A half-century of work and investment has brought back the ecosystem of the Buffalo River, a waterway once so fouled that it burst into flames. New York's attorney general says that the river needs to be cleaned up again and that PepsiCo should do it, the Albany Times Union reports. Letitia James announced Wednesday that she's sued the company, arguing that its single-use plastic bottles and food wrappers are still polluting the environment, "contaminating drinking water and harming wildlife." PepsiCo has promised to cut back its use of plastics and packaging that harms the environment; New York's suit says that the reverse has happened and that the company misled the public.
"Our Buffalo community fought for over 50 years to secure hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up toxic pollution, improve habitat, and restore communities around the Buffalo River," Jill Jedlicka of Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper said in a statement, per the AP. "We will not sit idly by as our waterways become polluted." The state wants PepsiCo, which is headquartered in the state, to be required to warn consumers about the health and environmental risks of its packaging for any products it sells in the Buffalo region.
The suit says PepsiCo has been found to be the river's worst traceable plastics polluter. Investigators from the attorney general's office surveyed 13 sites along the river last year, finding 1,916 pieces of plastic trash with an identifiable brand name. The largest share, by far, was from PepsiCo, at more than 17%. Next was McDonald's. The suit says microplastics have been found in fish species that inhabit the Buffalo River and Lake Erie, which the river flows into. The suit also seeks civil penalties and restitution. (More Buffalo stories.)
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