Merkley, Huffman, Lawmakers to EPA: Don’t Sacrifice Our Communities for Chemical Recyclers

Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, led a bicameral group of 50 lawmakers to sound the alarm over a review by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that paves the way to eliminate Clean Air Act protections for chemical recycling processes.

"We urge EPA to maintain its longstanding position that pyrolysis/combustion units are subject to regulation under Section 129 of the Clean Air Act and must meet EPA's existing incinerator standards. Removing pyrolysis/combustion units from this definition would effectively remove the only federal baseline for hazardous air pollution resulting from pyrolysis," wrote the Senate and House lawmakers to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

Their letter highlights the extreme public health and environmental risks of burning plastics, resulting in highly toxic chemicals linked to cancer, nervous system damage, and infertility. The lawmakers also stressed that this has the potential to worsen air pollution in frontline communities across the country, disproportionately harming minority and low-income populations that are too often next to these plastic-burning facilities.

"We ask that EPA continue to regulate pyrolysis/combustion units as municipal waste combustion units, and urge the agency to prioritize solutions that reduce our reliance on single-use plastic and move us towards a circular economy through source reduction interventions and improved mechanical recycling to reduce plastic waste," they emphasized. "Technologies that worsen the climate crisis, perpetuate a reliance on single-use plastics, and adversely impact vulnerable communities cannot be viewed as viable solutions moving forward."

Merkley and Huffman have been longtime leaders on Capitol Hill fighting to take on our plastic pollution crisis. Previously, Merkley led his Senate colleagues in urging the EPA to use its existing authorities to address the full lifecycle of plastic pollution. As former Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) subcommittee overseeing environmental justice, chemical safety, and waste management, Merkley teamed up with Huffman to introduce the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act-the most comprehensive plan ever introduced in Congress to address the harms of plastic pollution on our air, water, and soil.

In addition to Merkley and Huffman, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), and U.S. Representatives Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Sean Casten (IL-06), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Frederica Wilson (FL-24), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Don Beyer (VA-08), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Emily Randall (WA-06), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Adam Smith (WA-09), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Chuy García (IL-04), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Dina Titus (NV-01), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Luz Rivas (CA-29), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Grace Meng (NY-06), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07).

Full text of the letter can be found by clicking here and follows below:

Dear Administrator Zeldin,

We are writing to object to any attempt by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to remove pyrolysis/combustion units from the definition of "municipal waste combustion units" under Section 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). We strongly oppose any efforts to exempt these units or weaken the current definition.

The EPA is currently reviewing whether pyrolysis/combustion units should continue being regulated under Section 129 through the Other Solid Waste Incinerator (OSWI) New Source Performance Standards and Emission Guidelines. Pyrolysis/combustion units convert plastic waste into pyrolysis oil for fuels, chemicals, and low yields of new plastics, a process which has been referred to as "chemically recycling" of plastic waste. The EPA has been clear that it is not possible to achieve an oxygen free environment in paralytic systems and so these processes involve oxidization. During these processes, chemical recycling facilities emit highly toxic chemicals, including benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylenes, as well as those subject to Section 129 regulations, such as mercury, hydrogen chloride and dioxins. Many of these chemicals have been linked to adverse health impacts, including cancer, nervous system damage, and negative effects on reproduction and development. Changes in how these pyrolysis/combustion units are regulated could have significant impacts on local air emissions in the communities where they are located, causing disproportionate environmental and health impacts on minority and low-income populations.

We urge EPA to maintain its longstanding position that pyrolysis/combustion units are subject to regulation under Section 129 of the Clean Air Act and must meet EPA's existing incinerator standards. Removing pyrolysis/combustion units from this definition would effectively remove the only federal baseline for hazardous air pollution resulting from pyrolysis.

We are additionally concerned that EPA appears to be weakening regulation of pyrolysis/combustion units outside the ordinary course of notice-and-comment rulemaking. We urge EPA to ensure that any changes to the definition of "municipal waste combustion unit" follows a full and transparent rulemaking process, including a concrete proposed rule with adequate public comment opportunity.

We ask that EPA continue to regulate pyrolysis/combustion units as municipal waste combustion units, and urge the agency to prioritize solutions that reduce our reliance on single-use plastic and move us towards a circular economy through source reduction interventions and improved mechanical recycling to reduce plastic waste. Technologies that worsen the climate crisis, perpetuate a reliance on single-use plastics, and adversely impact vulnerable communities cannot be viewed as viable solutions moving forward.

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