Single-Use Polystyrene Coolers and Plastic Shopping Bags
Summer is here, and with it comes the excitement of the ocean, the sun, and fun with family and friends. Beach parties on long holiday weekends attract thousands of visitors from neighboring counties in the valley. It’s peak tourism season, which is great for coastal economies, but can be taxing for waste management on beaches. Beach trash often overflows from trashcans, litters the shore, and eventually enters the ocean–where it can harm marine ecosystems.
While most of the items that cause litter can be found across California, there are two products that have been made officially extinct in the Monterey Bay area: single-use polystyrene (Styrofoam) coolers and plastic shopping bags. Save Our Shores asks visitors to help to prevent harmful pollution from entering the Monterey Bay this summer by not using these two products when visiting the beach.
“Just remember, when you bring Styrofoam coolers, cups, plates, and plastic shopping bags to the beach in Monterey or Santa Cruz Counties, people notice. These single-use products can be a bit discouraging to local communities given how hard we’ve worked to rid beaches from the nuisance — from the pollution.” Says Save Our Shores communications manager, Ryan Kallabis.
SOS intern volunteer, Tyler Feld, agrees. “I’ve noticed that lately we’ve been finding more items banned in the Monterey Bay, such as polystyrene coolers and plastic bags. People leave these things on the beach, using them as a trashcan, not realizing that the tides, wind, and animals break them up and litter them across the sand. I’d say, to prevent these from getting into the ocean, bringing your own reusable bags and coolers helps quite a bit.”
The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) has the strictest polystyrene bans in the nation for good reason. Styrofoam is not biodegradable and contains toxic chemicals and as marine debris, can leach into ocean water and the food chain. In marine environments, polystyrene cells break down into small pellets resembling fish eggs that cannot be digested by marine wildlife.
Single-use plastic bags have been banned by over 30 jurisdictions along the Monterey Bay coastline because they can entangle and suffocate marine wildlife such as sea turtles choking on plastic bags after mistaking them for sea jellies. The thin wall of single-use plastic bags also often breaks down into small plastic flakes, which marine wildlife can mistake for food. This plastic also acts as a toxin magnet for harmful chemicals in the water, which then enters the marine food chain.
In 2014, SB 270 was approved to prohibit specified retail stores from providing single-use plastic shopping bags to customers. Now out-of-state plastic industry lobbyists are challenging the law with a referendum to overturn the ban on single-use plastic bags in the November 8 ballot as Proposition 67.
The repeal would not directly affect local bans already in place but will effect watersheds throughout the state that lead to coastal environments like the Monterey Bay. As a result of local bag bans on the Central Coast, Save Our Shores has seen a significant decrease in the amount of plastic bags removed during their beach cleanups. The steady decrease began in 2010, when SOS picked up 11,019 plastic bags. Presently, Save Our Shores is picking up fewer than 5,000 annually. That is significant progress!
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Litter-Free Tips:
To protect the Monterey National Marine Sanctuary’s delicate ecosystem and unique marine wildlife, Save Our Shores asks visitors to consider these five tips to have a fun, litter-free summer:- Please avoid bringing single-use polystyrene (styrofoam) coolers and plastic bags to the beach. All plastic utensils, plates, cups and other throwaway items take home or dispose of responsibly
- When using a fire pit, don’t burn your trash or use the fire pit as a garbage can
- Try packing your food and drinks in reusable cups and containers that you will take home with you
- Transport your party stuff in reusable bags and use these to pack your trash to take home with you
- Please don’t leave your trash i.e. firework shells, broken tents, BBQ grills, chairs, boxes, cartons etc. on the beach … it’s trashy