Stay Safe and End PPE Pollution!

If you’ve ventured out to a grocery store of late, you’ve likely seen a form of pollution that has become increasingly prevalent during the coronavirus pandemic—gloves, wipes, and masks littered in parking lots and throughout our communities.  Preliminary data from surveys shows that gloves are the most commonly littered Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) being found in the United States. 

Not only is this a potential health threat to those that may clean up the discarded PPE, it is creating an additional plastic pollution problem.  Gloves, masks, and wipes are all typically made with plastic. Just like plastic bags, food packaging, and straws; plastic PPE that are improperly disposed of threaten our waterways and wildlife.  Plastic does not biodegrade; instead, it breaks down into tiny pieces over time and eventually becomes microplastic pollution in our waters.  Once microplastics enter our waterways, they act as toxic sponges, accumulating toxic chemicals present in the water, including pesticides and PCBs. Microplastics have been shown to accumulate toxins a million times higher than the surrounding waters. Studies show that when fish and aquatic life consume these microplastics, the chemicals are passed up the food chain to larger fish and wildlife, and ultimately, can end up on our dinner plates. 

PPE are intended to help us fight a public health threat, not create a plastic pollution problem. So what to do if you want to be safe during the pandemic while also protecting the environment?

1)     DO NOT litter: This should go without saying, but given what we’re seeing, it definitely needs to be said.  Don’t let your used PPE become litter!  Most stores have garbage cans located just outside.  Due to this growing problem, many stores now even have signage to “DISPOSE OF YOUR PPE HERE,” making proper disposal even easier.  Another option is bring a small bag or container with you to put your used PPE into, and then throw it out when you get home (in a tightly closed garbage bag).

2)     DO NOT put PPE in your curbside recycling bin: As much as we love to recycle, when it comes to PPE, avoid “wish-cycling”.  While PPE items are often made of plastic, these materials cannot be disposed of in curbside recycling bins.  Your PPE can potentially be contaminated, which puts sanitation workers that sift through recyclable items at risk. 

Furthermore, just like plastic bags, plastic gloves can jam recycling machinery, leading to damage and delays.  We are already experiencing a solid waste crisis in this country, and causing costly and timely delays at recycling facilities only exacerbates our current recycling and solid waste woes.

There are a couple other things to consider when it comes to using plastic/rubber gloves.  We’re not doctors or infectious disease experts at CCE, so we look to those experts for some important recommendations:

 1)      Public health experts recommend that members of the public don’t wear gloves when venturing out to the grocery store. If you want to wear gloves, there is nothing inherently wrong with that, but unfortunately most people aren’t wearing or disposing of their gloves correctly.  There may be a tiny rip in the glove, you could put them on or remove them incorrectly, and using gloves could give you a false sense of safety, leading to you touching your face and causing self-contamination.

According the Cleveland Clinic, the best bet for staying safe at the store is to avoid touching your face or phone, practice social distancing, limit the amount of surfaces you touch, wear a face mask (and don’t mess with it once it’s on), sanitize your hands as soon as you get into the car, and wash your hands thoroughly when you get home.

By skipping the plastic gloves when you go to the store, not only can you take precautions to stay safe, you can reduce your use of single-use plastics!

2)      Public health experts urge you not to reuse your gloves.  As environmentalists, we are constantly encouraging reuse of products—but NOT when it comes to these plastic gloves!  Removing gloves or putting them back on without contaminating your hand or the glove is difficult.  Washing your gloves is also not recommended by health professionals.  These gloves are intended to be single-use. Washing gloves can compromise their integrity, and cause them to develop tiny rips that can lead to exposure to viruses (while luring the user into a false sense of security, and potentially touching their face before washing their hands).

Together, we can take precautions to keep ourselves safe during this public health crisis, while also protecting the health of our environment.  Long after COVID-19 is gone, we’ll still need clean water and a healthy environment.

CT Legislative Recap: Areas of Progress and Missed Opportunities in 2017

With the 2017 Connecticut legislative session behind us, it's time to reflect back on what happened this year in the realm of conservation, environmental protection, and public health.  As a whole, this session was marked with some disappointment from environmental groups and consumer advocates across a spectrum of issues, but there were some noteworthy areas of progress as well.  As always, CCE remains committed to advancing unfinished business in the future, and we will continue to advocate for our legislative priorities in 2018 and beyond. Water Protection

VICTORY: CCE worked in conjunction with CT Clean Water Action, Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, Save Our Water, and the CT League of Conservation Voters to successfully advocate for legislation that allows the public greater access to water planning information under the Freedom of Information Act. Additionally, legislation to appoint a consumer advocate to the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) board.  MDC is a municipal water authority serving 8 municipalities, including Hartford, Bloomfield, East Hartford, West Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, Windsor and Wethersfield.  It is critical that the public have increased transparency and greater input into decisions that impact our water supply.

ISSUES FOR 2018: The legislature failed to act on legislation that would protect our water supply from large water users. A proposed bill would have put mandatory restrictions on water withdrawals from large water bottlers during times of drought or other water supply emergencies, and another bill would have prohibited the use of declining block rates for large volume water bottlers and other industrial users.

Toxics 

VICTORY: CCE successfully advocated for legislation that allows retail pharmacies in the state to establish programs for collecting unused and unwanted pharmaceutical drugs.  In addition, CCE supported the passage of a new law that prohibits the use of coal-tar based sealants on state and local highways.  Improperly discarded pharmaceuticals and coal-tar sealants are emerging contaminants that both have devastating impacts on marine ecosystems.

ISSUES FOR 2018: Legislation that would have established a permanent ban on the storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous fracking waste made it through the House with nearly unanimous bipartisan support, but ultimately failed to get called for a vote in the Senate before the midnight end-of-session deadline on the June 7th.  CCE was instrumental in passage of a moratorium on fracking waste in 2014, which spawned a statewide effort resulting in more than 15 local governments in CT passing local ordinances to prohibit the storage, treatment and disposal of fracking waste.

CCE also worked in 2017 to pass a bill that would have prohibited the use of recycled rubber mulch made from shredded car and truck tires on school and public playgrounds across the state.  Despite receiving favorable reports in the Children's and Planning & Development committees, the bill was never brought forward for a vote in the House.

Clean Energy

VICTORY: CCE worked in a coalition with environmental groups and consumer advocates to prevent the passage of ill-conceived legislation that would allow Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford, CT to compete with Class 1 and Class 2 renewable resources for long term power-purchase agreements with the State.  CCE is proud to have defeated this legislation in 2017, which would make our state increasingly reliant on dirty nukes while further delaying progress on meeting Connecticut's clean energy goals.

ISSUES FOR 2018: Environmental advocates were deeply disappointed in the lack of progress made on clean energy policy in 2017.  From legislation that would have expanded our Renewable Portfolio Standard to bring more renewables into Connecticut, to a bill that would have repealed a hidden surcharge levied against electric customers to help subsidize the construction of oil and gas pipelines across New England, the CGA failed to make meaningful progress on a wide range of important energy issues this year.  This is especially concerning in light of Governor Malloy's recent announcement that Connecticut would be joining the U.S. Climate Alliance (a group of 12 states that have agreed to upholding our commitments under the 2015 Paris Climate Accord).

Recycling

VICTORY: CCE worked with ConnPIRG, CT League of Conservation Voters, CT Leage of Women Voters, CT Citizens Action Group, Clean Water Action and many others to successfully defend Connecticut's bottle deposit law (aka the Bottle Bill).  Ill-conceived legislation would have eliminated the 5-cent deposit on carbonated beer and soda containers and bottled water, and replace it with a non-refundable 4-cent tax on every beverage sold in the state.  Thanks to an outpouring of grassroots opposition from all parts of the state, our coalition successfully opposed this shortsighted legislation, thereby preserving one of Connecticut's most effective recycling laws!

ISSUES FOR 2018: CCE will continue to push to modernize Connecticut's Bottle Bill to include juices, teas, and other non-carbonated soft drink containers that are currently not covered by the law. The bill to accomplish this unfortunately died in the House this year, along with a bill to increase the handling fee paid to retailers and redemption center for each container they recycle under the bottle deposit.  The Bottle Bill is a proven, effective system for incentivizing recycling and keeping our beaches, parks and open spaces free of bottles and cans.

Open Space Preservation

VICTORIES: Legislation passed in 2017 to provided added transparency and opportunities to intervene in the trimming and/or removal of trees on municipal property.

ISSUES FOR 2018: Last but not least, many environmental groups are mourning the death of a Constitutional Amendment that would require transparency and public participation for any transfer of protected state lands for development or any other purpose.  An identical bill was passed in 2016, but passage is required two consecutive years in a row in order to approve any changes to our state constitution.  Unfortunately, the bill was never brought out for a vote in the senate, despite widespread bipartisan support for the bill in 2016.

Looking back on the 2017 session, it's clear that while Connecticut has made incremental progress on a number of environmental issues, but there is still much work to be done to preserve public health and the environment, protect our water supplies and open spaces, meaningfully advance our clean energy goals, and end our reliance on dirty fossil fuels.  Unfortunately, there were a number of good bills that never saw the light of day this year- this is no doubt due in part to the looming $3.5 billion dollar deficit lawmakers are grappling with currently.  It's a classic example of how the environment suffers during tough economic times, and policymakers need to understand that these issues are just as important now as they are when the state finds itself in "greener" economic pastures.  Clean air and clean water are not luxury items that can be disregarded in difficult economic times!

The failure of the Connecticut General Assembly to act on many commonsense, bipartisan efforts to protect our environment is troubling, especially when juxtaposed against Governor Malloy's recent announcement that Connecticut must remain a leader on climate change.  What our state needs now more than anything is leadership; the kind of leadership that Malloy is trying to demonstrate.  It's time for our House and Senate representatives to step up to the plate, put politics aside, and make our health and the quality of our environment a priority once again.

CT Legislative Update and Perspectives on Environmental Advocacy in the New Year

Connecticut has historically been a nationwide leader on environmental protection and public health issues, and activists in Hartford are working to make this another important year for our state.  The 2015 Connecticut legislative session has been underway for just over a month and state legislators have already raised a over a dozen important pro-environment bills to be debated and considered for passage this year. In addition, legislators now in leadership positions in the House and Senate (as well as in several key committees) have made environmental issues a priority in the past, and many have promised to stay true to their commitments in 2015.  Advocates are encouraged and hopeful to see a strong showing of bi-partisan support for legislation designed to protect public health and enrich our quality of life in the Nutmeg State.

Some highlights of legislation being considered this year include:

• Protecting our waterways by eliminating plastic microbeads from personal care products;

• Expanding Connecticut's Child-Safe Playing fields law to eliminate toxic pesticides on public parks and high school athletic fields;

• Putting a 10-cent fee on single-use paper and plastic shopping bags at the checkout counter;

• Expanding CT's bottle-deposit law to include single serving juices, teas, sports and energy drinks; and

• Lifting the cap on using federal funds to purchase open space.

Another highlight is the recent announcement that Governor Malloy has formally endorsed legislation that would create a Long Island Sound Blue Plan and Inventory.  The Blue Plan would be a master planning document that would allow the state to map out all of the various features and existing infrastructure in the Sound, to ensure that new development proposals are consistent with the values and existing uses of the Sound.  The bill is similar to legislation that was introduced in 2014, but did not pass as time ran out on the session before this bill could be called for a vote in the House of Representatives.  By designating it as a Governor's bill, Gov. Malloy will help elevate the likelihood that this bill will get voted on in a timely manner.  CCE is pleased to see this legislation being re-introduced and applauds Governor Malloy for making it a priority of his administration.

Of course, not all of these forward-thinking environmental and public health initiatives will pass this year.  Many will face vigorous opposition from industry groups that  view these proposals merely as burdensome and unnecessary regulations that will cut into corporate profits, despite the fact that they will provide significant environmental, health, and economic benefits to Connecticut.

In addition, environmental groups frequently find themselves working to advance legislation aimed at protecting the environment, while simultaneously having to remain on guard for legislative proposals that would be decidedly less "eco-friendly."  Every year, dozens of bad bill and rats (dangerously worded amendments that are added onto bills, often at the last minute, to weaken them or repeal parts of existing laws) emerge in the legislature in an attempt to limit or eliminate environmental protections.  CCE continues to remain vigilant in monitoring the House and Senate for environmentally harmful legislation, and will be sure to notify policy makers and the public if this occurs.

For now, there is much to be hopeful for in the realm of environmental protection in our State.  CCE is hard at work at the state house, organizing around any number of initiatives that would make Connecticut a cleaner, healthier place to live.  But with months remaining in the 2015 legislative session, only time will tell what kind of advancements the environmental community will be able to accomplish in Connecticut this year.