Please support #StopFormosaPlastics by signing this petition!
The Plastic Tides team embark on an expedition down the Mississippi River to oppose the construction of a new plastic plant. To #StopFormosaPlastics, to stop the creation of another plastic factory.
Christian Shaw, from Plastic Tides, has been paddling from the proposed site of the Formosa Plastic Plant in St James Parish between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Another name for this area is Cancer Alley.
Local Communities
Within this area lives majority-black communities, who are suffering from unprecedently levels of air pollution due to a permitting process that is not recognising the cumulative effects of multiple plants in a given area.
Following The Nurdle Trail
To #StopFormosaPlastics Christian is following the nurdles discharged by the plant. Importantly, these nurdles are finding their way out to the Gulf which is 150 miles away. Therefore, Christian will be drawing attention to the plastic pollution component of this expedition.
Clean Water Act
Under the current ‘Clean Water Act’, is allowing facilities to discharge a certain number of pellets. Furthermore, to our amazement, these are almost entirely unmonitored. The monitoring is relying on the facilities themselves to conduct their own release reports. To #StopFormosaPlastics, Christian is monitoring the routes which are already known to be discharging these nurdles. He will be logging his findings as he goes.
The Threat To Nature
The aim of #StopFormosaPlastics is to benefit human health as well as the health of nature. In addition, when the nurdles enter the Guly, they can spread far and wide. Furthermore, they threaten the wildlife in critical wetland habitats around the Delta. Whilst these plastic nurdles travel, they are firstly in contact with chemicals from their processing plant, and also absorbing more chemicals as they go, concentrating the toxins. More importantly, to note, that wildlife is ingesting these toxic nurdles on a regular basis as they mistake them for food. Overall this would accelerate the bioaccumulation in the food chain.
Please support #StopFormosaPlastics by signing this petition!