In Opposition
Special Exemptions For Melting Plastics Industry (H.3753 and S.525)
WREN is committed to ensuring that all communities live in safe, healthy environments with the resources necessary to thrive because health does not begin and end at care and coverage. Good health and the decision of when or how to parent are intrinsically tied to other conditions, including access to safe drinking water, adequate housing, education, safe working conditions, and living free from violence. H.3753 and S.525 puts health and safety of communities at risk by removing the State’s authority to regulate pollution caused by plastic trash facilities.
Update from CVSC and Conservation Coalition on S.525:
“Last week (1/24/22 – 1/28/22), legislators came to an agreement on the final version of the Pyrolysis bill (S.525) – a bill that exempts the pyrolysis/advanced recycling industry from solid waste regulations in South Carolina. While CVSC opposed this legislation and saw it as dangerous and unnecessary, we were instrumental in amending the bill to include critical and precedent-setting guardrails that will protect South Carolina’s taxpayers and most vulnerable communities.
The amendments to the bill are the first time that the South Carolina legislature has provided DHEC the ability to review the compliance history of an applicant when granting permits and the first time the legislature has required bonding for a new and unproven type of industry. You can read more about it here and here.
We understand that while improvements in the pyrolysis bill set important precedent, they are not as bold as we had hoped. Therefore, our work to hold polluters accountable for their impacts to the environment and taxpayers does not end here. We must remain vigilant to ensure polluters are held accountable to the highest safety, environmental, and public health standards. This is the most direct way to ensure taxpayers aren’t footing the bill for massive cleanups and that the most vulnerable communities don’t continue to be put in harm’s way.”
A new technology known as Pyrolysis wants special treatment to melt plastic waste in South Carolina. Current law already allows this industry to operate in South Carolina, but big plastic and chemical companies are lobbying your state legislators for special treatment that puts the health and safety of children and families at risk. By removing plastics from the definition of solid waste, that would remove the State’s authority to regulate health and safety from pollution caused by these facilities.
The House Bill (H.3753) goes a step further and also includes an extra provision that will allow industry to burn nearly 10 times the amount of trash than is currently allowed by law. This would mean out-of-state waste gets burned in South Carolina, bringing more pollution and more health impacts to our communities.
Take Action
Send a message to your Lawmakers today to stop these bad pieces of legislation. We don't want pyrolysis to operate outside the law. And we don’t want out of state trash burned in SC. Not now, not ever!
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