DEERFIELD — State Senator Julie Morrison championed a new law strengthening prevention requirements against plastic pellet runoff to secure clean and healthy waterways for Illinois.
“Industrial plastic runoff continues to pollute our waterways ─ harming aquatic life, water quality and beach health across the Great Lakes,” said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “Providing regulations that secure a thriving environment, free from pollution, is imperative.”
To preserve the environment and ensure thriving, healthy waterways for Illinois, the law requires the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to develop and implement stormwater pollution prevention requirements regarding plastic pellet runoff from industrial facilities regulated under federal EPA standards.
Plastic pellets are a major source of microplastics, which have been discovered in bodies of water and beaches across the globe and have showed up in the digestive tracts of aquatic animals and birds, potentially affecting human health more broadly.
According to a study conducted by the Rochester Institute of Technology, roughly 10 million pounds of plastic pollution enter Lake Michigan alone each year ─ equivalent to 100 Olympic-sized pools full of plastic bottles.
“I am excited for this new law to make a positive impact on the health of our waterways – especially from continued contributors like industrial facilities,” said Morrison.
House Bill 4418 was signed into law Friday and takes effect on Jan. 1.
