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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | August 13, 2024 01:45 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Maureen E. Madden and Rep. Tarik Khan, Rep. Mandy Steele, Rep. Greg Scott |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Safeguarding Pennsylvania’s Consumers and Fishing Industry from Harmful Microplastics |
| Each year, Pennsylvanians briefly use nearly five billion single-use plastic bags and then toss them away. As Penn Environment points out, there is no such thing as “away.” Those bags end up in landfills and, all too frequently, as litter in roadways, parks, rivers, and waterways. When plastic bags and other single-use plastic items break down, they become microplastics. Fish often mistake these plastic particles for food, and microplastics are increasingly being found in our seafood. In fact, studies show that 100% of samples from Pennsylvania waterways tested positive for microplastics, and 100% of fish caught and sampled in the Schuylkill River tested positive for microplastics. This poses an existential threat to the angling industry in Pennsylvania, which contributes over $1.5 billion annually to our commonwealth’s economic output. Microplastic exposure can cause significant mortality and morbidity, including cardiovascular events like heart attack, stroke, and blood clots, and has been linked with infertility, memory loss, and cancer. Research also indicates that microplastics can cross the blood-brain barrier and is linked to memory loss, depression, and Alzheimer’s. Our legislation would follow the lead of a dozen states (including New Jersey, Delaware, and New York) and over 500 cities across the US by prohibiting the Use of Single-Use Plastic Bags. Interventions like plastic bag bans decrease the number of bags found in the environment by over one-third. The right to pure water and the natural values of the environment are enshrined in the Pennsylvania constitution. Please join us in this simple but important intervention to safeguard our waterways and protect Pennsylvanians from the harmful effects of microplastic consumption. |
Introduced as HB2624
Memo Updated: August 13, 2024 01:46 PM