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2/24/2023
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Aquidneck Island Climate Caucus to host virtual conversation on what to do with plastic waste
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STATE HOUSE – Rep. Lauren H. Carson and Rep. Terri Cortvriend will host an upcoming Aquidneck Island Climate Caucus virtual conversation on plastic waste in Rhode Island. The discussion will venture into pyrolysis, plastic reduction and the possibility of a bottle bill for the state.
The forum will take place on Zoom Sunday, March 5, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It is open to the public but pre-registration is required for access and is available at this link.
Joining Representative Carson (D-Dist. 75, Newport) and Representative Cortvriend (D-Dist. 72, Portsmouth, Middletown) for the meeting will be Rep. Michelle E. McGaw (D-Dist. 71, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton), the sponsor of legislation (2023-H 5142) to prohibit high-heat waste processing facilities in Rhode Island; Kevin Budris of Just Zero, a Massachusetts-based organization dedicated to just and equitable solutions to climate-damaging and toxic production, consumption and waste disposal practices; and Jed Thorp, state director of Clean Water Action.
The Aquidneck Island Climate Caucus is a community group formed by Representatives Cortvriend and Carson to give voice to the importance of mitigating and adapting for the earth’s changing climate.
“Rhode Islanders are hearing narratives pitching pyrolysis or ‘advanced recycling’ as solutions to our plastics problem. But these so-called solutions are just prettier words for high-heat waste processing and they are coming directly from the plastics industry itself. They are an attempt to distract from the hard truth: plastic is an unsustainable, polluting fossil fuel product. We need to drastically reduce our reliance on plastic and find much more effective means to actually recycle the plastic that remains,” said Representative Carson.
Said Representative Cortvriend, “We are looking forward to an informative, honest and fruitful discussion about how we in Rhode Island can stand up to the plastics industry, change our plastics consumption and make meaningful contributions to an effort that needs to be worldwide. The status quo of producing and landfilling tens of millions of tons of plastic each year is obviously very unsustainable, and we must find the solutions and the courage to change our ways for the survival of our planet.”
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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