ecovote.org > get involved > action alerts > ab 904: coastal protection
Deep-Sixing Marine Debris
Just one word: “Plastics.” One more word: “Deadly.”
Plastic and packaging waste represents a significant and rapidly growing component of California’s waste stream. At more than 3 million tons per year, plastic packaging waste is the fastest growing component of generated waste, increasing from less than 5% of total waste in 1980 to more than 11% in 2003.
Excluding the beverage containers that are recycled thanks to California’s 1986 “bottle bill,” very little of the plastic waste we generate is recycled—currently less than 5%. The plastic debris that ends up in our waterways, including polystyrene, food service packaging, and the like, are more than just an aesthetic problem. Marine debris kills sea and coastal animals through ingestion and entanglement.
Assembly Bill 904 (Feuer), the “Plastic and Marine Debris Reduction, Recycling and Composting Act,” will take significant steps toward reducing plastic marine waste. That reduction will help protect wildlife and our coastline. And, it should have a direct positive impact on coastal tourism, which is a $10 billion annual business in California.
AB 904 would:
- Prohibit a food provider from distributing disposable food service packaging to a consumer, unless that packaging is compostable or recyclable.
- Prohibit a food provider from distributing disposable food service packaging unless 50% of that packaging is recovered for either composting or recycling.
- Impose civil penalties for violations of the act, and publish an annual list of companies violating the requirements of the bill.
- Require all penalties to be deposited in a fund to provide public education and to assist local government agencies in efforts to reduce marine debris.
- Add thousands of jobs to California’s ocean-dependent industries.
What You Can Do
AB 904 has been introduced in the Assembly and will face its first hurdle in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. Please call or fax your Assemblymember, urging her or him to support this bill to get deadly plastic out of our oceans and make cleaner beaches for our families.
See our sample letter and send one to your Assemblymember!
Your Assemblymember
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 319-20_ _
Fax: (916) 319-21_ _
(fill in the last two digits with your Assembly district number)
To find out who your Assemblymember is, go directly to the Legislature's "Find Your Representatives" page and enter your address in the form in the bottom left corner of the page.
