“Despite global treaties to prevent dumping at sea and minimize landbased sources, and increasing efforts worldwide to protect water quality, the quantity of marine debris in the world’s oceans is increasing.”
— California Ocean Protection Council.
The Legislation - Taking Back Takeout Food Packaging
AB 904 (Feuer) is aimed at reducing and recycling packaging waste and litter by requiring that takeout single-use food packaging used in a jurisdiction be made from materials that are readily recyclable or compostable in that jurisdiction.
The Problem
Many California businesses use single-use food packaging that is not recyclable or compostable in local jurisdictions.
Single-use food packaging is designed for minutes of use, yet lasts for decades, or longer.
According to US EPA, the amount of single-use food packaging generated in our society is measured in the millions of tons, and virtually all of this waste is currently littered or landfilled.
Consistently, studies by government agencies have shown single-use food packaging to be one of the largest net contributors to litter, both because of its highly disposable nature and its tendency to be blown out of receptacles and landfills.
Over 1,384,000 plastic items or pieces were estimated to be on Orange County Beaches in a 1998 study.3
Littered single-use food packaging clogs our storm drains and pollutes our beaches, causing Californians to pay thousands of dollars in clean-up costs.
Moving Towards Alternatives
There are many recyclable and compostable alternatives for single-use food packaging such as paperboard and biodegradable plastics made from plant-based materials.
Municipalities including San Francisco, Oakland, and Santa Monica have passed policies either restricting or requiring recycling of single-use food packaging.
The Oakland Coliseum has successfully replaced its cups with biodegradable cornstarch cups and has shown an overall cost savings due to organics recycling.
Marine Impacts
Marine life and birds can easily confuse pieces of plastic for food. Ingestion of plastics can reduce the appetite of seabirds and marine life and inhibit nutrient absorption, causing possible death by starvation.
Marine debris has injured or killed at least 267 species world-wide, primarily through ingestion and entanglement.
More than 1 million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals, and countless fish have died annually in the north pacific from ingesting or becoming entangled in marine debris.
Plastic marine debris can attract dangerous chemicals present in the marine environment, like PCBs and DDT.