As part of their continued efforts to protect children from the harmful effects of air pollution and climate change, Moms Clean Air Force created an anti advanced recycling awareness campaign. With the goal of debunking common myths promoted by lobbyists in the American Chemistry Council, Moms Clean Air Force created a one-of-a-kind resource along with other digital assets that exposes the harsh reality of chemical recycling in a format that is digestible for non-scientists.
In essence, advanced recycling is simply the burning of plastic that causes hazardous wastes, heavily contaminated oils, and toxic air pollution. In an effort to deregulate facilities that burn plastic waste, plastic industry lobbyists are advocating for changes in the Clean Air Act that are most beneficial for corporations and not American communities, especially communities of color. Moms Clean Air Force’s anti- advanced recycling campaign also notes the billions of dollars in tax subsidies supported by the American taxpayers and the injustice of advanced recycling on the future of human health.
By capitalizing on Earth Day’s 2024 theme, Planet vs. Plastics, Moms Clean Air Force created a multi-pronged campaign that addresses the reality of advanced recycling. The campaign, known as, What the Plastics Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know: The Deadly Lies About Advanced Recycling, shares insights and proposed legislation by the American Chemistry Council, a plastics industry lobbying group in addition to fact sheets and resources for parents and advocates.
By informing the public about the threat of reclassifying plastics incineration and its impact on protections like the Clean Air Act, Moms Clean Air Force called for constituents all over the country to petition to prevent greenwashing and ban burning plastic.
Moms Clean Air Force was successful in running this campaign to generate awareness around advanced recycling, reaching approximately 185K users within Arizona, Pennsylvania, Colorado, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon and D.C. The campaign served just over 730K video impressions, approximately 144K of which were viewed to completion over the two week campaign flight. The resources created in tandem with the video were also distributed to hundreds of lawmakers and presented in 1:1 meetings with over 30 elected officials around the country.