Coastal Blog — Rise Above Plastics
October 18 2011
Portland Bag Ban Takes Effect - Bring Your Bag!
This past weekend the much publicized plastic carryout bag ban took effect in Portland, Oregon. After the state legislature failed to act on a statewide bag bill, San Adams and the Portland City Council acted quickly to establish a local ordinance they have been working on for years. The Surfrider…
October 17 2011
Are You a Member?
Are you a Surfrider Foundation member? Do you know all of the benefits to being a Surfrider member? The Surfrider Foundation is a premiere grassroots environmental organization that has local chapters along every coastline in the United States. Our mission is the protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves and beaches…
October 13 2011
Santa Monica HS Students Report First Flush of Bacteria and Plastics
Blue Water Task Force Youth Rise Above Plastics
The students at Santa Monica High School who run the West LA/Malibu Chapter's Blue Water Task Force program sent out this press release to alert their community about the bacteria and plastic garbage load that flowed out to their beaches after the first heavy rains this fall. Pretty gruesome photos......
October 05 2011
Have you watched One Beach yet?
Barefoot Wine recently released One Beach, a film that tells the personal stories of people who are using creativity and innovation to help keep the world’s beaches “barefoot friendly” and focuses on plastic pollution issues. Directed by renowned surf filmmaker Jason Baffa and produced by Farm League, the film profiles…
October 03 2011
Raptoberfest is here!!
For the entire month of October the Surfrider Foundation and our friends at Rusty will be celebrating RAPTOBERFEST. We’ll be sharing plastic related facts, as well as tips on how to reduce your individual plastic footprint. Share your own tip on how to reduce your plastic footprint on Surfrider’s Facebook…
September 27 2011
Simon Cowell is a Plastic Litterbug
I am going to confess to a guilty pleasure here and admit that I like to watch some of the talent competition television shows. Last week I tuned into the season premiere of The X Factor and was impressed by the talent but bummed to learn that Simon is a…
September 19 2011
Marin County Wins Over the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition in Court
On September 15, 2011, Marin County Superior Court issued its ruling upholding the Marin County plastic bag ban in the case entitled Save The Plastic Bag Coalition v. County of Marin. The Court ruled that Marin County acted properly in relying upon a “categorical exemption” from the California Environmental Quality…
September 15 2011
Top Ten Ways to Rise Above Plastics!
Has the world gone plastic? It may seem that way sometimes but it's easy to reduce your impact. I'm typing on plastic keys right now and my fifteen year stereo has some plastic parts so I'm not going to say all plastics are evil. But some are. As the oceans…
September 15 2011
Chico Bag Fends Off Lawsuit from Single-Use Bag Industry
The ChicoBag Company, makers of reusable bags, has announced that the lawsuit filed against it by Hilex Poly Company, LLC, Superbag Operating, LTD., and Advance Polybag, Inc. – three of the largest domestic manufacturers of disposable single-use plastic bags – has ended. Chico was sued in January under the Lanham…
September 12 2011
How much does it cost to clean up plastic bags?
Listed by Guinness World Records in 2010 as the 'Most Ubiquitous Consumer Item', many people view plastic carryout bags as free but there are hidden costs that can affect us all. First, it cost the stores money to purchase any type of bag they are giving you. Some stores view…
September 09 2011
California Foam Phase Out On Hold
California Senate Bill 568 has placed on the 'inactive file' and has been moved to a two-year bill as Senator Alan Lowenthal decided to hold off bringing SB 568 to a full Assembly vote. Now, it's a two-year bill and will be brought back during next year's legislative session. This…
August 29 2011
YOU can help California make restaurants foam free!
Last week SB 568 advanced through the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee and will be voted on by the full Assembly floor before September 9th! This is a huge step forward for the bill to eliminate polystyrene foam containers from restaurants statewide. Surfrider Foundation is a co-sponsor of this bill…
August 23 2011
Stand with Reusable Bags vs Plastic Giants’ Lawsuits
There is a growing worldwide cultural and societal shift from disposable single-use plastic bags to durable reusable bags. However, instead of adapting their business to this new opportunity, the giant single-use plastic bag corporations and groups such as "Save the Plastic Bag Coalition" are spending millions of dollars on lobbyists…
August 19 2011
Big Plastic Rewrites History
Well, that's not true, but their lobbying group did influence curriculum for California schools. In a front page article today, The San Francisco Chronicle exposes the American Chemistry Council for their tactics to change the environmental curriculum which included a section for the 11th grade teacher's edition textbook titled, "The…
August 08 2011
Can you help stop plastic pollution?
The Surfrider Foundation recently released the 'Rise Above Plastics Activist Toolkit' to help Surfrider Foundation Chapters and everyday activists plan plastic reduction initiatives at home, work and in your community. It's a great resource guide that provides insight on the dangers of plastic pollution and how one person can help…
August 04 2011
Tidal Wave of Trash
The Surfrider Foundation Huntington Beach / Seal Beach Chapter recently had an award-winning float in their local Independence Day parade that was made from beach trash. Back in March, chapter member Andre Faubert started his own 30/30 experiment: collecting trash in Huntington Beach for half an hour a day for…
July 21 2011
Portland is next as the plastic dominos start to fall
Earlier this month news came out of Washington that the City of Bellingham banned plastic bags and put a fee on paper bags. Last week a similar story is coming out of Portland, Oregon. After state legislators failed to act on SB 536 this year, which would have enacted a…
July 14 2011
California Supreme Court Rules for Bag Bans
Today, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of the City of Manhattan Beach’s single-use plastic bag ban, holding that state law does not require the City to complete a full Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) in order to impose the ban. This decision undoubtedly will make it easier for cities…
July 13 2011
Bellingham Washington ‘Rises Above Plastics’ and Reduces Carryout Plastic Bags!
Four months after initially presenting an ordinance to Bellingham City Council members to reduce single-use bags, on July 11th, the Bellingham City Council voted 7-0 in favor of the ordinance to ban carry out plastic bags and implement a 5 cent fee on brown paper bags starting July 2012. This…
July 11 2011
We’re going on tour with Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance!
We're going on tour! Surfrider Foundation has been invited to go on the 2011 Honda Civic Tour this fall with Blink-182 & My Chemical Romance! Surfrider will be partnering with Reverb, a company dedicated to creating "green" tours with a goal to engage fans and raise awareness regarding environmental issues…
