LAWMAKERS & ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS CLEANUP BEACH
Lawmakers, environmental groups hold beach cleanup
More than 100 community members call for action to tackle plastic pollution
In anticipation of votes from state and federal legislators on bills to curb plastic pollution, CALPIRG and Surfrider San Diego held a beach cleanup at Moonlight State Beach on Saturday. Lawmakers, environmental groups and more than 100 community members came together to clean up the coastline and call for strong efforts to tackle plastic waste. The event also comes in the wake of a new CALPIRG report analyzing consumer plastic bag use and waste in the state.
“My generation didn’t create the plastic waste crisis, but we are going to have to deal with it one way or the other, “ said Toby Ngo, chair of UCSD CALPIRG Students. “Students across the state agree on the urgent need to fight plastic pollution. Nothing we use for a few minutes should threaten our health and pollute our future for hundreds of years.”
This month, the California legislature will vote on SB 1053, by state Sen. Catherine Blakespear (Encinitas) to finally ban plastic bags at grocery store checkout. Nationally, Congress is considering the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act, by Congressman Levin (Oceanside), which would ban the discharge of plastic pellets into our nation’s waters. These laws will take important steps to reduce harmful plastic pollution.
“My district is home to a beautiful coastline that supports the local economy, bolsters tourism, protects wildlife, and is enjoyed by residents and countless visitors,” said United States Rep. Mike Levin. “Pollution caused by plastic pellets is a major threat to our waters and our overall health. We must do everything we can to protect our oceans and ensure their survival for future generations to enjoy.”
Plastic pellets, also known as nurdles, are the second largest source of marine microplastic. Ten trillion pellets are estimated to enter the ocean each year, and each one can take up to 1,000 years to break down. CALPIRG and Environment California recently released a map revealing that California is home to 22 facilities producing plastic pellets.
“Single-use plastics accounted for 83% of what volunteers picked up at 268 Surfrider San Diego County beach cleanups in 2023,” said Mitch Silverstein, Surfrider’s San Diego Policy Manager. “Our cleanups raise awareness, but we can’t clean our way out of this problem. The only solution is to stop producing so many unnecessary single-use plastics, and it’s up to every single one of us to demand that our leaders act decisively towards that goal.”
In addition to calling for an end to plastic pellet pollution, community members and environmental groups at the event also rallied for the passage of a true plastic bag ban.
“SB 1053 is aimed at fixing California’s ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery store checkouts, which was passed in 2014 and supported by the state’s voters in 2016,” said state Sen. Catherine Blakespear. “We now know the thicker plastic bags aren’t being reused by consumers and they aren’t broadly recyclable in California. SB 1053 makes it clear that stores will no longer be able to provide any plastic bags at checkout, honoring the intent of the original legislation and the will of California voters.”
CALPIRG’s report finds that only 2% percent of observed customers brought the supposedly “reusable” plastic bags back into grocery stores with them to reuse. The data indicates that most customers only use plastic bags to transport their groceries home once, and the bags then become waste after the original use, rendering their purported “reusability” meaningless.
“Plastic bags pollute communities with litter, degrade the environment and harm marine life,” said CALPIRG legislative advocate Fiona Hines. “Plastic bags, and the pellets they’re made up of, have been allowed to permeate our communities for too long, and our new report shows just how ineffective our previous efforts have been. Regardless of how the original bag ban classified them, Californians are not reusing thicker plastic bags, so it’s time for them to go once and for all.”
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