The company’s packaging was found to be the most significant contributor to plastic waste clogging the Buffalo River.
Plastic trash produced by the company PepsiCo has become a “persistent and dangerous form of plastic pollution” for residents of the Buffalo River watershed in upstate New York, according to a new lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The suit, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, is one of the first legal challenges from a state against a major plastic producer. It draws on a 2022 investigation from James’ office in which PepsiCo-branded plastic packaging was found to be by far the most significant contributor to plastic waste clogging the Buffalo River and its tributaries. Out of nearly 2,000 pieces of plastic trash collected at 13 sites along the waterways, PepsiCo products — which include brands like Aquafina, Cheetos, Gatorade, and Lay’s — accounted for more than 17 percent of those with identifiable branding.
All that plastic litter is breaking down into tiny fragments — microplastics — that are winding up in Buffalo’s water supply and the fish that people eat. Some of the chemicals contained in microplastics are carcinogenic, and researchers have raised concerns that the particles could cause reproductive dysfunction and other maladies.
“PepsiCo’s irresponsible packaging and marketing endanger Buffalo’s water supply, environment, and public health,” James said in a statement.
Good,
the idea that we can abolish liability of companies by blaming the individual is insane. There will always be people who will be willing to litter, the companies know that, and chose to not act accordingly.
You’re not wrong, but I fantasize about a space laser that targets litterers and people that don’t pick up after their dogs.
Why not target those who make the decisions to use and proliferate the packaging that is the root of the problem? Most things that are recyclable and put into appropriate bins still aren’t recycled.
They can get it too
So the lasers should target conservatives, is what you’re saying?
And people that don’t use their turn signals!
Or who decelerate when merging!
I’ve missed a few dog doo doos from either talking to someone or if they poo further away and it’s magic poop. I get to the spot I SAW them poop at, and it’s fucking gone.
To be fair, I pick up other poops to fill the gap.