Banning Plastic Bags around the Sanctuary
Protecting marine life and cleaning up communities one plastic bag at a time:
- On March 20, Santa Cruz County's ban on single-use plastic bags took effect!
After over 2 years in the making, this ordinance will protect our marine environment from the blight of plastic pollution. Unfortunately, a lawsuit filed by the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition pressured the County to remove restaurants from the ban. SOS and SC County aim to have restaurants included in the ban by the end of 2012.
- SOS and Santa Cruz County handed out over 1,000 FREE reusable bags to shoppers in unincorporated Santa Cruz County on March 20. A big thank you to all of the local businesses who gave away free reusable bags to their customers that day. Read more...
- On June 6, the City of Monterey's bag ban takes effect. Monterey was lucky enough to escape legal pressure from the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition and passed their ban without too much hassle. They did not complete a full Environmental Impact Report, but did complete a Negative Declaration, just as Santa Cruz County did.
- The City of Carmel is moving forward on their own bag ban. Take Action in support by signing this petition today!
- We need your support! The fight to protect our ocean and communities has only just begun.
Save Our Shores is continually pushing for bag bans in the City of Santa Cruz, the County of San Mateo, and each jurisdiction within Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. We have a lot of work to do.
Save Your Shores by joining us as Member today!
- Local restaurants lead the way to a healthy Sanctuary: The removal of restaurants from Santa Cruz County's plastic bag ban didn't stop Team SOS! We've been hard at work asking restaurants to voluntarily stop using plastic bags. Sometimes we've even found these restaurants stopped using plastic bags ages ago!
See who's stepped up to the clean beaches challenge so far:- Betty Burgers
- Pleasure Pizza Eatery
- Davenport Roadhouse
- Deli-Licious Cafe
- The Farm
- Upper Crust Pizza & Pasta
- Cafe Sparrow
- Cafe Cruz
- Sofia's Taqueria
- Read our Plastic Bag Fact Sheet...
Why ban plastic bags?
Because communities free of disposable plastic bags lead to healthy oceans and rivers free of plastic.
From Spring of 2007 to present, Save Our Shores volunteers have removed over 34,000 plastic bags from local beaches and rivers.
Yet countless others have made their way into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Plastic is not biodegradable, rarely recycled, is made of toxic chemicals and petroleum, and is a product of mere convenience.
In the marine environment, plastic wreaks havoc on marine life. It breaks down into smaller and smaller particles that absorb toxic chemicals, are ingested by wildlife, and enter the food chain.
Around 100 billion petroleum-based plastic checkout bags are used each year in the US, requiring 12 million barrels of oil each year. Plastic bag bans help preserve the integrity of our local ecosystems, reduce the burden on landfills, and cut back litter in our communities. They help prevent pollution, save taxpayer dollars, and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
The Central Coast Sanctuary Alliance is working to ban plastic bags in each county and municipality around the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Local ordinances to ban plastic bags are necessary to create healthy oceans and clean communities. Many other cities and counties have taken similar action recently including Monterey, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Los Angeles County, Marin County, and most recently, Santa Cruz County.
Take Action to Ban Single-Use Plastic Bags in Monterey County...
Take Action to Ban Single-Use Plastic Bags in the City of Carmel...
Save Our Shores wants you to REFUSE disposable plastics - GO REUSABLE!
Did you know?
- One reusable bag has the potential to replace over 500 single-use plastic bags a year!
- Reusable bags reduce litter, conserve natural resources, and often support green businesses.
- Of the plastic bags collected at curbside, only 4% are recycled, the rest wind up in our landfills, oceans, and communites.
- Many cities no longer even collect plastic bags at curbside recycling because these plastic bags clog and jam recycling machinery! The City of San Jose estimates the cost of fixing these jams at $1 million a year.
- Paper bags are also problematic. It takes 14 million trees each year in the US to produce a 1 year-supply of paper bags for retail use. The answer is: GO REUSABLE! REFUSE disposable plastics!
Progress of Plastic Bag Bans around the Sanctuary:
- County of Santa Cruz - Passed, in effect on March 20, 2012.
- City of Monterey - Passed, in effect on July 6th, 2012.
- City of Santa Cruz - Estimated that City Council will vote on the ban in May.
- City of Carmel - Planning Commission will vote on the ban at May 9th meeting. City Council hopefully voting in June.
- Cities of Capitola, Scotts Valley and Watsonville- Working on beginning stages of Environmental Impact Report.
- County of Monterey - Working on Environmental Impact Report.
- Cities of Marina, Salinas and Seaside - No progress
Remember, it takes YOU - our local community - to create real change and we need your support to protect our ocean.
Take Action by signing the petition above, join us on facebook to stay up to date on the latest news, and Donate today!
> A local Girl Scout Toop Helps SOS petition in our community for a ban on single-use plastic bags
> Students from Monarch School speak at the Santa Cruz City Council Meeting in support of the Single-Use Bag Reduction Ordinance
