No, the Pandemic Isn't an Excuse to Go Back to Single-Use Plastics

By Judith Enck | 4/22/20 | Newsweek

Because of coronavirus, events planned for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day were cancelled, or moved online. At least while lockdown orders last, the pandemic is transforming behavior and environmental impacts—but not across the board. Some industries are cynically exploiting it to push for rollbacks and greater license to pollute.

The plastics industry is a case in point. It's intertwined with the fossil fuel industry, since petrochemical byproducts of fossil fuel production are the feedstocks for plastics. As demand for fracked gas declines, the two industries have been working to channel overproduction into producing more plastic, and they're playing the angles to stoke demand. Read more >>