Plastics Pollution: Week of Action!

Activists, Communities Demand Accountability for Plastic Manufacturers’ Role in Global Pollution Crisis

As U.N. negotiators pursue a binding global treaty to tackle plastic pollution, a week of direct action will call for justice for the victims of Formosa Plastics and other polluters

(PRESS RELEASE) As plastic pollution pushes communities and ecosystems to the brink, communities harmed by plastics production are escalating their demands to hold plastic manufacturers and banks accountable. During the first week of December, activists and communities will gather for direct actions in Texas, New Jersey and Illinois to demand accountability for Formosa Plastics Group, the industry’s worst corporate actor. Protests will call for U.N. negotiators in Seoul to specifically target plastic manufacturers through negotiations set to conclude in December. Activists will also urge President Biden to issue a moratorium on petrochemical development before leaving office, to protect the prospect of a livable environment before Donald Trump’s second presidency begins. In September, six activists were arrested while protesting at Formosa Plastics’ headquarters in New Jersey. Four of them are now on trial. The week of action will demand justice for the “Formosa Four” and all other activists who have taken necessary action where the legal system has failed to protect people from pollution.

ACTION DETAILS

In Texas, where Formosa illegally discharged thousands of plastic pellets and other pollutants into Lavaca Bay and continues to violate a first-of-its-kind “zero discharge” court order:

• December 1 at 9am CT in Houston: Members of Texas’ Vietnamese-American community will hold a rally seeking justice for the victims of the 2016 Marine Disaster caused by Formosa Plastics facilities in Vietnam. The rally, organized by Justice for Formosa Victims, will highlight the corporation’s human rights violations around the world.
  • Location: 11360 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77072
• December 2 at 1pm CT in Point Comfort: Texas ranchers and fishermen harmed by Formosa Plastics’ plastic pollution will join a protest with former Formosa Plastics workers, activists and community members outside Formosa Plastics’ facilities.
  • Location: 201 Formosa Dr, Point Comfort, TX 77978, Gate 3
• December 4 at 6pm CT in Houston: Environment Texas will host a screening of “Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics.” Following the film, there will be a panel discussion featuring experts and activists, including Diane Wilson, a fourth-generation fisherman and winner of the Goldman environmental prize for her work documenting Formosa’s environmental abuses.
  • Location: Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston: MATCH, 3400 Main St, Houston, TX 77002
  • Click here to register for the event.
• December 5 at 1pm CT in Austin: Activists and allies with Texas Campaign for the Environment will meet at the Chase Bank branch to share information about the bank’s financing of Formosa Plastics’ plastic pollution, and urge the bank to divest from plastics manufacturing.
  • Location: 221 W 6th St Austin TX 78701