Faran
Savitz
Zero Waste Advocate, PennEnvironment
Started on staff: 2019
B.A., cum laude, University of Pennsylvania
Faran works on PennEnvironment’s Zero Waste program, working to reduce plastic waste in Pennsylvania and to protect our parks and open spaces. Faran’s work has included helping to write and pass bans on single-use plastic across Pennsylvania, including in Philadelphia, promoting the Zero Waste PA package of legislation, protecting major conservation laws like the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and publishing the report “Microplastics in Pennsylvania,” which was the result of a project testing more than 50 Pennsylvania waterways for microplastic pollution.
Posts by Faran Savitz
Radnor Commissioners pass single-use plastic bag ban
Ordinance expected to reduce Radnor plastic bag usage by 12 million bags annually and decrease litter.
Enforcement of Philadelphia’s plastic bag ban begins April 1
PHILADELPHIA -- On April 1st, nine months after Philadelphia's ban on single-use plastic bags took effect, and more than two years after the city council signed it into law, officials will begin imposing penalties on businesses that violate the ordinance. It’s estimated that Philadelphians use an average of 585 million plastic bags every year, but less than 2% are recycled.
Businesses caught violating Philadelphia’s plastic bag law
PHILADELPHIA -- Two months after Philadelphia's citywide ban on plastic bags went into effect, new research by the nonprofit group PennEnvironment found chronic violations by retailers throughout the city. At a news conference Wednesday, PennEnvironment spotlighted specific businesses breaking this law, including Walmart, CVS, ACME, The Home Depot and even the state-owned Fine Wine and Good Spirits. The law was designed to eliminate the use of hundreds of millions of plastic bags that pollute the city.
Statement: Pittsburgh City Council plans to ban plastic bags
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh City Council passed a resolution Tuesday stating their intent to pass a citywide ban on single-use plastic bags, were it not for a state law preempting local governments from doing so. The resolution, introduced last week by Councilmember Erika Strassburger, means Pennsylvania’s two largest cities could soon join forces to protect the Commonwealth from plastic pollution and the health and environmental degradation it causes. In March, Philadelphia, along with the boroughs of West Chester and Narberth, and Lower Merion Township, filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the General Assembly’s preemption law. The passage of Councilmember Strassburger’s resolution opens the door for the City of Pittsburgh to file a legal motion in support of that suit.