More Arrests After Protesters Return To Formosa HQ In Livingston

LIVINGSTON, NJ — More arrests took place outside the headquarters of Formosa Plastics Corporation USA in New Jersey last week, marking the latest twist in a long-running protest against the international petrochemical manufacturer.

A coalition of activists recently held a national “week of action” against Formosa, accusing the company of violating environmental laws and polluting communities overseas, as well as in Texas and Louisiana, where it also has facilities. The week of protests wrapped up with a car caravan, march and demonstration in Livingston on Thursday.

As they proceeded to Formosa Plastics USA’s headquarters at 9 Peach Tree Hill Road, dozens of activists stopped at three banks – Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America – holding up banners and calling on them to exclude Formosa from “any and all financial activities.”

According to its website, Formosa Plastics has revenues that top $5 billion. It employs more than 3,000 people across the nation.

When marchers arrived at the Formosa headquarters in Livingston, they found the building closed, entrances blocked and the grounds surrounded by police. They rallied in the street nearby – which police had closed to traffic – singing songs, making speeches and carrying signs that read “Our Health Our Future” and “Stop Formosa Plastics.”

A spokesperson for the Livingston Police Department characterized the Dec. 5 protest as “peaceful” in a statement to Patch.

Footage of the protest shared by organizers shows a calm and respectful discussion between activists and police about the activities that would constitute “trespassing” – and potentially lead to an arrest (watch video below).

“Obviously, we don’t want to make any arrests,” an officer can be overheard telling the group.

Eventually, Diane Wilson, 76, of Seadrift, Texas, who received a Goldman Environmental Prize last year for her activism involving Formosa, was arrested along with two other Texas residents (affiliated with San Antonio Bay Waterkeeper) when they insisted on hand delivering a list of alleged violations of a $50 million settlement involving the company's facility in Point Comfort.

A letter accompanying the list urges Formosa to cancel its planned expansions in the United States, including Texas and Louisiana. Activists also want the company to continue “environmental restoration” and “adequately compensate the victims” of a devastating toxic chemical spill off the coast of Vietnam. Another demand is a sit-down between Formosa and the International Monitor Formosa Plastics Alliance.

Police offered to deliver the letter on their behalf, but activists replied that they were worried it wouldn’t make its way to the top of the corporate ladder to the decision makers.

The three Texas residents were charged with defiant trespassing, processed at Livingston police headquarters and released on a summons with a returnable municipal court date, authorities said.

Patch reached out to Formosa Plastics Corporation USA seeking comment about the Dec. 5 protest and activists’ latest allegations. We will update with any reply we receive.

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ONGOING PROTESTS

Last week’s demonstration was the second major protest that has taken place outside of Formosa’s office in Livingston this year.

In August, six activists were charged with trespassing after attending a protest on Peach Tree Hill Road. Some of the demonstrators blocked entrance gates.

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

Wilson was also among the six people arrested at the Aug. 2 protest, chaining her neck to the metal bars of the gate in a show of defiance.

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

In September, the activists – now calling themselves the “Formosa Four” – held an online media briefing about their legal strategy and plans to fight the charges (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. See Related: Civil Disobedience At Livingston Protest Was ‘Necessary,’ Activists Argue

Teaneck resident Paula Rogovin, one of the Formosa Four who was arrested in August, attended the Dec. 5 follow up protest in Livingston – but this time she didn’t end up in handcuffs.

“It’s an outrage that Formosa Plastics continues to violate its settlement of the Clean Water Act lawsuit, which fined the company $50 million, and ordered that there be zero emissions and monitoring,” Rogovin said.

“Clearly Formosa Plastics sees the $24 million fines for 709 violations, including dumping of toxins into waterways, as the cost of doing business,” she added. “We say no.”

FORMOSA: ‘ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE AND IN COMPLIANCE’

Company spokespeople have pointed out that Formosa Plastics Corporation USA is a legally distinct entity from Formosa Plastics Group, which is headquartered in Taiwan. The Livingston office focuses on its operations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Point Comfort, Texas.

The plastics manufacturing company employs hundreds of workers at their Livingston location, who provide the majority of its “business support operations” such as management, marketing, sales, legal and logistics.

After the August protest, spokespeople told Patch that 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 (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.”

On its website, 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.

ACTIVISTS: ‘THIS HAS TO STOP’

Despite the company’s assurances, activists in New Jersey continue to accuse Formosa of thumbing its nose at the people who live in the communities it operates in. Ongoing protests against the company have also been taking place in Louisiana and Texas.

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.

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.

Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimper, alleged that communities, fishers, bays and waterways are “being buried in Formosa’s plastic swell.”

“Fishermen have reported plastic found in the guts of fish and the oystermen report plastic in shucked oysters,” Wilson said. “Yet, Formosa has applications for increased air and water permits, 22 injection wells, an off-channel reservoir for increased water use, and are now in the process of permitting seven new plastic plants.

“This has to stop, and that is why I am here today,” she added.

Camryn Edwards, who was also arrested in Livingston on Dec. 5, accused Formosa of “prioritizing profits” over the health of communities, workers and the environment.

“Despite repeated calls for accountability and transparency, Formosa Plastics has failed to address these critical issues and continues to downplay their impact,” Edwards said. “This behavior is unacceptable, and it is time for the company to be held accountable for its actions.”

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