Fires at Plastic Recycling Facilities

The "Circular Economy of Plastics" is promoted as good for the environment and society to greenwash the sales of single use plastics. The truth is that it is a toxic hoax causing real harm to people, species, and ecosystems. 

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Science and fire event facts prove that recycling plastic is dangerous and toxic to workers, firefighters, and communities.  Plastic is highly flammable and plastic waste collecting, sorting, and reprocessing operations are often poorly run with inadequate environmental, health, safety and worker age and wage protections. Read more about flammability of plastics and health impacts here. 

 

Plastics sorting and reprocessing operations are often sited in low-income areas, violating environmental justice for neighboring communities. 

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We're tracking fires at plastics sorting and reprocessing facilities around the world since 2019. Click on the map below or access the Google Map directly here. Read the news reports that detail worker deaths, injuries to firefigthers, and toxic air emissions that require communities to evacuate there homes or shelter-in place. 

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Then ask yourself:

Would you want a plastics recycling facility in your community?

Is it ethical to force plastic recycling into poor communities?