Who Pays for Plastic? Inside the Law Quietly Shifting the Bill to Producers
How To Protect The OceanShow Notes
For decades, the honest answer to "who pays to deal with plastic packaging once it leaves the shelf" was taxpayers, quietly, through municipal budgets that funded garbage trucks and recycling plants running at a loss, whether or not the packaging actually got recycled. That's the system extended producer responsibility (EPR) is built to replace: a legal requirement that the companies making and selling packaging fund what happens to it after a customer buys the product, not the city that collects it afterward. Seven US states have now passed packaging EPR laws. Oregon has been charging producer fees since July 2025, Colorado's fees started in January 2026, and California, Maine, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington are all phasing in requirements through 2030. California's SB 54 is the biggest and most closely watched of these laws, and it's a useful case study for how the system actually works underneath the headline. Producers pay eco-modulated fees that scale with how toxic or hard-to-recycle their packaging is, which is the built-in incentive to redesign packaging in the first place. Starting in 2027, the law is expected to generate roughly $500 million a year for a decade for a plastic pollution mitigation fund, with 60% of that earmarked for the communities most directly affected by plastic pollution. Almost as soon as California finalized its rules, the law got sued from two completely opposite directions: environmental groups arguing the regulations are too weak, and a coalition of states plus a wholesaler trade group arguing the law goes too far and violates the US Constitution. Neither suit has stopped the law so far, though a nearly identical fight in Oregon just produced a real answer: a federal court upheld Oregon's law against the same kind of constitutional challenge in August 2026. The same fight is quietly playing out here in Canada, on two tracks. Canada's federal single-use plastics ban survived a legal rollercoaster, struck down by a federal court in late 2023, kept in effect on appeal the whole time, then upheld by the Federal Court of Appeal in January 2026. But the bigger, more direct parallel to what's happening in California is provincial: British Columbia has run a producer-funded packaging program since 2014, and Ontario just completed its own full transition on January 1, 2026, a shift the province says is already saving municipalities more than $200 million. Andrew closes out the week's plastics and microfiber arc by asking the question underneath every other episode: who actually pays, and is the answer finally starting to change for the better. Takeaways: Extended producer responsibility (EPR) shifts the cost of dealing with packaging waste from taxpayers and municipal budgets to the companies that make and sell the packaging, paid up front rather than absorbed quietly later. Seven US states have passed packaging EPR laws (Maine, Oregon, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Maryland, Washington), with Oregon and Colorado already collecting producer fees. California's SB 54 is being sued from two opposite directions at once: environmental groups say the final regulations are too weak, while a coalition of states and a wholesaler trade group say the law itself is unconstitutional. A near-identical constitutional challenge in Oregon was already resolved: a federal court upheld Oregon's EPR law in full in August 2026, a signal for how the California lawsuits might eventually land. Ontario completed its own full transition to producer-funded recycling on January 1, 2026, which the province says is saving municipalities more than $200 million, though whether that savings is reaching taxpayers directly is still an open question. Canada's federal single-use plastics ban survived a multi-year legal fight, struck down by a federal court in 2023 and upheld on appeal in January 2026, with a possible further appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada still pending. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.sp
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You bought the fish with the green check mark. Investigators with The Outlaw Ocean Project then checked the supply chains behind hundreds of seafood companies making sustainability claims, and more than half had a documented crime or concern somewhere upstream. In the final episode of our fish feed series, Andrew Lewin looks at what sustainable seafood labels cover and where their audits stop. Follow fishmeal from Western Sahara to ASC-certified sea bass farms in Türkiye that supply UK supermarkets, and from the Golden Lead plant in Gunjur, The Gambia, to a certified shrimp feed mill in Vietnam whose customers ship to Canadian freezer aisles. Most certification audits focus on the farm, which means the origins of the feed often rest on paperwork. Andrew also explains why crew interviews at sea rarely happen in the conditions that would let workers speak freely. Then hear what happened in 2023, when investigators published trade records linking Uyghur forced labour to seafood sold in North America and Europe. Companies cut ties with named suppliers within a day. Visibility changed behaviour, and that is where you come in: one email to your grocery chain asking whether its seafood policy covers fish feed adds to the pressure that rewrites next year's supply chain report. Takeaways Seafood certification audits mostly focus on the farm and sometimes the processor, so fishmeal sources further upstream often go unexamined Fishmeal linked to Western Sahara and to a polluting plant in The Gambia has been traced toward certified feed mills and farms supplying major retailers Seafood Watch ratings cover environmental impact; labour risk sits in a separate business tool In 2023, seafood buyers cut ties with suppliers within a day once evidence of forced labour was public Canada (S-211), the UK (modern slavery statements) and Australia require large companies to report on forced labour in supply chains One email asking "Does your seafood policy cover fish feed?" is a simple, effective action Links and Important Notes: Food for Feed investigation (The Outlaw Ocean Project): https://foodforfeed.theoutlawocean.com/ The main hub for the series you built this week around. Bait to Plate tool: https://baittoplate.theoutlawocean.com/ This lets listeners trace companies themselves, which fits the episode's "you can see the chain" message. Canada: S-211 report catalogue (Public Safety Canada): https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/lbrr/ctlg/rslts-en.aspx?l=7 The government library catalogue holds filed reports under the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, so Canadian listeners can search their grocer directly. UK: Modern Slavery Statement Registry (GOV.UK): https://modern-slavery-statement-registry.service.gov.uk/ The government registry lets you search statements with filters. One caveat worth knowing: submission is still voluntary, and not every organisation has added its statement yet, so UK listeners may need to check the company's own website. Dr. Judy Mann-Lang / MPA Day: tease next week's episode with a link once it's live.
In a single day in March 2024, Gambian navy officers arrested eight industrial trawlers. Seven were fishing in waters reserved for local canoes, four were using illegal nets, and every one had switched off its tracking beacon. That one patrol shows a problem playing out across the global ocean. About three in four industrial fishing vessels are not publicly tracked, and many of the boats supplying the fishmeal that feeds farmed fish are among the hardest to see. In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean, Andrew Lewin follows the boats that catch the fish behind fish feed. He covers how vessels go dark, repaint and reflag, and how transshipment lets them stay at sea for months. He looks at fishmeal-linked boats working inside marine protected areas and the crew members who pay the price when help is weeks away. He also tells the story of Viktor Boshko, a deckhand who spent nearly two weeks at sea with a crushed arm before reaching a hospital. The episode also covers what's working. The Gambia partnered with Sea Shepherd to put armed patrols at sea. Indonesia became the first country to publish its fleet's tracking data on a free public map. Satellite radar now detects boats with their beacons off, and port controls are closing doors on illegal catch. Andrew ends with a simple action you can take tonight from your phone. Takeaways About 75% of the world's industrial fishing vessels are not publicly tracked, according to a 2024 Nature study. Fewer than 30% of the 2,400+ ships tied to fishmeal production have public location data, and fewer than 10% are in the UN's global vessel record. Without a permanent ID, a boat caught fishing illegally can repaint, rename and reflag, then return to fishing. Transshipment lets fishing boats offload at sea and stay out for months, out of reach of inspectors and medical help. Public tracking data, satellite radar and port controls are making it harder for dark vessels to hide. You can explore the Global Fishing Watch map for free and see who is fishing near your coast. Links shared in the episode: Global Fishing Watch map: https://globalfishingwatch.org/map Supporting links Outlaw Ocean Project, Food for Feed findings. This is the source for the fishmeal fleet stats: the 2,400 ships, the under 30% / 25% / 10% figures, the 70+ ships in MPAs, and the 50 crew deaths and injuries. https://foodforfeed.theoutlawocean.com/findings Bait to Plate. Their free tool traces fishmeal from vessel to plant to retailer. It ties in well with yesterday's "email your favourite company" action. https://baittoplate.theoutlawocean.com Outlaw Ocean, The Gambia story. This covers the 2019 patrol, the blank logbooks and the crew sleeping on the wheelhouse roof. https://foodforfeed.theoutlawocean.com/reporting/the-gambia Outlaw Ocean, Russia story. This covers Viktor Boshko and the Kalinovka. https://foodforfeed.theoutlawocean.com/reporting/russia Sea Shepherd Global. This is their report on the March 2024 arrest of eight trawlers. https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/latest-news/eight-trawlers-arrested-gambia ESA summary of the 2024 Nature study. This explains the 75% untracked finding. https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1/Sentinel-1_and_AI_reveal_75_of_fishing_vessels_not_tracked Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca
On a May morning in 2017, the people of Gunjur in The Gambia woke to find their lagoon had turned red, with dead fish on the surface. Investigators traced the pollution to a fishmeal plant up the road. In this episode, Andrew Lewin follows the feed from West African beaches to farmed salmon fillets in Europe and North America, building on The Outlaw Ocean Project's five-year investigation into the fishmeal industry. Small, oily fish like sardinella and bonga are everyday protein in Senegal and The Gambia. Fishmeal plants buy them in unlimited volumes, outbid the women who have smoked and sold fish on the beach for generations, and ship the oil north to feed salmon. Andrew walks through what that means for families who struggle to put three meals on the table, for communities living beside the plants, and for fishers who risk the Atlantic crossing to the Canary Islands when the fish run out. Communities are fighting back. Abéné in southern Senegal got its plant suspended within three months of opening, and major salmon feed buyers say they have stopped sourcing from the region. Andrew closes with one action that takes two minutes: email the brand behind the farmed salmon or shrimp you buy and ask where its feed comes from. Takeaways Fishmeal and fish oil link West African food security to farmed salmon sold around the world Fishmeal plants outbid local women processors, driving up fish prices and pushing them out of work Plant wastewater and stench affect millions of people who live nearby Collapsing fish stocks are one of several factors pushing people onto the deadly Atlantic route to the Canary Islands Abéné, Senegal, used protests, petitions and a community vote to suspend a plant within three months Mowi and Skretting say they stopped sourcing West African fish oil in 2023 One email asking your seafood brand whether its feed contains West African fishmeal or fish oil adds pressure for change Links: The Outlaw Ocean Project (main site): https://theoutlawocean.com/ Food for Feed investigation (fishmeal series): https://foodforfeed.theoutlawocean.com/ Gambia reporting: https://foodforfeed.theoutlawocean.com/reporting/gambia Mauritania reporting: https://foodforfeed.theoutlawocean.com/reporting/mauritania Outlaw Ocean Substack: https://theoutlawocean.substack.com/ Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca
The family behind the world's largest salmon farming company built a global industry. Now one of its members is asking how it can be sustainable to grind up fish from poorer countries, ship them across the world, and feed them to salmon sold to wealthier shoppers. In episode 2048, Andrew Lewin follows farmed fish from your plate back to the fishmeal boat to answer him. More than half the seafood eaten worldwide now comes from farms, and most of it is fed. Andrew breaks down what fishmeal and fish oil are made of, why roughly a fifth of the global wild catch ends up as feed, and how forage fish declines show the strain on the small fish that tuna, seabirds, whales and coastal communities depend on. He also explains why a half-billion-dollar insect farm couldn't replace fishmeal, and how Norway cut marine ingredients from salmon feed while total wild fish use kept climbing. The fastest fix is already at the seafood counter. Mussels, oysters and clams eat plankton straight from the water and need no feed at all. This is the first of four episodes on fish feed, drawing on reporting from The Outlaw Ocean Project. This week, swap one farmed salmon or shrimp meal for farmed bivalves. Takeaways More than half of the world's seafood now comes from fish farms, and about two-thirds of farmed seafood is fed. Fishmeal is made by cooking and grinding small fish like anchoveta, sardinella and herring, and most of those fish are suitable for people to eat. Forage fish declines are hitting fisheries worldwide, including Canada's 2022 herring quota cut and Atlantic mackerel closure. Insect protein and other alternatives remain far too small to replace the fishmeal fish farms use each year. Norway cut marine ingredients in salmon feed from about 90% to 22% over 30 years, yet industry growth pushed total wild fish use higher. Farmed mussels, oysters and clams need no feed, making them one of the lowest-pressure seafood choices available. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca
More than half the seafood eaten on Earth now comes from fish farms, and most of those farmed fish are raised on fishmeal made from wild-caught fish. Maya Martin, deputy editor at The Outlaw Ocean Project, joins Andrew Lewin to unpack Food for Feed, a five-year investigation that traced fishmeal from the ships that catch it, through the plants that grind it, to the farmed fish on your plate. Maya explains how forage fish like sardinella and anchoveta are pulled from waters off West Africa, Peru and Southeast Asia, often from stocks that are already overexploited and from communities that depend on them for food and work. She walks through the stench and toxic waste that surround fishmeal plants, the protests they spark, the deaths and injuries of workers, the fire-retardant chemical ethoxyquin, and fish farms built in China's Xinjiang desert whose salmon has reached US institutions. She also shows how the team's Bait to Plate tool lets anyone follow a supply chain end to end, and why third-party certifications have missed many of these problems. You'll leave knowing which seafood choices avoid the fishmeal problem, from filter-feeding shellfish to local catch you can see come in, and which organizations are pushing retailers and governments to clean up the supply chain. Content note: this episode discusses forced labour, violence, deaths at sea and migrant deaths. Explore the investigation at foodforfeed.theoutlawocean.com and baittoplate.theoutlawocean.com. Links mentioned in this episode Food for Feed investigation: https://foodforfeed.theoutlawocean.com Bait to Plate supply chain tool: https://baittoplate.theoutlawocean.com Food for Feed findings: https://foodforfeed.theoutlawocean.com/findings Methodology, including country-by-country partner groups: https://foodforfeed.theoutlawocean.com/methodology Company and certifier responses (Discussion page): https://discussion.theoutlawocean.com/food-for-feed The Outlaw Ocean Project: https://theoutlawocean.com Amnesty International: https://www.amnesty.org Greenpeace: https://www.greenpeace.org Oceana: https://oceana.org Sea Shepherd: https://seashepherd.org The Outlaw Ocean Project's New York Times follow-up on eating seafood sustainably: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/briefing/fish-food.html Previous HTPTO episode with Dr. Marine Cusa (Oceana) on fishmeal: Fish Feed in Aquaculture: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/podcast-28/ The Squid You Eat is a Mystery: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/podcast-82/