Activists Arrested In Livingston At Formosa Protest Plead Not Guilty
LIVINGSTON, NJ — Four activists who were arrested while protesting a multi-national plastic manufacturer’s headquarters in Livingston are headed to trial – and they’re not backing down as they await their day in court.
Last month, six environmental activists were arrested and charged with trespassing after attending a protest at Formosa Plastics’ U.S. corporate headquarters at 9 Peach Tree Hill Road. Some of the demonstrators blocked entrance gates, with one of them chaining her neck to the metal bars in a show of defiance. The arrestees included residents of Teaneck; Brooklyn, NYC; Austin, Texas; and Seadrift, Texas, who ranged from 20-years-old to 76-years-old.
Nearly 100 people took part in the demonstration, most of whom voluntarily left the property at the request of police, authorities said. The company told employees to work from home on the day of the protest, but did not shut down operations.
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Organizers have released a statement about the protest, which can be seen online here.
The plastics manufacturing company employs more than 300 workers at the facility, who provide the majority of its “business support operations” such as management, marketing, sales, legal and logistics.
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Two of the arrested protesters have since pleaded guilty to the trespassing charge and received fines. But the remaining four say they’re taking their case to trial.
They pleaded not guilty at an initial hearing in Livingston Municipal Court on Thursday. A second pretrial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 26.
Patch previously spoke with one of the arrestees, Paula Rogovin of Teaneck, who explained why she was willing to go to jail for her beliefs:
“Here in New Jersey, environmental activists have been fighting to stop seven fossil fuel projects: gas power plants, a compressor station, LNG export, pipelines, and highway expansion. It’s been a tough fight but we’ve had some victories. It is urgent that we unite with activists around the country and around the world to end the destruction to health and environment from Formosa Plastics in Texas, Louisiana, and Vietnam, and that we stand together for environmental justice.”
“I taught young children for 44 years, so when I sat in the holding cell for two hours, I thought about how important it is that we work for a better world for all children,” said Rogovin, a retired NYC public school educator who has been active with New Jersey groups such as Don’t Gas the Meadowlands and Food & Water Watch.
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According to its website, Formosa Plastics has revenues that top $5 billion. It employs more than 3,000 people across the nation.
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.
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 charged.
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