Here's the simple truth, John: Plastic just isn't designed to be recycled.

Instead, virtually all of it ends up in landfills or the environment.

But for decades, the plastic industry has pushed misinformation to lead us to believe otherwise -- and maintain demand for their product.1

PIRG is determined to move our country beyond plastic -- but there are just a few hours left in our September Drive, and we aren't quite at our $15,000 goal yet.

Are you with us? Donate today.

Thank you for making our work possible,

Faye Park
President

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: U.S. PIRG <[email protected]>
Date: Monday, September 23, 2024
Subject: This deception could send even more plastic to landfills
To: John xxxxxx <[email protected]>

John,

If a plastic product or packaging is destined for the landfill or incinerator, should it be labeled "recyclable"?

Heck yes, say lobbyists for the plastics industry.1

That's what the industry is trying to convince the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) -- and if they succeed, it will lead to a big mess of plastic overconsumption, waste and pollution. Unless, that is, we stop them from getting away with it.

We're telling the truth about plastics and recycling and calling for big reductions in plastic waste and pollution. But it takes more than the truth to overcome this powerful industry.

That's why we've set a goal of raising $15,000 by midnight tonight. Are you with us? Donate today.

Here's the dirty secret the industry doesn't want to share: Most plastic products are difficult, even impossible, to recycle.

Many are too small or flimsy. Some are too hard to break down. Often, breaking them down releases toxic emissions. Simply put: plastic is not designed to be recycled. That's why only 5% of plastic is being recycled now.2

Yet the industry says, none of that should stop them from slapping a chasing arrows recycling symbol on products that are virtually guaranteed to end up in landfills, no matter which bin we put them in.3

If plastic companies keep putting those chasing arrows on unrecyclable plastic, it will lead to the contamination of dump trucks full of recyclable materials, resulting in even more waste in our landfills.

The plastic industry shouldn't escape accountability for an out-of-control plastic waste crisis. Donate today.

Here's what we can, and will, do about it with your support:

• Urge the FTC to reject the plastic industry's efforts to weaken the definition of "recyclable" in its Green Guides. "Recyclable" should mean it's going to be recycled.

• Promote "Truth in Recycling," like the new law in California that forbids companies from putting the chasing arrows symbol on products unless they are actually being recycled in large quantities in the state.4

• Ban or restrict the worst single-use plastic products, as our national network has done in 15 states and counting.5

• Hold plastic producers accountable through producer responsibility laws, such as the ones our network helped to win in Colorado, California, and Oregon.6

We have a long way to go to stem the tide of plastic pollution. But we know that when we join our voices together, we can win -- even when the odds are against us.

Our campaign to hold the plastics industry accountable for its deceptions and pollution requires energy, funds and other resources, and PIRG relies entirely on the support of people like you.

Will you help keep the momentum going with a donation today?

Thank you,

Faye Park
President

1. Lisa Song, "When Is "Recyclable" Not Really Recyclable? When the Plastics Industry Gets to Define What the Word Means," ProPublica, August 15, 2024.
2. Ben Tracy, "Critics call out plastics industry over "fraud of plastic recycling"," CBS News, June 28, 2024.
3. Lisa Song, "When Is "Recyclable" Not Really Recyclable? When the Plastics Industry Gets to Define What the Word Means," ProPublica, August 15, 2024.
4. "Accurate Recycling Labels," CalRecycles, last accessed August 26, 2024.
5. "Reducing Plastic Waste in the States," U.S. PIRG, July 26, 2022.
6. "Reducing Plastic Waste in the States," U.S. PIRG, July 26, 2022.

Your donation will power our dedicated staff of organizers, policy experts and attorneys who drive all of our campaigns in the public interest, from banning toxic pesticides and moving us beyond plastic, to saving our antibiotics and being your consumer watchdog, to protecting our environment and our democracy. None of our work would be possible without the support of people just like you.

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