LIVINGSTON, NJ — A group of environmental activists who were recently arrested during a protest against a plastics manufacturer in New Jersey continue to fight the charges in court, arguing that their actions were “necessary” in the name of the public good.
Members of the “Formosa Four” are accusing Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics of violating environmental laws and polluting communities in Vietnam, as well as Texas and Louisiana, where it also has facilities.
In August, six activists were charged with trespassing after attending a protest at the headquarters of Formosa Plastics Corporation U.S.A., which is located at 9 Peach Tree Hill Road in Livingston. Some of the demonstrators blocked entrance gates, with one of them chaining her neck to the metal bars in a show of defiance.
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The plastics manufacturing company employs more than 300 workers at their Livingston location, who provide the majority of its “business support operations” such as management, marketing, sales, legal and logistics.
Nearly 100 people took part in the demonstration, most of whom voluntarily left the property at the request of local police, authorities said. The company told employees to work from home on the day of the protest, but did not shut down operations. See Related: Protest Against Formosa Plastics In Livingston Ends With Arrests
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Two of the arrested protesters have since pleaded guilty to the trespassing charge and received fines. But the remaining four took their case to trial, pleading not guilty at an initial hearing in Livingston Municipal Court. See Related: Activists Arrested In Livingston At Formosa Protest Plead Not Guilty
Last week, the activists held an online media briefing about their legal strategy and plans to fight the charges (watch the video below, or view it online here).
A second pretrial hearing took place on Sept. 26. During their follow-up court appearance, a municipal judge denied the activists’ request to admit expert testimony in support of a “necessity defense” – a legal tactic that attempts to prove that a person’s illegal conduct was the “lesser of two evils.”
“This is not going to be a political court for some kind of environmental agenda,” Livingston Municipal Court Judge William Williams told the defendants and their attorney, who said he would be appealing the ruling to the New Jersey Superior Court Law Division – putting a trial on hold for now.
“The court’s decision indicates it does not take seriously the magnitude of the harm caused by Formosa Plastics to people’s health and livelihoods, to the climate and to the environment,” argued Paula Rogovin of Teaneck, one of the self-dubbed “Formosa Four” arrested at the Livingston protest.
“Refusing to listen to the experts means that Formosa Plastics, which has its U.S. headquarters here in New Jersey, will continue to pollute and harm communities around the world and write off ongoing fines as the cost of doing business,” Rogovin alleged.
Diane Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimper and Goldman Environmental Prize winner, said she was “shocked and dismayed” that the judge denied their request.
Another of the arrestees, Robin Schneider, the executive director of Texas Campaign for the Environment, said the accusations against Formosa are a “far worse crime” than blocking the employee entrances at the corporation’s headquarters.
“We are in the midst of an urgent planetary crisis–the crisis of plastics pollution, which is intimately linked to climate change and environmental racism,” agreed fellow Formosa Four member Matthew Kennedy, adding that “civil disobedience is a necessary response.”
According to its website, Formosa Plastics has revenues that top $5 billion. It employs more than 3,000 people across the nation.
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Ongoing protests against the company have been taking place in Louisiana and Texas. In 2022, advocacy groups persuaded Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court to cancel 14 air pollution permits granted by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, which would have allowed Formosa Plastics to build the largest plastics plant in the world.
A 2021 report from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), the Center for Biological Diversity, and Earthworks claimed that Formosa Plastics Group’s six-decade track record is “riddled with environmental, health, safety and labor violations, including devastating accidents and persistent pollution in multiple countries.”
“From Point Comfort, Texas, to Ha Tinh, Vietnam; Illiopolis, Illinois; and Yunlin County, Taiwan, the Formosa Plastics Group has left a global track record that demonstrates how the rights and safety of local communities and workers, as well as the environment and public health, have become casualties of corporate profit,” the report alleged.
That year, Formosa Plastics agreed to pay $2.85 million in civil penalties and to improve its risk management program to resolve alleged violations of the Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions of the Clean Air Act at its petrochemical manufacturing plant in Point Comfort, Texas.
However, Formosa Plastics says that “improved efficiency” has allowed it to reduce emissions by 50 percent over 10 years.
“Formosa seeks to reduce the impact of our operations by constantly improving and reducing water use, energy, emissions and waste,” the company’s website states. “Goals are set every year and all facilities track their progress in detail. Independent organizations like BSI audit our facilities to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard every six months and conduct a full recertification every two years.”
The solar power project at Formosa Plastics headquarters in Livingston has produced more than 4.60GWh of power to date, according to the company’s website.
“Beyond 2022, Formosa Plastics Corporation U.S.A. has plans across our facilities to convert over 100 vehicles to EV/hybrid, and provide more than 100 charging stations,” the company says.
Electric vehicle charging stations are already available for use by associates at the headquarters in Livingston, the company adds.
These assurances aren’t comforting to advocates like Rogovin, however.
“Adding electric vehicles and solar power is nice, but the these don’t begin to address the more than 600 violations which impact the health of workers and area residents in what is called the ‘sacrifice zone,’” she previously told Patch.
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COMPANY STATEMENT
A spokesperson for Formosa Plastics Corporation U.S.A. recently told Patch that many of the claims made during the protest in Livingston are related to projects and companies that are owned by Formosa Plastics Group, which is headquartered in Taiwan.
“We would like to emphasize that Formosa Plastics Corporation U.S.A. is a distinct and separate entity, registered in Delaware and operating independently,” the statement continued. “Our focus and responsibilities are solely on our operations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Point Comfort, Texas.”
Spokespeople said the company is using programs to prevent resin loss by implementing stringent containment measures throughout its facilities. These programs focus on “minimizing pellet, flake, and powder loss at every stage of production and transportation.”
“In Point Comfort, where our only pellet production operations are located, we’ve implemented state-of-the-art technologies to control the release of plastics into the environment,” spokespeople continued, sharing a video with more details (watch it below, or view it online here).
“We remain committed to conducting our business in a manner that is environmentally responsible and in compliance with all applicable U.S. regulations,” spokespeople concluded. “We are open to engaging in dialogue with concerned parties about our practices here in the United States and welcome the opportunity for constructive conversations.”
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