Companies whose futures depend on plastic production are trying to persuade the federal government to allow them to put the label “recyclable” on plastic shopping bags and other items virtually guaranteed to end up in landfills and incinerators.<a href="[link removed]><img src="[link removed]" alt="" border="0" /></a>

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The Big Story
August 15, 2024 · View in browser <[link removed]>

In today’s newsletter: The plastics industry’s efforts <[link removed]> to put the label “recyclable” on plastic shopping bags, Maui residents evicted as landlords look to profit <[link removed]> off wildfire crisis and more from our newsroom.

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When Is “Recyclable” Not Really Recyclable? When the Plastics Industry Gets to Define What the Word Means. <[link removed]>

Is there anything more pathetic than a used plastic bag?

They rip and tear. They float away in the slightest breeze. Left in the wild, their mangled remains entangle birds <[link removed]> and choke sea turtles that mistake them <[link removed]> for edible jellyfish. It takes 1,000 years for the bags to disintegrate, shedding hormone-disrupting chemicals <[link removed]> as they do. And that outcome is all but inevitable, because no system exists to routinely recycle them. It’s no wonder some states have banned them and stores give discounts to customers with reusable bags.

But the plastics industry is working to make the public feel OK about using them again.

Read story <[link removed]>

Read more from our series on plastic recyling:

The Delusion of “Advanced” Plastic Recycling <[link removed]>

Plastic, Plastic Everywhere — Even at the UN’s “Plastic Free” Conference <[link removed]>

Do You Have Experience in or With the Plastics Industry? Tell Us About It. <[link removed]>

 
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YouTube still <[link removed]>
One year ago this month, the Lahaina wildfire in Maui killed more than 100 people, destroyed over 2,200 structures and displaced nearly 13,000 residents, the police said.

Soon after the blaze, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and his lieutenant governor signed a series of emergency proclamations barring landlords on Maui from evicting tenants or raising rents in most cases. Despite that, some Maui property owners have capitalized on the crisis by pushing out tenants <[link removed]> so they can house wildfire survivors for a lot more money.

Honolulu Civil Beat reporter Nick Grube, in partnership with ProPublica, has been speaking to people who have been displaced from their homes on Maui and investigating how one of the country’s most expensive rental markets was made worse by both the fires and the aid programs that followed.

This is Peter Sunday’s story.

Watch now <[link removed]>

We need to hear from anyone who has been touched by what many say is a secondary housing crisis after the fires. Have you faced eviction or a rent increase? Are you a landlord or property manager? Tell us how you’ve been affected <[link removed]>.

 
More From Our Newsroom

 

As Millions of Acres Burn, Firefighters Say the U.S. Forest Service Has Left Them With Critical Shortages <[link removed]>

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Uvalde Police Failed to Turn Over All Body Camera Footage From Robb Elementary Shooting, Department Says <[link removed]>

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Struggling to Keep or Find Housing After Maui’s Wildfires? Tell Us Your Story. <[link removed]>

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Maui Residents Have Been Forced From Their Homes to Make Room for Wildfire Survivors. Property Owners Are Profiting. <[link removed]>

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Historic Gun Suit Survives Serious Legal Threat Engineered by Indiana Republicans <[link removed]>

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