Water Sector News
A snapshot of clean water stories from publications around the country, updated daily!
PFAS are roadblocks on the path to ‘zero waste’
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals with a devastating fusion of longevity and toxicity, highlight the hole at the center of the “chasing arrows” recycling symbol. Discussions of a zero-waste or circular economy often fail to account for the ‘forever chemicals’ that fall in rain, taint waters and soils, and infiltrate bodies.
A world of dwindling resources demands that we move toward systems of resource recovery and reuse that require fewer materials and generate minimal waste. States like Maine and Oregon, with pioneering extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws, are pushing essential change in how we design, manufacture and reuse material goods.
But PFAS are an omnipresent reminder that we must also rethink what goes into those goods.