{"id":16809,"date":"2020-12-11T12:08:34","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T20:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=16809"},"modified":"2020-12-11T12:08:36","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T20:08:36","slug":"as-plastic-pollution-wreaks-havoc-should-sf-think-bigger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2020\/12\/11\/as-plastic-pollution-wreaks-havoc-should-sf-think-bigger\/","title":{"rendered":"As plastic pollution wreaks havoc, should SF think bigger?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/2zwmzkbocl625qdrf2qqqfok-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/23572175_web1_copy_201209-SFE-GreenSpace-SeaTurtle_1.jpg\" alt=\"Sea turtles and other marine wildlife, sadly, are eating plastic bottles. (Courtesy Rich Carey\/Shutterstock)\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Sea turtles and other marine wildlife, sadly, are eating plastic bottles. (Courtesy Rich Carey\/Shutterstock)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Newly elected Supervisor Connie Chan is ready to take on plastic industry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/author\/robyn-purchia\/\">ROBYN PURCHIA<\/a><\/li><li>Dec. 9, 2020 1:45 a.m. (SFExaminer.com)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news-columnists\/\">NEWS COLUMNISTS<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/daily-headlines-newsletter\/\">NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/2zwmzkbocl625qdrf2qqqfok-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/23572175_web1_201209-SFE-GreenSpace-header_1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/2zwmzkbocl625qdrf2qqqfok-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/23572175_web1_201209-SFE-GreenSpace-header_1.jpg\" alt=\".\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This year\u2019s holiday season may look different in San Francisco. But there are still plenty of opportunities to spread cheer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the weekend, my family gave Ocean Beach a little love by picking up discarded cigarette butts, pieces of Styrofoam, straws and even an old pair of dirty socks. While The City hasn\u2019t done much to regulate clothing, San Francisco banned Styrofoam and plastic straws years ago, and also prohibits smoking at its beaches and parks. Yet, these environmental policies haven\u2019t stopped the flow of trash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s an unwelcome continuity. Corporations and manufacturers are maintaining their wasteful traditions while consumers feel like they\u2019re wasting their time sorting. As San Franciscans know, litter is incredibly harmful to marine life and public health. Thankfully, one of The City\u2019s newly elected supervisors wants to tackle the problem at the source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAny effort we can make to decrease the use of these materials really goes a long way in terms of protecting the environment,\u201d Dr. Kimberly Warner, a lead scientist at the nonprofit Oceana, told me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Warner is an author of a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/usa.oceana.org\/publications\/reports\/choked-strangled-drowned-plastics-crisis-unfolding-our-oceans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent report by&nbsp;<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/usa.oceana.org\/publications\/reports\/choked-strangled-drowned-plastics-crisis-unfolding-our-oceans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oceana<\/a>, which highlights plastic\u2019s gruesome impact on sea turtles and marine mammals in the United States. In California, a northern elephant seal nursing a pup was found with a packing strap around her neck. On the Atlantic Coast, baby sea turtles are making plastic trash their first meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou have these baby turtles just a day out of the shell taking their first steps to the ocean and they\u2019re already gobbling up plastic into their little tiny bodies,\u201d Dr. Warner told me. \u201cIt just breaks my heart that these endangered and threatened animals are being done in by a material that has only been around a generation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, large pieces of litter are only part of the problem. Last year, the San Francisco Estuary Institute and the 5 Gyres Institute&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfei.org\/documents\/understanding-microplastics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published a study on microplastics&nbsp;<\/a>\u2014 plastic that\u2019s designed small or has degraded. The results are sobering. Researchers estimated 7 trillion microplastics from stormwater and 17 billion from treated wastewater are discharged into the San Francisco Bay annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Microplastics are associated with a range of health problems in wildlife and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/health\/youre-literally-eating-microplastics-how-you-can-cut-down-exposure-to-them\/2019\/10\/04\/22ebdfb6-e17a-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">may cause various impacts to&nbsp;<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/health\/youre-literally-eating-microplastics-how-you-can-cut-down-exposure-to-them\/2019\/10\/04\/22ebdfb6-e17a-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">people<\/a>, including a weakened immune system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>San Francisco legislators and entrepreneurs are working to address the problem. Besides the straw, Styrofoam and smoking bans, The City was the first to regulate plastic bags in the United States and has also adopted an ambitious recycling and composting program. Local businesses, such as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dispatchgoods.earth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dispatch&nbsp;<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/dispatchgoods.earth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Goods<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/zerogrocery.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zero<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesilopantry.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Silo<\/a>&nbsp;are providing takeout food and groceries in reusable containers.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.repack.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RePack&nbsp;<\/a>ships products with reusable packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the trash continues to flow, primarily from the same places. This holiday season, an estimated 3 billion packages will be delivered \u2014 about 800 million more than last year. That means more boxes and plastic wrap from e-commerce giants, Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe\u2019s. And don\u2019t forget the goods and packaging that fill Americans\u2019 bins year-round thanks to Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo and Nestle. The three corporations are&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2020\/dec\/07\/coca-cola-pepsi-and-nestle-named-top-plastic-polluters-for-third-year-in-a-row\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">repeatedly ranked as the top plastic polluters.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the same offenders,\u201d Eva Holman, policy organizer with the nonprofit UPSTREAM, told me. \u201cEven with customer outcry, they\u2019re not changing their waste practices. We need to work with corporations to find reusable solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Policymakers should support this important work. Newly-elected Supervisor Connie Chan sees the benefit in shifting consumers away from plastic, but she also believes corporations and manufacturers need to get involved too. She is working with organizers, such as Holman, to create a working group with the goal to develop policies that target pollution and promote reuse at the source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s time to think broader,\u201d Chan told me. \u201cWe need to tackle the plastic industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any new legislation would likely need to withstand a well-funded attack. But if successful, these policies could serve as models for the rest of the country. This would not only help build a more sustainable and reusable future, but it would also deliver another blow to the frackers and oil corporations that help produce plastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I, for one, would welcome any change to the holiday season that involves spending less time sorting trash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Robyn Purchia is an environmental attorney, environmental blogger and environmental activist who hikes, gardens and tree hugs in her spare time. She is a guest opinion columnist and her point of view is not necessarily that of the Examiner. Check her out at robynpurchia.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sea turtles and other marine wildlife, sadly, are eating plastic bottles. (Courtesy Rich Carey\/Shutterstock) Newly elected Supervisor Connie Chan is ready to take on plastic industry ROBYN PURCHIA Dec. 9, 2020 1:45 a.m. (SFExaminer.com) NEWS COLUMNISTS NEWSLETTER This year\u2019s holiday season may look different in San Francisco. But there are&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2020\/12\/11\/as-plastic-pollution-wreaks-havoc-should-sf-think-bigger\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16809"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16810,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16809\/revisions\/16810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}