Coastal Blog — Bag Bans
September 16 2012
City of San Francisco Wins Legal Battle over Plastics Industry
Legal Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans
The City of San Francisco successfully fended off a suit by the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition that challenged their new broader single-use bag ban. This win will likely encourage other cities to stand up to industry scare tactics and enact broad local ordinances.
September 04 2012
Cheap Plastic Keeps Flowing In CA After Legislators Fail To Act
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
Late last week both of the statewide plastic reduction bills weaving through the California legislature failed last week. While it’s a bummer these plastic litter reduction bills did not pass, it was great to see the efforts of Surfrider Foundation Chapter activists in some of the target districts: San Francisco,…
August 27 2012
Last Call for California
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
LAST CALL for Californians to take action on supporting two important plastic reduction bills before the legislative session ends on Friday. SB 568 would phase out expanded polystyrene foam foodware statewide and AB 298 would ban plastic checkout bags statewide. These are two of the most prolific litter items found…
August 22 2012
Will California Reduce Plastic Pollution?
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
There are just nine days left in the California legislative session, which means just nine days left for bills to be passed before going to the Governor for final approval. Two groundbreaking plastic pollution reduction bills are weaving through the Capitol in Sacramento and need your support to pass! It's…
July 25 2012
Two Plastic Reduction Victories in Santa Cruz
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
Last night the Santa Cruz City Council gave their final approval on a plastic bag ban and expanded their existing foam foodware ban to include most disposable retail items made from EPS foam. The Surfrider Foundation Santa Cruz Chapters was one of the first to focus on plastic pollution issues…
July 24 2012
Illinois, Massachusetts and California Plastic Bills
Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans Expanded Polystyrene Foam
Three states have four big bills regarding plastic pollution in play and your help is needed! It's easy, all you have to do is pick up the phone and make a call, then sign and share an online action alert.
July 23 2012
More Evidence Plastic Bag Legislation Works
Plastic bag legislation is relatively new but the results are coming in shows them to be effective in reducing plastic bags with little resistance from consumers. Recent reports from Long Beach, CA, Sunnyvale, CA and Quebec Province in Canada all show positive results. Whether it's a plastic checkout bag ban…
May 30 2012
Illinois Call To Action - Prevent A Bad Bag Bill
June 4th Update: IL SB 3442 bill thinly passed the House and State Senate so it now sits on the Governor's desk for final approval or veto. Ask Governor Quinn to veto this horrible bill by signing our action alert TODAY!
May 23 2012
LA and SB Move Forward with Plastic Bag Bans!
The Los Angeles and Santa Barbara City Councils each voted this week to move forward with plans to ban plastic checkout bags at grocery stores, convenience stores and similar retailers within each of their respective city limits. Both cities have held a series of public hearings on the issue and…
May 22 2012
Does Recycling Increase Consumption?
The world marvels at how much Americans consume, whether if it's a disproportionate share of world energy, lots of fresh water in our daily lives or throwing away over four pounds of trash per person per day. A recent study shows how providing recycling bins can lead to an increase…
May 14 2012
Hawaii Becomes the First State in the U.S. to Ban Plastic Bags!
When the Mayor of Honolulu signed into law the plastic bag ban on May 11, Hawaii became the first state in the nation where every county is covered by a plastic bag ban. This was not done by the state legislature, but instead by all four County Councils - a…
May 14 2012
Will your reusable bag make you sick?
Nope – but any inanimate object could potentially carry a virus, germs, bacteria or mold. A recent report from Oregon documented norovirus virus was transferred on a bag of groceries that was being kept in a hotel bathroom. The report stressed that the carrier could be any inanimate object or…
April 11 2012
Phone In To Help Hawaii Reduce Plastic Bag Pollution
Hawaii stands poised to pass the nation's first statewide Bag Bill (HB2483). The bill would reduce the consumption of single-use plastic and paper bags through a small fee, and revenues from the fees would help fund watershed protection. Over the last four years, the coalition of supporters has grown to…
March 23 2012
Superior Court Upholds Los Angeles County Bag Ban
Legal Rise Above Plastics Bag Bans
In a Los Angeles Superior Court hearing today, Judge James C. Chalfant upheld the County of Los Angeles ordinance to impose a single-use plastic bag ban with a 10-cent fee on paper bags.
March 02 2012
The Plastic Bag Dominos Continue To Fall
It's been a good week for the environment as more cities embrace meaningful plastic bag reductions. (For a list of ineffective plastic bag reductions, see yesterday's blog post) In Southern California, Laguna Beach finalized their plastic carryout bag ban while Carpinteria and Ojai passed first readings of their own bag…
March 01 2012
Voluntary Plastic Bag Reductions Don’t Work
As carryout plastic bag usage in the United States soars over 100 billion (115 billion now by one estimate), more cities and states are looking at ways to reduce litter and the impacts of plastic bags. Bag recycling programs have been set up across the country but as bag recycling…
February 22 2012
Plastic Videos
One of the coolest parts of the Rise Above Plastics program is sharing some of the video projects that activists work on. Check out these great efforts from Marty Benson in San Diego County and Joanna Priestley/Create Plenty in Portland, OR.
January 23 2012
Stiv on Bag Ban Campaign Planning
I recently caught up with 5 Gyres Communications and Policy Director / Surfrider activist Stiv Wilson to get some of his insight on planning for a successful plastic reduction campaign. Stiv has a wealth of knowledge from sailing in three of the five gyres to being one of the many…
January 11 2012
Another One Bites The Dust - SLO Bag Ban Passes!
San Luis Obispo County County Integrated Waste Management Authority had a 'super vote' for the first time in their history and a super majority of board members passed one of the first countywide plastic bag bans in the U.S. This one covers both the unincorporated areas and all incorporated cities…
January 09 2012
Ban The Bag on Portlandia
Cheers to the Surfrider Foundation Portland Chapter for making such an impact with their successful Ban The Bag campaign that it landed on the Independent Film Channel's hit series Portlandia! It's a funny show and this is a great parody on petitioning. New episodes Fridays at 10, check your cable…
