New York state sues PepsiCo over plastic pollution in Buffalo River
New York state has sued PepsiCo for allegedly polluting one of its rivers with plastic bottles and wrappers.
The lawsuit accuses the soft drinks company and its Frito-Lay subsidiaries of creating a public nuisance by the mass production of the single-use items, some of which inevitably fall or blow into the Buffalo River when they are discarded.
The legal action alleges PepsiCo has hurt the environment, claiming it is partly responsible for litter that ends up in water supplying the city of Buffalo with drinking water.
The lawsuit was filed in the state’s Supreme Court by attorney general Letitia James who said: “No company is too big to ensure that their products do not damage our environment and public health.
“All New Yorkers have a basic right to clean water, yet PepsiCo’s irresponsible packaging and marketing endanger Buffalo’s water supply, environment, and public health.”
The attorney general’s office noted that a 2022 survey named PepsiCo as the single largest identifiable contributor to plastic waste in the Buffalo River.
It found that of 1,916 pieces of plastic waste containing an identifiable brand, 17.1% were produced by PepsiCo. McDonald’s was a distant second.
The lawsuit links the plastic waste to the prevalence of microplastics, which are pieces less than 5mm in length and could be harmful to human health if ingested.
Ms James, a Democrat, wants PepsiCo to warn customers about the potential health and environmental risks of its packaging.
New York attorney general Letitia James. Pic: AP
The lawsuit also wants the court to force the company to develop a plan to keep its packaging out of the Buffalo River, and seeks financial penalties and restitution.
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PepsiCo, which is headquartered in Westchester County in New York, said in a statement that it was serious about “plastic reduction and effective recycling”.
It did not directly comment on the lawsuit’s claim that it was legally responsible for keeping litter out of the Buffalo River.
Lawyers complained to the European Commission that the firms’ claims that their single-use plastic bottles are either 100% recycled or 100% recyclable bottles aren’t accurate.
Israel has probably broken international law – that’s the conclusion of a US State Department report that is both damning yet cautiously equivocal too.
The report, released late last night, is highly critical of Israel, but will also be seen as intentionally non-committal by its critics.
Eagerly anticipated – it was due on Wednesday – the report was written by the US State Department for the US Congress as part of an audit determining how US-supplied weapons overseas are being used.
It concludes that it is “reasonable to assess” that some of Israel’s actions in Gaza have been “inconsistent with its international humanitarian law obligations”.
That is a significant admission by the US government.
But in a feat of legal and verbal gymnastics, the same report also concludes that Israel has not broken the terms for its use of US weapons.
The report is officially called a National Security Memorandum (NSM).
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NSMs are published periodically to determine whether countries to whom America provides weapons have broken the terms for use of those weapons.
In other words, they determine whether weapons are being used in accordance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
Given the accusations against Israel over Gaza, this report is particularly pertinent.
Remember that a significant proportion of the weapons being used by Israel in Gaza are provided by the US.
The key passages:
• “The nature of the conflict in Gaza makes it difficult to assess or reach conclusive findings on individual incidents. Nevertheless, given Israel’s significant reliance on US-made defence articles [weapons], it is reasonable to assess that defence articles covered under NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since 7 October in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm.”
• “While Israel has the knowledge, experience, and tools to implement best practices for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations, the results on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions as to whether the IDF is using them effectively in all cases.”
• “While the US has had deep concerns during the period since 7 October about action and inaction by Israel that contributed significantly to a lack of sustained and predictable delivery of needed assistance at scale, and the overall level reaching Palestinian civilians – while improved – remains insufficient, we do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance…”
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The question then is how the US government can conclude that Israel had not violated the terms of the weapons transfer agreement, given that it has concluded that it is “reasonable to assess” that some of Israel’s actions in Gaza have been “inconsistent” with international law?
The US government is hiding behind the fog of war, claiming that they have not assessed any specific case where there has been a clear violation of international humanitarian law.
They have repeatedly told us that they have concerns and that they have opened inquiries with the Israeli government, but that not all the information has been provided.
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The incomplete nature of the investigations into their concerns and the lack of any definitive legal conclusion to the incidents, allows the US government to fall short of concluding that the terms of the weapons deal with Israel have been broken.
US officials also argue that an individual incident or violation by itself does not determine a country’s overall compliance with international humanitarian law.
The report also concludes that US does “not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance”.
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That assessment is already out of date given the closure, by Israel, of both the Rafah and Karem Shalom crossings in southern Gaza preventing all aid from crossing into the strip.
Aid agencies had already criticised the delay of the report’s release, with accusations that it was softened to avoid having to conclude that Israel had violated the weapons deal.
With its release, eventually coming at 5pm Washington time on a Friday, the White House was accused of trying to bury unhelpful news; something a spokesperson denied.
Apple has apologised for its new iPad Pro advert where it crushed cameras, books and musical instruments, saying it “missed the mark”.
The advert – shared online by Apple chief executive Tim Cook – also featured creative tools such as a record player and a metronome being crushed in an industrial press.
It was intended to show off the wide range of tools that the thinnest ever iPad can be used for.
But the advert came under fire, with actor Hugh Grant saying it showed the “destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley”.
In a statement, Apple’s vice president of marketing communications Tor Myhren said: “Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world.
“Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”
Songwriter Crispin Hunt called the advert “surprisingly tone-deaf” and said Apple “previously enabled and championed creativity”.
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Adam Singer, from advertising technology company AdQuick, called it the “(unintentional) perfect metaphor for today’s creative dark age”.
“Compress organic instruments, joyful/imperfect machines, tangible art, our entire physical reality into a soulless, postmodern, read-only device a multi-trillion dollar corporation controls what you do with,” he wrote on X.
Sales for iPads dropped 17% for January to March compared to the same period a year ago. The tablets currently account for just 6% of the company’s sales.
Two skiers have been killed during an avalanche in mountains near Salt Lake City.
The men, aged 23 and 32, were swept up in the avalanche in Utah’s Wasatch Range on Thursday morning.
A third skier was rescued and taken to hospital after digging himself out from the snow, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera.
The avalanche followed several days of spring snowstorms in the area.
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Craig Gordon, from the Utah Avalanche Center, said around 2.5ft (76cm) of heavy, wet snow had fallen in the area in the past three days during the snow storms, which he said had also brought very strong winds.
“With spring, avalanche conditions can change in an instant,” Mr Gordon said.
He also described the sight of the avalanche, near Lone Peak, as “very serious” and “steep” terrain.
An ambulance at the scene. Pic: Isaac Hale/The Deseret News via AP
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Lone Peak, is one of the highest peaks in the Wasatch Range, towering over Utah’s capital city.
Its steep, rugged terrain makes it a popular destination for advanced back country skiers and experienced climbers.
The sheriff’s office said the families of the two skiers had been notified of their deaths.
The deaths bring this winter’s tally of avalanche deaths in the US to at least 15 – which is less than the average of about 30 people who are killed by avalanches each year.
In January, one person was killed and another person was injured during an avalanche in Lake Tahoe.
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