The Pacific Protection Initiative is a comprehensive effort to address the problem of plastic marine debris. Heal the Bay is using science, policy and legislative advocacy, and grassroots education.
The Pacific Protection Initiative corresponds directly with, and seeks to implement actions to reduce and prevent marine debris as called for in the landmark resolution adopted by the California Ocean Protection Council on February 8, 2007.
The Pacific Protection Initiative focuses on the issues of plastic bags, plastic bottles (and bottlecaps), Styrofoam ® and polystyrene in food and beverage packaging, plastic resin pellets (called “nurdles”), derelict (lost or abandoned) fishing gear, and toxics in plastic. By targeting some of the most abundant items that litter our coast and ocean, The Pacific Protection Initiative could foster statewide, and potentially global change.
The Plastic Marine Debris Problem
Marine debris is simply manmade trash and materials that litter our sea and beaches. It is estimated that 80% of marine debris comes from land-based sources, while only 20% comes from the sea-based sources, like shipping and boating. Marine debris is widely recognized as a threat to the marine environment. Despite past efforts to control marine debris, the quantity of trash in the coastal and ocean environment is increasing dramatically world-wide.
The majority of marine debris is comprised of plastic materials. With an estimated 3.5 million tons of trash and litter present off the coast of California, it is estimated that 60–80% of all marine debris, and 90% of floating debris is plastic. Plastic is so durable that it can take hundreds of years for it to break down at sea, and some kinds never truly biodegrade at sea.
In fact, a section of the North Pacific ocean (called the Mid-Pacific Gyre) is home to the world’s largest floating island of trash, estimated to be 5 million square miles—larger than the entire United States.where the Algalita Marine Research Foundation has found there is six times more mass of plastic particles than there is natural zooplankton.
Impacts to Marine Life
In addition to spoiling the beauty of California's beaches and coast, marine debris poses a significant threat to marine life, primarily through ingestion, and entanglement. It is estimated that marine debris kills over 1 million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals, and countless other species of marine life annually. Sea life that becomes entangled in marine debris, such as abandoned fishing gear, often suffer from restricted mobility, which increases susceptibility to predation, and may cause drowning.
Marine life can also ingest plastic fragments and other marine debris, such as lighters and bottle caps that mimic prey. Ingesting plastic can cause severe harm to marine life. It can clog their digestive system, making it difficult to get the proper nutrients needed for survival.
Plastic marine debris can also carry dangerous chemicals, like PCBs and DDT, that are not water-soluble and adhere to the plastics. These toxins may build up in the bodies of sea creatures, as well as their predators, when they ingest contaminated plastics.
Legislation is Part of the Solution
Here in California, many environmental groups, as well as local and state agencies, are working to fix the plastic marine debris problem. Heal the Bay is sponsoring and supporting Pacific Protection Initiative legislation in partnership withEnvironment California, Californians Against Waste and the San Diego Coastkeeper. The Pacific Protection Initiative legislative package consists of four California state bills (* = legislation sponsored by Heal the Bay):
- Assembly Bill 258* : Would require the State Water Board and Regional Water Boards to implement a program to control discharges of pre-production plastic pellets used to make plastic products, commonly known as “nurdles,” into rivers and streams.
- Senate Bill 898* : Would require the California Integrated Waste Management Board to address derelict (abandoned) fishing gear, such as lines and nets and to assign resin code labeling for bioplastics.
- Senate Bill 899* : Would implement a phased-ban of toxic additives in plastic packaging, such as Bisphenol-A, which mimics the sex hormone estrogen.
- Assembly Bill 904 : Would require that takeout food packaging be made from recyclable or compostable materials starting July 1, 2012.
Science
Heal the Bay is investigating the development of studies about trash transport, waste characterization, and packaging alternative biodegradability. To counter the plastics industry’s creation of “manifest scientific uncertainty” about the toxics in plastic, Heal the Bay is also analyzing the scientific studies on toxics in plastics, and making sure that legislators understand and have access to these studies. It is critical that legislators and policy makers hear about the science from others than just the plastics and oil lobbyists.
Advocacy and Education
In addition to our flotilla of bills, Heal the Bay is also working with state and local government and businesses to end the scourge of marine debris. In addition to running monthly Adopt-A-Beach clean-ups and organizing the annual Coastal Clean-up Day event for Los Angeles County, we are working with Los Angeles City and County to promote reusable bags, and support bans of plastic bags in LA County and LA City, and other cities. We are also working to promote state use of reusable packaging alternatives, and to encourage the state to develop an international focus on the plastic marine debris problem.