Recycling is not the answer: Only about 5% of U.S. plastic waste gets recycled, and only 10% of the plastic ever made has been recycled. Surfrider instead advocates for reuse and the use of truly recyclable material in policy and as part of our Ocean Friendly Restaurant program. Industry "solutions" such as chemical or "advanced" recycling are only ploys to justify the continued production of plastic, and are championed by the fossil fuel industry and their lobbyists, not independent scientists.
Bioplastics create the illusion of a solution while actually adding to the problem. Surfrider discourages the use of bioplastics and offers several resources for those seeking more information and truly sustainable alternatives on our Bioplastics Facts & Resources page.
If your bathtub is overflowing, what’s the first thing you do? You do not grab a towel or a mop – you turn off the tap! We cannot clean up our way out of this crisis until we stop the deluge of plastic pollution into our ocean. We must stop the current flow of plastic pollution by addressing plastic pollution at the source. This includes banning unnecessary single-use plastics, advocating for better product alternatives, and switching to reusables for our everyday needs.
We encourage individuals, businesses, and governments to protect our ocean, waves, and beaches by supporting legislative policies and innovative private sector solutions that move us away from unnecessary single-use plastics.
Surfrider chapters and clubs lead hundreds of cleanups every year, removing thousands of pounds of trash before it enters our ocean, and collecting data to inform our efforts to make the legislative changes needed to hold plastic producers and polluters accountable.
Additionally, the production of plastic, a fossil-fuel product, contributes significantly to climate change and adverse human health impacts through both the raw materials and the manufacturing processes used to make it.
