For immediate release: December 17, 2019
For more information, contact: Adrienne Esposito, 516-390-7150, aesposito@citizenscampaign.org
Albany, NY—Today Governor Cuomo is proposing to ban StyrofoamTM, as part of his 2020 State of the State proposals. In response to the announcement, Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE), said:
“We applaud Governor Cuomo for proposing to ban this antiquated and environmentally harmfully product in New York State. Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam, commonly referred to as “Styrofoam™”, poses a significant risk to the health of our environment. Styrofoam packaging is only used for a short time, but can wreak havoc on our environment for generations—littering open spaces, polluting waterways, and harming wildlife. Styrofoam doesn’t biodegrade; instead it breaks into small pieces and eventually becomes microplastic pollution in our waterways.
Styrofoam also poses a threat to human health. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program listed styrene, a chemical in EPS foam, is listed as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” It is known to leach from food packaging containers into food or drinks, especially when exposed to heat. When grabbing a cup of coffee on the go, we expect it to contain milk and sugar but not a dose of cancer causing styrene. Takeout food is meant to be convenient, not carcinogenic.
There is absolutely no reason to continue using this harmful material when sustainable alternatives are readily available. NYC, along with several New York Counties, have already taken action to ban Styrofoam. I live in a village that banned Styrofoam in 2018 and the transition to new materials was seamless and widely embraced by the public. Now we need a statewide ban. We urge the legislature to work with the Governor to adopt the strongest ban possible in the 2020-21 SFY budget. “
Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. Make a contribution today.
Victory! Tompkins County, NY Passes Fee on Carryout Paper Bags
The Tompkins County Legislature unanimously passed a local law placing a 5-cent fee on carryout paper bags. CCE staff attended the public hearing and provided testimony to the legislature on the environmental and economic impacts of paper bags. This local law, in conjunction with the statewide ban on plastic bags, is necessary to fully address disposable bag pollution and encourage the public to change their behavior and bring their own bag. Tompkins now joins Albany County and NYC, who passed similar laws earlier this year. We still need more cities and counties to step up and do their part to address single-use bags!
Victory! Long Island Towns Ban Balloon Releases
The Town of Hempstead, the largest town in America, and the Town of North Hempstead, have banned the intentional release of balloons. Suffolk County and Long Beach had previously passed similar laws to prevent plastic pollution, reduce beach litter, and protect wildlife. Now that most of Long Island now has balloon release bans, we have one town left to go. Next up in our fight to prevent balloon pollution – the Town of Oyster Bay (not to mention all of NYS!).
Eighth Annual “Water We Going to Do?” Conference
The Long Island Clean Water Partnership held our annual “Water We Going to Do?” Conference in November. We heard great updates from our federal, state, and local officials, as well as scientific experts, on the threat nitrogen pollution and other threats pose for Long Island’s waters. It was a great opportunity to learn about our water quality improvement campaign’s progress, discuss ongoing clean water projects, and set the stage for what needs to happen in the next year. Thanks to everyone who turned out and made it our best conference yet!
Gearing up for our NYS Water Priorities in 2020
In November, we attended several hearings of the NYS Assembly Minority Water Quality Task Force across New York State to discuss water protection priorities for next year’s legislative session, including funding for clean water infrastructure, a stronger Environmental Protection Fund, protecting NY’s streams and wetlands, establishing drinking water standards for emerging contaminants, banning toxic pesticides, and combating PFAS contamination. Stay tuned for more info on our upcoming 2020 campaigns!
Talking CT’s Environment
Want to hear more about some of our Connecticut campaigns? CCE’s Lou Rosado Burch appeared on WLIS/WMRD radio program “CT Outdoors with Suzanne Thompson” to speak about the state-wide disposable bag law as well as our campaign to keep toxic PFAS out of Connecticut’s water. You can check out the interview here.
Examining NYS Cancer Clusters
The New York State Health Department identified several communities across NYS, including Centereach, Farmingville, and Selden in Suffolk County, which have higher rates of leukemia, bladder, lung, and thyroid cancers then average. After a year-long investigation into the cause of these cancer rates, the health department failed to thoroughly investigate possible environmental exposures in air and water quality issues. In November, we attended a public meeting where the health department released their findings and we were outraged to hear about the state’s lack of serious investigation into this public health crisis in our communities.
Upcoming Event: Suffolk County, NY: Change Out Your Septic System
We’re continuing our series of forums in 2019 and 2020 highlighting the importance of reducing nitrogen pollution from outdated septics and cesspools and helping Suffolk County residents get grants to change out their old systems for new, on-site, nitrogen-reducing treatment systems. Our next forum is on December 16 at 7pm at the Setauket Neighborhood House.
At a Stop & Shop on New Park Avenue in Hartford on a recent Tuesday morning, Althea Lockhart, 62, carried her groceries out of the store in a reusable bag.
“I have about 50 of them," she said.
That may be the simple and somewhat unexpected result of Connecticut’s 10-cent fee on single-use plastic bags, which was expected to raise $27.7 million in revenue this fiscal year.
MELVILLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — In a little over a year from now, cleaning products containing the contaminant 1,4-dioxane can no longer be sold New York.
The chemical has been found in drinking water wells and is considered a likely carcinogen, CBS2’s Carolyn Gusoff reported Tuesday.
On Monday, environmentalists around the state effusively praised Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for signing a bill that bans the likely carcinogen 1,4-dioxane in cleaning products, personal care products and cosmetics.
On Tuesday, environmentalists rallied in the State Capitol to demand that Cuomo approve a spate of other green bills that await his signature.
Welcome to what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, Albany-style.
Household cleaning products with the chemical 1,4-dioxane will no longer be sold in the State of New York under a bill signed Monday by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
The ban, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2022, also covers some cosmetic and personal care products with specific levels of the chemical, which has been found across Long Island in drinking water wells.
A crowd of more than 1,200 business, community and government leaders are expected to attend the annual Smart Growth Summit to be held Friday at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.
The all-day event will have 20 workshops featuring more than 130 speakers topics related to downtown revitalization and infrastructure investment on Long Island. Over 50 different Main Street redevelopment and wastewater, energy and transportation projects will be covered throughout the day, according to a statement from event organizer Vision Long Island.
SOURCE:
Join us to learn the facts on why and how you can change out your old septic or cesspool system and be eligible for a $20,000-$30,000 in grant funding! Citizens Campaign for the Environment has teamed up with Suffolk County to present "Out with the Old, In with the New" Suffolk Septic Change Out program forum. The forum will focus on how septic and cesspools are causing degradation to our rivers, bays, lakes and estuaries. We will highlight new available technologies, Suffolk County’s homeowner grant program, and experts will be available to answer your questions. More information on the program can be found at Reclaimourwater.info
Who:
Introduction by Suffolk Legislators Susan Berland and Tom Donnelly
Presentations by Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment; and Justin Jobin, Environmental Projects Coordinator, Suffolk County Department of Health Services.
* Septic Installers will have their products on display and be able to answer specific questions
It wasn’t long ago that officials from the Greenwich Health Dept and State Health Depts answered questions about potential well water contamination in northwest Greenwich.
At the time a chemical called Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) had been determined to have contaminated well water in the King Street area, near the airport.
Ten wells were tested and one well was found to have PFAS at a level of 70 parts per trillion.
Fast forward a year. On Wednesday, Dec 4 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm there will be a free screening of the environmental film The Devil We Know at the Wall Street Theater in Norwalk.
From Democracy for CT: Democracy for Connecticut and the Connecticut Citizen Action Group with support from Clean Water Action, the Norwalk River Watershed Association, the Wilton Quaker Meeting, Members of the Fairfield County Collaborative and the Wall Street Theater are proud to present a free screening of the environmental film The Devil We Know on Wednesday evening December 4th , 2019 from 7pm to 9pm at the Wall Street Theater in Norwalk.
People will flock to stores this weekend for Black Friday deals, but a research group wants to warn parents of some dangerous toys.
The New York Public Interest Research Group recently released its 2019 Trouble in Toyland report.
The group highlights toys that could pose hazards to children and should be avoided as gifts this holiday season.
