Coastal Blog — Bag Bans
April 25 2013
With Us - NYC Expands Recycling!
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
On Wednesday, Mayor Bloomberg hosted a press conference to announce that New York City is expanding its household recycling program to include all rigid plastics, not just #1 or #2 bottles and jugs. This will be a great opportunity to divert materials from the landfill and provide more recycled source…
April 04 2013
Million Reusable Bag Giveaway
Los Angeles is getting ready to finalize their plastic checkout bag ban and groups are ready to provide reusable bags 'Made in LA' for the masses. California Greenworks, in partnership with Green Vets LA and Homeboy Industries, proposes the “Million Reusable Bag Giveaway” pilot program, to create and distribute 25,000…
March 28 2013
Top Plastic Pollution Bills in California
Legal Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans
The California legislative session started off in full sprint this year, with Senators and Assembly members tripping over themselves to come up with bills that address coastal plastic pollution. At the end of the first quarter, we have several priority pieces of legislation that Surfrider Foundation supports in our efforts…
March 11 2013
Can a First Coast City be the First City in Florida to Refuse Plastic Bags?
Florida is a state that limits 'home rule' when it comes to plastic bags - municipalities are not allowed to enact a plastic bag ban or fee-based ordinance per state law. That did not slow down a group of Flagler College students who are working to eliminate plastic bag litter…
March 07 2013
Plastic Bag Freedom. HUH?
America's Founding Fathers obviously did not have plastic bags in mind when seeking freedom, but in desperate efforts, some plastic bag proponents are trying to associate plastic bags with freedom. "On Tuesday, Rep. Drew Springer (Muenster) filed HB 2416 "The Shopping Bag Freedom Act" to give retailers and consumers the…
February 22 2013
Appeals Court Rules for LA County Bag Ban and Against Plastics Industry
Legal Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans
On February 21, 2013, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District affirmed the lower court judgment in favor of Los Angeles County in defending their municipal bag ban ordinance from an attack brought by the plastics industry, including Hilex Poly Co., in Schmeer et al v. County…
February 11 2013
Reusable Bags Are Dangerous? Don’t Believe The HYPE!
Over the past couple of weeks numerous stories and LTE's have focused on recent 'research' claiming a link between unwashed reusable bags and deaths in San Francisco. This flawed research builds on the misleading research started in 2010 between University of Arizona and Loma Linda University that was funded by…
January 15 2013
2013 Rise Above Plastics Program Plan
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
Here is a four minute video that provides an overview of the Rise Above Plastics program and our goals for this year. If you are not involved with a Surfrider Chapter, you can find the closest one at www.surfrider.org/chapters.
January 08 2013
Are You A Bag Hero?
The Surfrider Foundation Coastal Bend (TX) Chapter has developed a great program to highlight community members who are using reusable bags. The Bag Hero program demonstrates how easy it is to bring your own bags and why it’s important. Each month they recognize an exceptional community member who has chosen…
January 02 2013
New Year Rings In With Plastic Reductions!
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
2012 saw an increased groundswell of local actions across the county aimed at reducing plastic litter and some of the ordinances took effect on January 1st. Corvallis, OR; Alameda County, CA; Laguna Beach, CA and Barrington, RI all have banned single-use plastic checkout bags at grocery stores. In San Marcos,…
December 18 2012
More Plastic Bag Reduction Efforts
Last week we covered the groundswell of plastic bag ordinances sweeping through California and this week we are happy to report another international bag ban while legislators on the East Coast are looking to place statewide fees on carryout bags. Both houses of the Swiss Parliament voted to forbid the…
December 17 2012
Surfrider Foundation Supports Los Angeles County Bag Ban in Court
Legal Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans
Surfrider Foundation, by and through our Los Angeles County Chapters and along with a coalition of environmental groups, filed an amicus or “friend of the court” brief in support of Los Angeles County in Schmeer v. Los Angeles County. In this case, the County of Los Angeles is being used…
December 14 2012
Plastic Bag Reduction Week in California!
This week saw three cities in California move forward with different stages of a plastic checkout bag ban for grocers and retail food stores. After state legislators failed to pass AB 298 this year, the statewide bag ban, it is imperative for cities, towns and counties to continue the groundswell…
October 30 2012
RAP on Openline
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
Last month the good folks over at KROQ invited us over to chat about the Rise Above Plastics program and ways to reduce plastic pollution. Check it out here to find out more about Surfrider, Rise Above Plastics and what you can do to help turn the tide on plastic…
October 25 2012
Plastic on Mars and the Arctic Seafloor
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
Why are we taking plastic pollution to the ends of the earth and beyond? David Bowie famously asked whether there is Life on Mars but before we can confirm that either way we have managed to litter plastic on the red planet. Meanwhile, a study was recently released showing an…
October 22 2012
Campaign Planning Video
Plan before you ban. When considering plastic bag legislation - or any other campaign with a beginning, middle, and end - we can't underscore enough the importance of campaign planning. Surfrider's Northeast Regional Manager John Weber has seen the good, bad and ugly sides of campaigns over his tenure as…
September 25 2012
Haiti Bans Plastic Bags and Foam Foodware!
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
News stories are circulating stating that Haiti’s government has announced a ban on plastic checkout bags and plastic foam foodware. “This is a logical decision and makes sense,” Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said. “Importing, manufacturing bio-degradable items will benefit Haiti’s short, mid- and long-term environmental interest.”
September 20 2012
Bag-Related Legislation Comes out of Sacramento
Legal Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans
This week California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1219 (Wolk) into law, extending the in-store recycling program for single-use plastic bags. Unlike the former version of this bill AB 2449 (2006), there is no local preemption for municipalities in California that want to require a charge for plastic bags.
September 20 2012
China Gets Tough on Plastic Recycling
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
The mantra that big business seems to push is ‘Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!’, but at what cost? Many of the shipping containers that bring us goods from Asia don’t want to head back empty and in 2010 the #1 export from the U.S. to China was ‘Waste and Scrap.’ China recently…
September 17 2012
International Plastic Bag Reductions
Plastic bag restrictions have been enacted in many cities and towns on the West Coast of the U.S. while international plastic bag reductions are picking up speed. There is no solid data on the number of plastic checkout bags used every year but estimates range between 500 billion and 1…
