Posted on Jun 18 2012 by Daniella Dimitrova Russo
Today we attended UNEP’s event titled “Marine Litter: Preventing Our Oceans From Becoming Dumps”.
The event was organized by UNEP’s GPA, i.e. “Global Programme for Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from land-Based Activities“.
The key speakers were Jane Lubchenko – replaced by an senior official in NOAA; Doug Woodring – Co-founder...
Posted on Feb 04 2012 by Jane Patton
Plastic Pollution Coalition welcomes the publication of Marine Debris as a Global Environmental Problem: Introducing a solutions-based framework focused on plastic. This report is significant for three main reasons:
It is clearly focused on plastic as the both the main component and the main problem of what has been euphemistically referred to in previous documents as “marine debris.”
It...
Posted on Jan 31 2012 by Jane Patton
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a report on packaging recovery, entitled “Dialogue on Sustainable Financing of Recycling: Dialogue Report on Consumer Packaging“. The report is grossly misguided, as it is focused entirely on recycling – the final “R” in the order of preference for sustainability.
It is imperative that groups supporting sustainable...
Posted on Jul 13 2011 by Plastic Pollution Coalition
We are pleased to announce that, effective July 1, 2011, co-founder Lisa Kaas Boyle, Esq. has stepped in as our Legal Policy Director.
Lisa is an experienced lawyer with extensive background in environmental advocacy and legislative work.
In this position, Lisa will be coordinating with member organizations to develop and pursue legal strategies to advance the mission of Plastic Pollution Coalition.
As...
Posted on Jan 05 2011 by Amy Westervelt
Well, no one ever accused industry shills of being dummies. A group called the “Save the Plastic Bag Coalition” is trotting out a tried and true tactic to hold up Marin County’s plastic bag ban–invoking the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). If that sounds counterintuitive that’s because it is. Here’s the deal: To comply with CEQA, new projects in the state...
Posted on Dec 28 2010 by Amy Westervelt
On January 4th, the Marin County Board of Supervisors will vote on a single-use bag ordinance. While it’s certainly not the first of such ordinances to be considered, particularly in California, it is unique in one important way: Marin County plans to rely on a categorical exemption to CEQA (click here for more info) and not prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
The City...
Posted on Dec 08 2010 by Amy Westervelt
Back in 2008, everyone cheered when California’s Governor Schwarzenegger signed two bills (AB 1879 and SB 509) known collectively as the Green Chemistry Initiative. Dozens of environmental and public health nonprofits set to work laboring alongside state representatives over the course of two years to craft regulations that would tighten oversight of the 80,000-odd chemicals on the market...
Posted on Dec 02 2010 by Amy Westervelt
Los Angeles County managed to pass history-making legislation in November, banning plastic bags. Now, San Jose, Calif., the hub of California’s (and the country’s) cleantech industry, is considering its own plastic bag ban. But while it might seem like a slam-dunk in this greentech Mecca, the measure is already coming under some heat … not from voters but from the American Chemistry...
Posted on Sep 04 2010 by Plastic Pollution Coalition
This week, California’s elected officials voted down both a ban on plastic bags and a ban on Bisphenol-A (BPA) in plastic baby bottles, sippy cups and baby formula containers.
Thanks to the millions spent by lobbyists for the American Chemistry Council, Dow, and Exxon to defeat these bills, now every Californian knows just what the acronym BPA means; why BPA should never be allowed in baby products;...
Posted on Aug 31 2010 by Daniella Dimitrova Russo
The California statewide bill AB 1998 forges ahead. The bill, authored by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, would make California the first state in the nation to ban plastic bags at grocery, drug and some convenience stores.
The bill passed the Assembly in June, and, despite heavy lobbying by the plastics industry, passed the Senate Rules Committee on Friday with several amendments.
Time to act! We...
