Campaign For Recycling News

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Is our world becoming too "plastic"? Recent research shows that our oceans might be.

A new study by Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists indicates that ocean sampling today finds 100 times more pieces of microplastics per cubic meter of water than samples collected in the early 1970s.

And this increase of plastic pieces, commonly mistaken as flotsam, plankton, and food by unsuspecting marine wildlife, could create an ecological disaster.

According to the study, a insect commonly called the "sea skater" lays its eggs on floating pieces on the ocean surface. The more plastic particles there are, the greater its chances of successful reproduction. An explosion of this population will have dire consequences for its competitors that share the same diet of zooplankton and fish eggs--including turtles and other fish.

A 2010 report by a different group of scientists also found that 35% of the fish collected had plastic contents in their stomachs. Because plastic has the ability to attract and adsorb surrounding toxins in the water, including PCBs and DDTs, the bioaccumulation of plastic-related toxins has great potential to travel up through the food chain to the very top.

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Local bag bans can make a difference--LA County's bag ban has reduced single-use bags by an astounding 94%.

On Monday, two more local plastic bag bans moved forward in California. 

The Fort Bragg City Council adopted a plastic bag ban with a 10 cent charge on paper bags, while a similar proposal for unincorporated Mendocino County moved forward after a first reading of its ordinance. Both plastic bag bans apply to all retail stores.

Forty eight cities and counties are now covered under adopted plastic bag bans, most of which will be operative by the beginning of next year. 

The Fort Bragg bag ban goes into effect in large stores this December, and expands to all other retailers one year later.

Read an article on the Mendocino County ordinance. A final reading and adoption will be scheduled for the County Board of Supervisors at a later date.

Plastic bags are easily airborne even when properly disposed, and will break up into smaller and smaller pieces that are difficult to clean up and can actually be mistaken as food by our wildlife.

Take action on other local bag ordinances on our website.

 

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A lot is happening this week in California recycling:

• CalRecycle Unveils their Plan to get to 75% Recycling by 2020
• Mixed News for Beverage Container Recycling
• Will LA become the latest & largest city to ban plastic bags?
• Governor to release Final Budget Proposal Today
• Legislative Update

75% Recycling Plan:
CalRecycle has unveiled an ambitious plan to implement AB 341 (Chesbro), CAW-sponsored legislation which sets a 75% recycling target for the state by 2020. This plan is a bold first step towards tackling the estimated 37 million tons of garbage that end up in California’s landfills and waste-to-energy facilities every year.

Highlights of the Plan:

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Last week the Portola Valley City Council adopted a ban on polystyrene food containers. By next year, city restaurants and other food vendors will be prohibited from distributing prepared food in these non-recyclable, non-compostable containers.

If you've ever eaten food in a takeout container, you likely know that polystyrene foam is easily contaminated by food grease, etc., which is difficult to remove for recycling purposes. Learn more about polystyrene and its impact on our environment. Read an article about the ordinance.

See the full list of local polystyrene ordinances in California.

Take action on the statewide proposal to phase out polystyrene foam containers, SB 568.

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You can expect to see fewer plastic bags littering the beaches, waters, and streets of Hawaii in the next few years.

Yesterday, Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle signed Bill 10 into law, banning plastic bags on the last remaining island of Hawaii without an adopted ban.

Once this ordinance becomes effective, the entire state will be free of plastic bags. Impressively, this was accomplished completely under local ordinances.

The ordinance goes into effect on the island of Oahu in July of 2015. Plastic bags have been banned from Maui and Kauai since 2011, while the Big Island's ban is scheduled to be effective starting next year.

Read an article.

See the list of local ordinances passed throughout the country. Support our work on the plastic bag issue with a donation today.

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The Solana Beach City Council adopted a plastic bag ban at yesterday's meeting. This is the first bag ordinance in San Diego County. With this passage, a total of 47 cities and counties across the state are, or will soon be, covered under similar bans. 

The Solana Beach bag ordinance goes into effect in grocery stores and restaurants in three months. It expands to all other retailers by this November. Single-use plastic bags are banned, while stores that distribute recycled content paper bags must charge ten cents per bag.

Kudos to Solana Beach for its environmental leadership! We hope that this is just the beginning for bag ban adoptions in the beautiful San Diego area.

Los Angeles City, Fort Bragg, and Mendocino County are also considering bag bans this month. Learn more and take action.

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Yesterday evening the Watsonville City Council formally adopted its plastic bag ban. The total number of CA cities and counties covered by bag ordinances is now 46.

Watsonville is the first city in Santa Cruz County to take this action against plastic bag pollution. Last year, Santa Cruz County adopted an ordinance for its unincorporated areas.

The ordinance bans plastic bags while allowing paper bags for a charge. It goes into effect in three months in all retail stores. The paper bag charge is set for 10 cents each during the first year, and changes to 25 cents thereafter.

While a statewide bill on plastic bags has yet to pass the legislature, it's great to see the momentum and leadership on this issue at the local level. Congratulations, Watsonville!

See what other bag bans are being considered and take action. 

This evening, the Solana Beach City Council is scheduled to adopt its
own bag ordinance and become the first city in San Diego County to do
so. Stay tuned for more bag ban updates.

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A case study released today linking a stomach virus outbreak to a contaminated plastic bag left in a bathroom is a precautionary reminder: objects that have been in contact with a sick person--especially in a bathroom--need to be disinfected.

In 2010, a group of 9 teenage girls attending a soccer tournament in Washington became infected with the norovirus bug—a leading cause of gastroenteritis. The Oregon Public Health Division was notified, and the resulting investigation found that the outbreak started when the first infected teenager spent the night getting sick in a hotel bathroom where the reusable plastic bag in question was stored.

Although this individual left early and had no direct contact with the other girls, the reusable plastic bag, which was holding cookies, chips, and grapes, was taken to the other girls for lunch the following day (eww!).

“The data indicate that virus aerosolized within the hotel bathroom settled upon the grocery bag and its contents, and it was touching the bag and consumption of the contents that led to the outbreak.”

The study was unable to separately analzye the impacts of touching the bag versus eating the food, but stated that both were "strongly associated with illness." It concluded,

“Although we certainly recommend not storing food in bathrooms, it is more important to emphasize that areas where aerosol exposures may have occurred should be thoroughly disinfected; this includes not only exposed surfaces but also objects in the environment[…]”

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California remains the nation’s leader in total quantity of bottles and cans recycled, according to a recent report by CalRecycle.  During 2011, Californians recycled more than 16.7 billion beverage containers.

Each year Californians consume nearly 263.3 million barrels of oil and emit 156.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gases through residential use and passenger cars. The annual impact of recycling 16.7 billion beverage containers saved the equivalent of 5.3 million barrels of oil and reduced the equivalent of 471,000 metric tons of carbon in greenhouse gas emissions, which equates to eliminating the energy consumption of more than 277,000 households for one year.

Learn more about CA's Bottle Bill program. 

You can sign up for regular updates or support our work on this issue by making a donation.

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A University of Washington scientist has calculated that past studies of oceanic plastic pollution underestimate the total plastic found by a factor of up to 27.

A new method of counting plastic by Giora Proskurowski includes wind strength as an influential factor. The higher the wind at the surface, the deeper the lightweight plastics can be found below.

Previous studies have typically skimmed the surface of ocean waters to count plastic. Proskurowski's method will include plastic as far down as 100 feet below the surface.

According to Discovery, he recently tested his method in the North Atlantic and "almost every tow we did contained plastic regardless of the depth."

Find out more about plastic pollution and its impact on our environment.

Take action on local ordinances to ban plastic bags.

(photo credit: Sea Education Association) 

Last summer, it was revealed that the plastics industry heavily influenced some changes to the proposed Cal/EPA Environmental Education Curriculum.

As we noted back in August, one high school lesson plan titled “Consequences of Consumption” was altered after the industry made some suggestions:

"In 2009, Gerald Lieberman, a private consultant hired by California school officials, added a new section to the 11th-grade teachers' edition textbook called 'The Advantages of Plastic Shopping Bags.' In one instance, the title and some of the textbook language were inserted almost verbatim from letters written by the ACC.

Although the curriculum includes the environmental hazards of plastic bags, the consultant also added a five-point question to a workbook asking students to list some advantages. According to the revised teachers' edition, the correct answer is: 'Plastic shopping bags are very convenient to use. They take less energy to manufacture than paper bags, cost less to transport and can be reused.' "

When the story broke, it caught the attention of environmentalists and concerned parents across the state. State Senator Fran Pavley, who authored legislation that led to the creation of the curriculum noted, "The American Chemistry Council obviously got engaged to protect their bottom line."

Today Cal/EPA announced a new and improved set of changes. The comment period ends on June 4.

Read the new version.

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The Ukiah City Council yesterday adopted its bag ban, bringing up the state count of local governments with bag ordinances to an impressive 45.

Within the next few weeks, at least three other City Councils are scheduled to consider the same action: in Watsonville on May 8, Solana Beach on May 9, and Fort Bragg on May 14. Despite the best efforts of the plastic bag industry, local governments across the state are taking the lead and fighting back against plastic bag pollution.

The Ukiah ordinance bans plastic bags at all retail stores while allowing paper bags for ten cents each. Farmers markets and restaurants are exempt.

This is the first bag ban in Mendocino County. Congratulations, Ukiah!

Take action on other ordinances.

 

Illinois residents--watch out! There's a bill in the legislature that's being pushed by the plastic bag industry and would prevent local governments, except for Chicago, from banning plastic bags.

SB 3442 by Illinois State Senator Terry Link is currently on the floor of the second House. It may be scheduled for a second reading as early as next Monday.

The bill also requires plastic bag manufacturers to register with the state and develop a recycling plan to increase access to collection sites and improve recycling rates. Manufacturers would have to show less than 1% increase in plastic bag recycling from 2014 to 2015. Failure to meet these requirements could lead to fines of no more than $1000.

This bill attempts to wrap plastic bags (pun intended) in the flag of recycling while sneaking in a provision to take away local power. But as we've seen here in California, recycling doesn't work. The statewide infrastructure for plastic bag recycling as mandated under CA law resulted in a dismal 3% recycling rate in 2009.

Take action and write to your IL Representative urging their 'no' vote. 

If you don't live in Illinois, please forward this to your friends and family that do. We need your help in stopping this bill!

In the absense of a statewide solution, it's up to local governments to take action against plastic bag pollution. Plastic bag ordinances, such as the LA County ordinance which recently reported a 94% reduction in all single-use bags, work. Plastic bag recycling does not.

Today marks the first day for plastic bag bans in two Colorado cities.

Last October, Aspen and Carbondale both passed ordinances banning plastic bags and placing a 20 cent charge on paper bags in large supermarkets.

The city of Basalt passed a similar ordinance around the same time which would also have been effective today. The Basalt ordinance was narrowly overturned by a voter referendum last April, while another ballot initiative in Carbondale affirmed the decision to ban plastic bags.

Read an article.

Edward Humes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of twelve nonfiction books, was featured on Fresh Air. He is most recently the author of Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair With Trash which just came out this month. 

The book explores what the world of trash looks like, how we got there, and, best of all, what a growing number of families, communities and businesses are doing to find a way back from a world of waste. Americans generate more trash than anyone else on the planet: more than seven pounds per person each day. Shockingly, 25% of it is containers and packaging. 

Humes also discusses the country’s largest landfill, Puente Hill located in Southern California, calling it a 'garbage mountain', and describes the inherent problem of single use disposable plastic products. Although we might have not agree with every point he makes, Humes makes a compelling case for getting a handle on the myriad of waste-related issues facing the state and country.

Check out the interview and pass it along to those you know. 

The state of Hawaii may soon be rid of the ubiquitous plastic bag.

Last week the Honolulu City and County Council passed a plastic bag ban, which now awaits a signature by Mayor Carlisle. Honolulu is the last county in the state without a bag ordinance, so if signed into law, Hawaii becomes the first state covered by local plastic bag bans.

Earlier this year Hawaii County adopted an ordinance banning plastic bags which goes into effect next year. Maui County banned plastic bags in 2008, and Kauai County in 2009. Both bans became effective in January 2011.

The ordinance in Honululu bans non-compostable plastic bags from the island of Oahu. The deadline for Mayor Carlisle to take action is May 10.

Urge the mayor to sign this bill into law.

The Hawaii State Legislature is also considering a bill to restrict both paper and plastic bags statewide. Currently, no state has the distinction of passing a bill to ban or restrict plastic bags. But with close calls in California and Oregon in recent years, and with this new push in Hawaii, we expect that to change in the near future.

 

 

On Wednesday evening, the Town of Portola Valley adopted by reference the San Mateo County ban on polystyrene food containers.

In 2011, the County banned the distribution of polystyrene containers in restaurants throughout unincorporated areas. This was an expansion of an existing County-facility ban of the same containers.

The ordinance goes into effect this October in Portola Valley. Over sixty cities and counties statewide have adopted ordinances to restrict polystyrene takeout containers.

Learn more about polystyrene pollution on our website.

A statewide ban on expanded polystyrene food containers is still in the CA Legislature. Learn more and write to your Assembly Member urging their support.

Yesterday evening the Solana Beach City Council unanimously moved forward with an introduction of a single-use bag ordinance. If they adopt the ordinance at a meeting next month, the City would be the first in San Diego County with a bag ban.
The majority of speakers testified in support of the ordinance and thanked the Council for its leadership. Hopefully, this decision will encourage other cities in the County to adopt their own bag bans.

The ordinance would ban plastic bags in all retail stores and restaurants. Stores that choose to distribute paper bags would have to charge a minimum price of 10 cents each. The ordinance would go into effect in large stores three months after adoption, and would apply to all stores and restaurants within six months of the adoption.

Read an article from the Del Mar Times at http://www.delmartimes.net/2012/04/26/solana-beach-plastic-bag-ban-ordinance-receives-council-vote.

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Yesterday evening the Watsonville City Council approved the introduction of a plastic bag ban.

If adopted during a second reading scheduled for May 8, Watsonville will be the first city in Santa Cruz County with a bag ordinance. The County adopted a bag ban last year, which went into effect in unincorporated areas on March 20, 2012. See the full list of local bag ordinances.

The Watsonville ordinance bans plastic bags in all retail stores, and allows paper bags for 10 cents each during the first year. After that, the charge goes up to 25 cents.

Thank the Mayor and City Council for their environmental leadership and urge them to continue that leadership by adopting the ordinance at the May meeting.

Read an article.

Take action on local bag bans on our website.

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Currently 44 cities and counties in the state are covered under plastic bag bans. More ordinances are being considered throughout the Golden State from north to south, and in just a few short weeks we expect this number to increase to 47.

Ukiah

Earlier this month the Ukiah City Council initially approved a plastic bag ban with a 10 cent charge on paper bags. The formal adoption is scheduled for a May 2 council meeting. Thank the Council for their leadership and take action here.

Fort Bragg

Yesterday evening the Fort Bragg City Council moved forward with a proposed bag ordinance similar to Ukiah's ordinance. The item will be considered for adoption on May 14. Take action here.

Read more about the Fort Bragg ordinance on our blog or in this article.

Solana Beach

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