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The Minnesota legislative special session is concluded - and we're happy to announce several victories!

First and foremost: Minnesota will now join a number of other states in banning PFAS in food packaging starting in 2024! PFAS are “forever chemicals” that do not break down in the environment and carry with them health risks like cancer and decreased immune response when people are exposed. We have been working to address the many sources of PFAS contamination and to our environment once PFAS containing packaging is thrown away. We appreciate the work of the original bill sponsors Rep. Ami

Our members are familiar with many of the aspects of Clean Water Action advocacy: promoting legislation, endorsing candidates, field and phone canvassing, educational outreach.

Several of our state offices also do direct engagement with the business community to promote best practices on issues like chemical policy and waste management. Our New England offices (Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts) have been working for over a year with management at CVS Health on developing a safer chemical policy.

The Mind the Store program had been talking with CVS on this subject for a few years

On March 31st this year, Clean Water Action and the Coalition for a Safe and Healthy CT, an advocacy group that aims to protect our children from toxic chemicals, held a press event to voice concerns over the use of recycled tire rubber as a ground cover in playgrounds and urge passing of the bill to ban its use. I saw firsthand the world in which the Coalition works and learned a few things about the legislative process, the science, and the impact of simply showing up to relay my concern. Here are three things I realized: