“THROWAWAY LIVING”

1955

Plastics: What, Why, Where

What’s Made of Plastic?

INDIA 4.4 LBS (2 kg)

EUROPE 132 LBS (60 kg)

U.S. 176 LBS (80 kg)

Annual Plastic Use per Person

Bioplastics are not the answer.•Require INDUSTRIAL COMPOSTING to biodegrade(140° and fed microbes)

•Cannot contaminate ‘regular’ plastics recycling if mixed in•“Renewable source material;” but often genetically-modified and shipped long distances.

•Do not biodegrade in water or when

littered, acts like ‘regular’ plastics and photodegrades.

BIODEGRADEABLE PLASTICS

THERE IS NO ‘AWAY’, it all goes somewhere.

(California Integrated Waste Management Board, (California Integrated Waste Management Board, ““Plastics White PaperPlastics White Paper””

Landfill 50%

Recycled

Durable Goods 20%

Unaccounted for 25%

Where does our plastic go?

The “missing” 25%

Rick LoomisLos Angeles Times

LosAngeles River

Plastics at Sea

5 Gyres: Where Plastic Accumulates

Thousands of marine mammals and sea birds die every year after ingesting or being tangled in plastic marine litter.

All of this debris on the right (more than a half-pound of plastic) was removed from the stomach of an

albatross on remote Midway Island in Hawaii

Plastic particles attract chemicals in the ocean

This pellet could have up to

1 million times the chemical

concentration than the water around it

Scripps Institute estimates that fish off the West Coast ofThe United States ingest 12,000 TONS of plastic per year.

This Rainbow Runner had 17 pieces of plastic in its stomach.

Support Policy ReductionsTen states have a bottle recycling bill and 100+ cities have a Plastic bag ban or fee-based ordinance for checkout bags.

= decreased litter and increased recycling

Support Policy Reductions2013/14 California Statewide Legislation:

Three Plastic Checkout Bag Bills – enviro community seems to be rallying around SB 405

SB 529 (Leno) Fast Food Packaging, which would move fast food chains away from foamed polystyrene and

other nonrecyclable/noncompostable plastics,

AB 521 could be one of the first Extended Producer Responsibility bills enacted to help prevent plastic

pollution.

AB 1142 is proposed to ban smoking at state parks.STAY TUNED

1: Support local bag bans andstatewide legislation

2: Help documentPlastic pollution

3: Get Involved w/RAP Committee

Bill Hickmanrap@surfrider.org