In Orange County California, OC Waste and Recycling operates three landfills, two that are open to the public and one that's only open to commercial haulers. In 2007 OC Waste and Recycling was known as Orange County Integrated Waste Management and put together a report on plastic bags and how they impact the landfill. All of the photos are from the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill in Irvine but the info also includes plastic bag cleanup stats from Olinda Alpha Landfill in Brea and Prima Deshecha Landfill in San Juan Capistrano.
Another important item to note is that plastic bag recycling is not effective. In 2006, AB 2449 passed in California to the dismay of many environmentalists after it was weakened by big plastics opposition groups. The six-year pilot program to make recycling bag recycling effective is still underway but the early results are pretty dismal. Plastic bag recycling is highly specialized and in most places plastic bags can't be mixed in with the more profitable recyclables because the bags can 'gum up' the machinery. Switching to paper is not the answer as there are added costs for those bags also. Domestically sourced reusable bags are the best option when possible. Keep your eyes open as reusable bags are often offered for free by various community groups or businesses.
For all of those reasons and more, plastic bag bans are needed. We call on Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach along with other cities in Orange County and throughout the world to act now. Reductions of disposable plastics are needed as the ocean is turning into a plastic soup and global population continues to climb - along with a desire by many emerging markets for more 'stuff'. Support bag bans in your local community or be a leader and start your own movement. Check out our Rise Above Plastics Activist Toolkit for establishing a plastic bag ban or similar ordinance and it also offers insight on increasing awareness of plastic pollution issues through education and outreach. RAP Activist Toolkit E-mag version to View or RAP Activist Toolkit PDF version to Print