CHAMPIONING THE
ENVIRONMENT

The environment is our most precious resource. Clean water and air are critical to the health and well-being of of our residents. Over the past three years, I was proud to cast my vote for many forward thinking, green policies. The Ct League of Conservation Voters scores legislators on their pro-environment votes and I was pleased to receive a 100% voting record in my first year in office. I am also an active member of the Coastal Caucus, a group of legislators from communities along the shoreline and rivers, who are working together to coordinate our legislative efforts in managing rising seas and the challenges our towns are facing.
To reflect the 21st century needs to reduce waste and litter, we are focused on laws that remove barriers to recycling, encourage better stewardship, increase composting programs and education across the state, and reduce our solid waste consumption. Finally, after years of work, last year we succeeded in revamping the state's beverage container redemption law. One piece of the multifaceted legislation is to grow the list of beverages subject to the bottle bill to include juices, coffee drinks, energy drinks and juice containers. In 2024, the deposit amount will rise to 10 cents, a long overdue change, helping to make redemption centers a more fiscally stable business.
Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) accumulate in our bodies and are linked to many diseases and cancers. And as we saw with the tragic environmental spill at Bradley International Airport, it has impacted our waterways and drinking water systems resulting in cleanup, fish advisories, and monitoring. Thankfully in 2021, we passed a law that prohibits the use of firefighting foam with added PFAS and prohibits the sale of food packaging with PFAS.
In our continuing efforts to increase recycling and hold producers responsible for disposing the products they manufacture, we are focused on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies. In 2022, we are pursuing this method for gas cylinders and for tires. Both create significant issues in the waste stream, are expensive and difficult for municipalities to dispose of correctly. EPR ensures handling, recycling and reclaiming products by the manufacturer and can create jobs.
Another item on my environmental agenda is to ban polystyrene in the State of Connecticut. This has been a focus of mine since my days in college. Polystyrene and styrofoam are petroleum-based chemicals in our food packaging that threatens the health of our children and overall public health. These products commonly used in school meal trays and take out containers, are known to leach the chemicals into our food and drinks. They also do not biodegrade and end up in our waterways as microplastic pollution. The time has finally come for this product here is Connecticut.
Finally, with sky high asthma rates in this state we must do everything we can to reduce air pollution by adopting more stringent truck standards for medium and heavy duty trucks. The transportation sector is responsible for an ever increasing rate of greenhouse gas emissions. In order to meet our state's goals of greenhouse gas emission reductions, we must do more.