue areas highlighted in the ongoing UN Plastic Treaty negotiations. Access the Database.

★ CHEJ Small Grants Program 
Deadline upcoming very soon: February 2, 2024! There are a few more days to apply for CHEJ’s Small Grants Program for grassroots groups working on environmental health and justice issues. Grassroots communities of color, low wealth, rural and urban groups are encouraged to apply. This grant program will support projects that help groups move toward their goals by building leadership, increasing capacity, or providing training and education, with a priority for helping grassroots community groups build their capacity. The program is designed to reach people from low-wealth communities and communities of color who are impacted by environmental harms. Learn more.

★ Student Mini-Grants from Wayfinder Society and Algalita
In addition to providing free curriculum and other learning resources, Algalita’s Wayfinder Society will be awarding a total of $15,000 in mini-grants to students around the world looking for financial support for their personal education, school and community projects, internships, networking events, and more to address the plastic pollution crisis. Register here for an upcoming virtual information session on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, from 4–5 pm PT to learn everything you need to know about eligibility, requirements, and the application process. In addition, educator grants are available on a bi-monthly basis. Learn more. 

★ Earth Law Portal
The Earth Law Portal is a digital portal and repository of Earth Law legal models, templates, and resources. Here, activists, lawmakers, businesses, and members of the public can join the movement to create and implement a new generation of Earth-centered laws, with a focus on the United States and North America (Turtle Island). The vision for Earth Law is to amplify and, in some cases, “import” these efforts and partner with organizations and allies to make best practices and resources accessible to all—to empower communities, governments and everyone to take action for Nature, and respect the rights of Nature. Learn more.

➤ Find more Resources in our Resource Library.