Big news from the Northeast and West Coast!
Big news coming out of Massachusetts! During climate week, Governor Healy announced an executive order banning state agencies from purchasing single-use bottles effective immediately. This action is the first of its kind in the nation to adopt a procurement ban. Congrats to our MA chapter for this epic win!
California is in the home stretch of its legislative session. The good news is that Surfrider’s priority campaign, AB 1628, to require filters on washing machines is headed to the governor’s desk! If you reside in California, you can help us make it to the finish line by signing the action alert!
Also, in a landmark legal move earlier this week, Governor Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that California is suing five of the world's largest oil companies and their subsidiaries. Read the blog post here to learn more about the lawsuit.
Ocean Friendly Restaurants Month Recap
Last month, Chapters and Clubs across the Surfrider Network hosted OFR-inspired events with a goal to add 100 new OFRs during August alone.
Here is a snapshot of our impact:
- 73 new/renewed OFRs added in August totaling 500 total OFRs - We were so close to our goal and we are finally back in the 500s!
- 23 OFR-inspired events hosted
- 18 different Surfrider social media accounts posted about OFRs
- 76 people registered for Surfrider's OFR Lunch & Learn Webinar - Recording here!
- We published this OFR Month blog post
Want to still celebrate? You can use our online map to find an OFR near you
Beach Cleanups Go Beyond the Beach
The Beach Cleanup program is continuing to see success this year, with 24,000 volunteers removing over 180,000 lbs of trash during 703 cleanup events. But how can we take our momentum beyond the beach and address the source of the trash cleaned up? We turn to policy. Surfrider Chapters are working to incorporate plastic campaign work with their beach cleanups to raise awareness of plastic pollution and the legislative solutions available to stop plastic from ending up on our beaches.
The Surfrider Foundation’s New Hampshire Chapter has been hosting Skip the Stuff cleanups, encouraging volunteers to photograph items they find that are takeaway items - the exact things the Skip the Stuff ban is working to eliminate. Spreading awareness of single-use plastics and the policies that can ban them is one way that we can combine our efforts and work together to stop the flow of plastics to our beaches and ultimately the ocean. Excellent work, Surfrider New Hampshire!
Bioplastics Not the Solution
Check out Surfrider's new page on bioplastics, full of facts and resources to help consumers choose reuse and what's truly recyclable.
Global Treaty Progress
Finally, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the "Zero Draft" of the Global Plastics Treaty. See what's good, not-so-good and missing in the draft here – and then be sure to take action calling on the Biden Administration to do better in supporting a strong treaty!