California Adopts Nation's First Trash Policy

Heal the Bay VP Sarah Sikich reports from Sacramento on a tremendous victory for the health of California’s waterways. Read on for details about the state’s brand-new Trash Policy, for which Heal the Bay has been advocating for years.

April 8, 2015 – The State Water Resources Control Board made history this week by unanimously adopting the first statewide Trash Policy in the nation. This groundbreaking legislation will prohibit the dumping of trash into state waters, protecting thousands of miles of California’s waterways and coastline. The policy is based largely on pollution limits Heal the Bay helped advance for the Los Angeles River and Ballona Creek over a decade ago, which have kept millions of pounds of trash from entering our local waters. Along with the many other local actions taken throughout the state to prevent the scourge of plastic pollution, this policy is a huge step forward in the campaign for a cleaner, bluer California.

Why was pursuing this policy a priority for Heal the Bay? For three primary reasons: Litter blights our communities, threatens aquatic life and is staggeringly expensive for cities and counties to clean up. A USEPA report estimates that West Coast communities spend over $520 million each year to clean up and prevent trash from reaching our waterways. A new study published in February 2015 estimated that in 2010 alone between 4-12 million metric tons of plastic washed into the world’s oceans–enough to cover every foot of coastline worldwide. This amount of plastic is predicted to increase tenfold by 2025.

Where is all this trash coming from? It’s estimated that up to 80% of the garbage polluting our oceans comes from inland. California’s new Trash Policy will require municipalities to tackle this problem in one of two ways: Either by installing trash capture devices throughout the stormdrain system or by implementing other trash elimination programs or projects (e.g., banning foam food containers, street sweeping or litter prevention education). Municipalities that opt for the latter approach will need to monitor their efforts to demonstrate the necessary trash reductions, and local governments have a maximum of 10 years to comply with the policy.

Although some local government officials complained about these new regulations, the policy enjoyed strong business and environmental support. Heal the Bay will continue to help cities and counties across California comply with the policy by encouraging source control options for the pollutants most prevalent in the litter stream, like polystyrene foam food containers, bottle caps and cigarette butts. We will also help local governments find creative ways to fund stormwater pollution prevention projects that address trash and other pollution issues, like bacteria and metals pollution.

Heal the Bay has been working with the State Water Board on this landmark Trash Policy for over five years, including serving on its public advisory committee. We’ve worked in close partnership with California Coastkeeper Alliance, Seventh Generation Advisors, Clean Water Action, NRDC, Algalita Marine Research Foundation and others to bring this policy to Sacramento. We’re incredibly grateful to State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus, Vice Chair Fran Spivy-Weber and Board Members Tam Doduc, Steven Moore, and Doreen D’Adamo for their leadership on this issue. And a special thanks to Heal the Bay members and supporters who’ve signed countless petitions and sent letters and emails to state officials urging the adoption of this policy. Local activism works!