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Stephanie Barger, Executive Director
Earth Resource Foundation
Campaign AgainstCampaign Against
the Plastic Plaguethe Plastic Plague
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CAPPCAPP’’ss Mission:Mission:
As a result of the harmful impact of plastic onAs a result of the harmful impact of plastic on
global ecosystems, economies, and publicglobal ecosystems, economies, and public
health, immediate action must be taken tohealth, immediate action must be taken to
eliminate single use throwaway plastics.eliminate single use throwaway plastics.
Change must be established in the consumerChange must be established in the consumer
lifestyle through education, citizen action, andlifestyle through education, citizen action, andbusiness accountability.business accountability.
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Just one word… Plastics!
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Petroleum plastics are long-chain
carbon polymers
Polyethylene
Petroleum plastics are long-chain carbon polymers
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Marine Pollution BullMarine Pollution Bull
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86%86% of oceof ocedebris isdebris is
plasticplastic
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Where do marine plastics
come from?
! 80% is from land-based sources
- careless littering- trash cans & collection vehicles
- drainages from plastic production facilities
! Storm run-off is the primary transport to aquatic & marine environments
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6 X’s as much
as
North Pacific central gyre
Moore et al., 2001
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8
Orange
County
Beach
Debris
• Plastic resin pellets
• Foamed plastics
• Hard plastics
• Cigarette butts
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Escaping
“nurdles”
9
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What the albatross ate….
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Marine Mammal Commission
267 different species found entangled in or
ingesting marine debris
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Plastic Resins
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Plastic recycling? Closed Loop?
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Plastic Resins
V or PVC – Reynolds wrap, floor tiles, shower
curtains, hoses, medical tubing, pipes, window
frames. Not recycled .
HDPE – milk, juice & shampoo bottles. Recycled i
lumber, flower pots, pails, traffic cones, trash ca
PET or PETE – water, soda, sports drink & beer
bottles, catsup bottles. Recycled into cleaning
product bottles, luggage, carpets, polar fleece, c
seats.
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PP – yogurt & margarine containers, medicine
bottles, straws. Not recycled.
LDPE – Saran Wrap, Glad Wrap, bread bags,squeeze bottles, diaper liners. Not recycled .
PS – “styrofoam” – coffee cups, egg cartons,
meat trays, CD jackets. Not recycled.
Other – all others resins or mixtures. Not recycl
Plastic ResinsPlastic Resins
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Since they don’t biodegrade, how
do we get rid of plastics?
" Land-filled - 55%" Recycled – 30%
" Incinerated – 15%
Municipal Solid Waste
US EPA 2001
Since they don’t biodegrade
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0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
Packaging Consumer &Institutional
Short-LifeElectronics
Diapers Trash Bags Retail Bags Adhesives,Inks, Coatings
OtherPSPPLDPE, LLDPEPVCHDPEPET
m i l l i o n p o u n d s
Single-Use & Short-Life Thermoplastics, 2002
American Plastics Council, Earth Circle
55% of Plastics Are Fast Track Trash
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Plastics generation and recovery
1960 - 2001 (US EPA)
05
1015202530
1 9 6 0
1 9 7 0
1 9 8 0
1 9 9 0
2 0 0 0
million
tons
gen. recov.
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California has the lowest deposit
of any Bottle Bill state
0
5
10
Deposit
(cents)
M i c h i g a n
N
e w Y o r k
M a s s .
O r e g o n
M a i n e I o w a
V e r m o n t
C o n n .
D e l a w a r e
C A 2 0 0 3
C A 2 0 0 4
19
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#1 PETE Bottle Bill bottles not recycl(CA DOC)
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
1 9 8 8
1 9 9 0
1 9 9 2
1 9 9 4
1 9 9 6
1 9 9 8
2 0 0 0
2 0 0
Billion
Bottles
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93 Billion Plastic H2O Bottles Land-
filled in US in 2002
reach moon & back 38 x’s
circle equator 371 x’s
2,222 times the length of theNile
line Interstate 80 (NY to SF)3,196 x’s
span length of CA 11, 556 x’s
Orange County Register 12/03
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Is bottled water safer?
The nation’s two
top-sellerscome from
municipal water
sources!
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" virgin resins (#2 or #4)" health laws & business economics
limit recycled content
" at most 10-20% are recycled# infrastructure lacking
# none curbside/ supermarket
is minimal
# no “closed loop”
# land-filled or littered
**average family uses 700 per year**
Life of a Plastic Shopping BagLife of a Plastic Shopping Bag
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Plastics
recycling doe
not occur in
closed loop!
Myths about plastics
recycling…$ Curbside collection hastaken care of recycling
$ Plastics that go into recycle
bins get recycled
$ Chasing arrows means a
container is recyclable
$ Plastics packaging is madefrom oil refineries waste
$ There is a closed loop on
plastics recycling
Reality…
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Economics of Plastics Disposal in
California
% ?? millions paid by local gov’ts (public) for
collection & disposal fees and to clean beaches,
waterways and streets of plastic debris.
% ?? billions paid by state/local gov’ts to comply
with new EPA TMDL requirements for
impaired waterways in CA (e.g. LA River andBallona Creek Watershed).
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26 (Pelouse Water Conservation Network)26
average price of one
liter of Aquafina 1,7411,741 times the average
US Public drinking waterprice of $17.70 per 1,000cubic feet
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$1.09
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Disposables Burst on the
scene in the 50’s.
•1955 Life Magazine:
–Save time
–Go for convenience
–Use-once-and-toss
–Why feel guilty?
•First throwaways mainly pa
“Throwaway Livin
Photo Credit: Peter Stackpole, Aug 1, 1955 (Getty Ima
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Our “Throw Away Society”
Generated MSW = 4.4 lbs/person/d
Recycled = - 1.3 lbs/person/dDiscarded MSW = 3.1 lbs/person/d
= 1,132 lbs/ person/
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 200
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A globalA global
problem!problem!
Manila Bay, Philip
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3 key solution concepts
Producer
Responsibility
SustainabilityPrecautionary
Principle
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Plastic shopping bag solutions
Abroad
Ireland - 15 cent tax
Sweden - 5 cent tax
Bangladesh & parts of India - complete ban
S. Africa & Taiwan - regulate bag thickness
US
Major supermarkets - none
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Solutions#
Legislation- Consumer Responsibility
…Enforce curbside recycling
…Tax plastic containers
- Producer Responsibility…Polluter Pays Laws
#Reform plastic industry policy
- Increase recycled content
- Refillable plastic bottles
- Plastic bottles with non-removable lids
- Ban multiple resins or metal/plastics mixtures
- Revise chasing arrows symbol
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What can you do now?
# BYOB
#Filter water at
home# Support
development of
biodegradablealternatives
# Return packing
peanuts
#Write your
congresspersons
# Recycle
## PRE-cycle PRE-cycle
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Thich Nhat HanhBuddhist Zen Master
“Mindful consumption”“Mindful consumption”
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Curtis EbbesmeyerMarine Debris Expert
“Ranking environmentalproblems on a scale of one to
10, I would rank oil spills as aone. Plastic is a nine.”
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WeWe’’ll eventually eat everythingll eventually eat everything
we throw into the seawe throw into the sea……....
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Teaching environmental responsibility
where you live, work and play
Earth Resource Foundation
www.earthresource.org
949-645-5163