California Coast & Ocean

The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) has proposed a far-reaching strategy for reducing the volume of junk that now flows from the state’s shores and watersheds into the ocean. In a report adopted on November 20, 2008, the OPC makes 16 recommendations aimed at changing how California generates, handles, and disposes of items that frequently become marine debris and damage ocean health.

The Implementation Strategy to Reduce and Prevent Ocean Litter singles out three recommendations for priority action: creating a producer take-back program for convenience food packaging, adopting a ban on polystyrene (Styrofoam) take-out food containers, and imposing fees on single-use plastic and paper grocery bags and on products that are not suitable for take-back or a ban, but are often found in litter.

Take-back programs, also known as extended producer responsibility (EPR), have reduced waste in Europe by motivating manufacturers and distributors to use less packaging and more recyclable materials. Bans on polystyrene take-out containers, already adopted by some California local jurisdictions, including San Francisco, Santa Monica, and Monterey, have been shown to reduce the volume of such waste. In San Francisco, a 2008 litter audit showed a 36 percent drop in polystyrene litter since the containers were banned in 2007. A fee on products, paid by the consumer, is expected to give an incentive to buy less damaging products and provide a source of funding for new anti-litter programs.

If the recommendations are adopted, the OPC strategy would affect all Californians. “We’re going to have to recognize we’re all in this together in terms of protecting our ocean environment,” OPC chair and Secretary for Natural Resources Mike Chrisman said at the November OPC hearing in San Pedro.

Marine debris, or ocean litter, is the assortment of discarded or lost material that accumulates in the ocean. It includes millions of polystyrene cups, cigarette filters, and lost or abandoned fishing lines and nets that do not disintegrate in the ocean but continue to entangle and kill marine life. Research shows that 60 to 80 percent of the debris floating in the open ocean is plastic. Marine debris also transports invasive species and toxic pollutants.

Dumping any plastics into the oceans has been illegal worldwide since 1988 under the international MARPOL Annex V treaty, yet marine debris has steadily increased in volume. During the last decade, a five-fold increase has been observed in the North Pacific Gyre (see Coast & Ocean, Vol. 21, no. 4). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, some 80 percent of the debris comes from land-based sources, including urban runoff.

Industry groups and companies contend that the fees and bans could send shockwaves through manufacturing and lead to job cuts during the current economic downturn. But cities, eager to keep residents employed, have thrown resources at keeping businesses open. “We really put emphasis on helping Santa Monica businesses,” said Josephine Miller, environmental analyst for the City of Santa Monica. In preparing for a citywide ban on polystyrene and non-recyclable plastic food containers in February 2008, Miller helped educate businesses on acceptable paper products from Depression-era days that many of us have forgotten: cone-shaped paper cups for beverages or paper boats for burritos. Some retailers already have begun to offer new plastic-free products in a similar price range. The discount chain Target, for example, sells packages of 54 compostable drinking cups for $2.24 next to packages of 50 polystyrene drinking cups for $1.99, a price difference of one cent less per compostable cup.

In Malibu, where single-use plastic bags were banned starting December 27, 2008, the City has staged “Day Without A Bag” to help people adopt more sustainable habits. “Our big concern is the behavioral change--we want our residents and visitors to take part in better stewardship,” said Jennifer Voccola, the City’s environmental programs coordinator. She said no local business opposed the bag ban, and the grocery chain Ralph’s was an especially great partner in “Day Without A Bag.” The store gave 25,000 reusable canvas bags for free to customers over a three-week period, according to front-end manager Daniel Scott. Other stores and chains are also moving away from plastic bags: Walmart expects to eliminate 135 million pounds of plastic bags worldwide by reducing bag use by an average of 33 percent per store (25 percent in the United States and 50 percent overseas) by 2013.

If and when all or parts of the OPC strategy are adopted by the Legislature and State agencies, less debris--especially less plastic--will enter the ocean. Still, what accumulates on beaches (some of it washing ashore from far away) and in watersheds will continue to make its way into the ocean. Beach cleanups are held to keep some of that out of the water. The Coastal Commission organizes Beach Cleanup Day every September, with volunteers working along beaches and up streams. In Santa Cruz County, the nonprofit Save Our Shores (SOS) rallies thousands of volunteers for these clean-ups--3,000 people participated in last year’s event. “It’s invigorating and intense,” said SOS executive director Laura Kasa. “The massive problem is the rivers, though.” On January 10, 2009, when SOS partnered with a Santa Cruz climbing gym, volunteers rappelled into Aptos Creek and collected 1,200 pounds of debris in four hours.

Getting rid of plastics in daily life won’t be easy. The OPC expects parts of the implementation strategy to be embodied in state law in the next year or two. Until then, reusable bags and cups are easy to find. Said Voccola, “This is really a stewardship issue--people need to stop generating so much waste.”