(NewsNation) — New numbers from Data for Progress and the Center for Climate Integrity found that a majority of American voters support legal efforts to hold the plastics industry accountable for pollution and falsehoods.
The survey, which asked 1,231 likely voters about their concern with plastics in the environment, found nonpartisan worry across the board.
All parties have plastic qualms
A majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents all reported being “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about plastic waste in the human body, water, landfills and communities via litter.
And 70% of respondents supported officials in their state taking action against the plastic and fossil fuel industries for their role in plastic pollution — 88% of Democrats fell in this group, while 54% of Republicans and 66% of independents followed suit.
The results show that “regardless of your politics, no one is really OK with a corporation lying to consumers,” CCI investigative researcher Davis Allen told The Guardian.
Earlier this year, research from CCI found that, for more than three decades, plastic producers were aware that recycling was not a feasible waste management solution. That piece of information was then obscured or left out of its marketing campaigns, the center claimed.
That includes the “chasing arrows” symbol, an icon of the reduce, reduce, recycle movement — and not necessarily the foolproof sign that something can be recycled.
The poll explained that the symbol is often put on products that can’t be recycled, which survey participants found overwhelmingly deceptive. A survey total of 62% strongly agreed it was deceptive, consistent among Republicans (57%) and Democrats (64%).
57M tons of plastic pollution made annually
The world creates 57 million tons of plastic pollution every year and spreads it from the deepest oceans to the highest mountaintops to the inside of people’s bodies, according to a new study that also said more than two-thirds of it comes from the Global South.
It’s enough pollution each year — about 52 million metric tons — to fill New York City’s Central Park with plastic waste as high as the Empire State Building, according to researchers at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. They examined waste produced on the local level at more than 50,000 cities and towns across the world for a study in Wednesday’s Nature journal.
The United States ranks 90th in plastic pollution with more than 52,500 tons (47,600 metric tons), and the United Kingdom ranks 135th with nearly 5,100 tons (4,600 metric tons), according to the study.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
