Subject: BFFP Newsletter: NEW Toxic Tours platform featuring frontline communities, Waste picker organising in Africa, The new fight against Ineos ...and more!
#breakfreefromplastic Toxic Tours is a community-led storytelling and mapping experience that brings together more than a dozen frontline communities
Images: (Top) On one of the Toxic Tours, participants learn that polluting industries in Eloor, Kochi, India, have dumped toxic chemicals into the drinking water, the river, and the air. (Bottom) An impacted resident of Eloor shows how fishing is no longer a viable livelihood due to the toxic pollution.
#breakfreefromplastic Toxic Tours: Frontline communities around the world expose the local impacts of plastic production
#breakfreefromplastic Toxic Tours is a community-led storytelling and mapping experience that brings together more than a dozen frontline communities on every continent to share about the harms caused by plastic production. The Tours elevate local voices and ensure that community fights are amplified.
In one Toxic Tour video, Salimkumar from Kadamkudy Karikaduthuruthu explains how polluting industries have damaged the ecosystem in Eloor, Kochi, India, and threatened his livelihood as a fisherman: “We have been fishing here for years, and we used to catch species like catfish, Asian sea bass, goby, etc. Since these companies came in, we have not caught any fish.”
Explore the interactive website to watch videos and hear stories from Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Scotland, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United States.
Waste pickers from South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Morocco and Zambia have demonstrated the common need for official recognition from national and municipal governments, better working conditions, PPE, improved payment for their recovered materials and collection and processing service, as well as an end to social stigmatisation.
A new case study from GAIA shows how forming alliances will allow their voices to be heard in negotiations with governments and demonstrate their value to society.
Image credit: Screenshot from The Story of Plastic Animated Short, 2021
“The Story of Plastic” Animated Short Available in Asian Languages
The Emmy-award winning documentary "The Story of Plastic" is now available as an animated short film, making it easier to share about how plastic is produced and how it pollutes the environment!
The animated short is dubbed in Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai and Vietnamese. The videos are produced and translated by Break Free From Plastic members Trash Hero World and Green Vientiane, in collaboration with The Story of Stuff Project.
#breakfreefromplastic Europe members begin new fight against Ineos
Ineos is facing another legal challenge against Project One: the proposed petrochemical plant in Antwerp, Belgium. ClientEarth, together with
13 other NGOs, has launched a new appeal against the development of this plastics plant on the basis that Ineos' Environmental Impact Assessment does not meet legal requirements.
Image credit: Toxic-Free Future and Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families
Toxic PFAS chemicals found in most stain- and water-resistant products
A new study by #breakfreefromplastic member Toxic-Free Future found that 72% of products labeled “stain-resistant” or “water-resistant” contained PFAS—the abbreviation for a group of manufactured toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, harm to the immune system, and other serious health concerns. All 10 retailers where these items were purchased sell products containing PFAS.
We're joining the call for REI to be a leader in the outdoor apparel industry and only sell products that do not contain PFAS. Will you add your voice?
New study on the impacts and responsibilities of plastic waste
Instituto Pólis (Polis Institute) in Brazil has published a new study about plastic waste, specifically focusing on those materials that arrive at the waste pickers cooperatives through selective collection, but cannot be recycled and have their final destination in landfills.
Through gravimetric analysis, brand audits, and packaging analysis, the study seeks to establish greater responsibilities over the generation of plastic waste in Brazil.
