March 19, 2020
This past January, the Independent Fiscal Office began soliciting comments regarding the economic impact of any regulation of "single-use plastics, reusable plastics, auxiliary containers, wrappings or polystyrene containers."
In response, volunteers of the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter drafted a comment letter compiling research and facts regarding the costs of the economic impacts of single-use plastics in our lives. Topics include landfill capacity, highway cleanup costs, challenges with recycling, industrial pollution, and other issues.
The comment letter also outlines the Commonwealth's responsibility to the people of Pennsylvania in regards to its obligations under the Environmental Rights Amendment, an obligation shared by all state and local entities in Pennsylvania. Specifically, the Independent Fiscal Office must take seriously the mandates of Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, and ensure that the Commonwealth “consider in advance of proceeding the environmental effect of any proposed action on the constitutionally protected features.
If you would like to submit your own comment to the IFO, you can do so by emailing them directly (contact@ifo.state.pa.us) by March 31st. If you would like to be involved in future plastics-related efforts, please email us here.
Thank you to the many people that contributed to this draft, including Carol Armstrong, Lana Gulden, Caroline Brady, Jim Wylie, and Tom Au.