Reduce, reuse, replenish: Zero-waste refill stations and the end of recycling. (2020, March 6). Retrieved March 8, 2020, from https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-03-06/zero-waste-shopping-refill-stations-los-angeles

The following article discusses the concept of an actual store in Los Angeles being implemented throughout the United States. The idea of this store is to be completely waste-free by having customers bring in their own containers to fill up with necessities such as shampoo or mouthwash instead of buying a completely new container each time.  Prices would be less for the consumer as there would be no need for packaging and it would also reduce a significant amount of waste. 

Although the concept seems like a very good idea, I don’t think it would actually work in the long run, because consumers are so driven by the convenience of getting a product instantly already packaged. This would just be an extra step someone would have to take for someone to get what they need. The only way I see this truly working is with a significant cost reduction for the consumer. Manufacturers could also just create programs of their own where they would ship you replacements of a product in a reusable container and you would ship the empty ones back, although this would then bring up the issue of pollution from transportation. 

Beitsch, R. (2020, February 11). Bill targets single-use plastics in push to make manufacturers responsible. Retrieved March 8, 2020, from https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/482396-bill-targets-single-use-plastics-in-push-to-make-manufacturers

The following article discusses how legislation is trying to be passed which would ban plastics that cannot be recycled starting in 2022 and beginning a nationwide container deposit system. This system would pay consumers 10 cents similar to California for every returned beverage container. The responsibility to collect recycled goods would fall on the manufacturers themselves, which would incentivize them to use materials that are more easily recyclable. The bill would also push the EPA to create a uniform system for recycling and composting labels. 

This article did a great job at explaining this new bill and how it would completely change the way recycling currently works in this country. I really like that it works to incentivize the manufacturers to use more recyclable materials in their products as it would eliminate the waste in the first place. It was shocking and saddening to hear that manufactures currently have zero responsibility when it comes to using recycled or recyclable materials in their products. The container deposit system would be a great way for individuals in other parts of the United States to make money while also ensuring their materials get recycled. 

Peçanha, S. (2020, February 19). Opinion | Congrats! You dump 100 plastic bottles in nature each year. Retrieved March 8, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/19/congrats-you-dump-100-plastic-bottles-nature-each-year/?arc404=true

The following article discusses how the average American will unknowingly contribute the equivalent to 100 plastic water bottles into the environment. It discusses how more than 300,000 tons of plastics are estimated to be littered or inadequately disposed of each year and this pollution is carried to the ocean by wind, rivers, or wastewater outflows. It talks about how there is so many other materials mixed with the recyclables that the cost of separation is making the business of recycling financially unviable. 

This article sheds light on the issue of plastic contamination of the ocean from American plastics. It’s saddening to hear that 300,000 tons of plastics are estimated to be inadequately disposed of each year. Some potential solutions to this problem is to increase education surrounding the recycling of plastics, to manage storm drains in major cities, and to increase the amount invested in waste management. It also talks about how the business of recycling is financially unviable because of the mixing of plastics. This leads to the question of what the government can do regulation-wise to incentivize manufacturers to not mix plastics. 

Leber, R. (2020, March 4). Your plastic addiction is bankrolling big oil. Retrieved March 8, 2020, from https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2020/03/your-plastic-addiction-is-bankrolling-big-oil/

The following article discusses how the increase in plastic consumption has resulted in an increase in profit with oil companies. Petroleum is required for plastic production and the increase in production leads to more money going to oil. A research group predicts that plastics’ consumption of oil will outpace that of cars by 2050. If plastic production continues, the sector is on track to reach the equivalent annual pollution of 295 large coal plants and double that by 2050. 

This article does a good job at explaining how the plastic industry is continuing to grow and not in the right ways. It explains the positive feedback loop of creating plastics and how it needs a lot of fossil fuels to make and refine the material. This just shows how plastic is everywhere and it is a growing industry. The fact that the amount of oil used in plastic production will outpace that of cars in a few decades is shocking and saddening. The only way for this to stop is either creating new technology to reuse plastics or to stop using it entirely during the manufacturing process (which is highly unlikely). 

Whitcomb, I. (2020, March 6). How much plastic actually gets recycled? Retrieved March 8, 2020, from https://www.livescience.com/how-much-plastic-recycling.html

The United States continues to produce millions of tons of plastic each year, but a new study shows that only 8.4% of it eventually gets recycled. The article discusses that it isn’t the consumer that doesn’t want to recycle rather that the United States simply doesn’t have the proper infrastructure. It further discusses that plastic types 1 and 2 are easy to turn into pellets that can be used for manufacturing, but higher plastic types (mixed plastic) are a lot more difficult. 

This article brings to light the recycling problem the United States has – so much recycled plastic, but nothing being done with it. It is surprising how little actually gets recycled, even though consumers are actively trying to recycle and think that what they put in the blue bins are getting turned into different products. One issue the article discusses is the lack of infrastructure in the United States for recycling plastic. It is surprising that in the country with the most amount of technical innovations, we have little in terms of recycling technology. If the recycling centers can only take plastics labeled “1” or “2”, then manufacturers should make more products with this kind of plastic. 

The following article describes new research that took place after the California plastic bag ban which found that consumers are buying more plastic bags now than before and with a higher percentage of plastic. Researchers found that sales of small garbage bags increased by 120 percent, medium garbage bags by 64 percent, and tall bags by 6 percent. In total, there was a 40 million pound drop in the consumption of cheap plastic bags that stores used to hand out to customers (the target of the plastic bag ban) and a 12 million pound increase in the consumption of garbage bags. The theory behind all of this is that consumers used to use the free plastic bags given out by stores as trash bags and now with them eliminated, consumers have to buy garbage bags which contain higher amounts of plastic. 

This article is a great example of an unintended consequence from trying to do something right. It was disconcerting to know that there was such a large increase in the sales of thicker plastic bags after the plastic bag ban was passed. These findings should spark research into alternatives to plastic garbage bags and innovating technology to make these items more ecologically friendly. Another interesting part of the article noted that Starbucks’ shift to strawless lids has resulted in the company using more plastic because of its higher weight. It is interesting to find out about all these unintended consequences and it will be interesting to see what companies and the government do to address these issues.

The article discusses how a California congressional representative is trying to push for a $500 million program to improve waste management and recycling programs. He is suggesting that California implements a 1-cent fee on plastic packaging to fund waste and recycling programs. This is in the midst of a recycling crisis where China has decided to stop accepting most U.S. waste. Our state doesn’t have good enough recycling facilities to efficiently and effectively recycle plastics and this bill would resolve that issue. This would also mitigate the issue of recycling costing double or triple the cost of traditional waste landfilling. 

This article brought up some really important topics most of which are occurring here in California. It was surprising to find out that recycling costs 2 to 3 times as much as traditional landfilling and it makes sense now why companies don’t want to recycle. This bill would significantly improve recycling programs and would be very beneficial for our environment. It was also interesting to find out that we ship so much plastic to China for them to deal with rather than ourselves. This is a serious issue and I am glad that someone in congress is stepping up to try to do something.

New research indicates that car tires are the largest contributor of microplastics in California coastal waters. Rainfall washes over 7 trillion pieces of microplastics into the San Francisco Bay each year. Researchers analyzed hundreds of samples from fish and were surprised at the amount of microplastics coming from tires. A UC Davis study sampled seafood sold in Half Moon Bay and found a quarter of the fish contained plastic. Eight wastewater treatment centers in the bay were also examined and they found that over 90 million microparticles are being released into the ocean every day. 

This article really surprised my as it discussed new research that puts car tires as the number one contributor of microplastics in our bay. It also made clear how difficult it would be to eliminate or reduce these microplastics as cars aren’t leaving anytime soon. This new research indicates that there should be more research on methods to reduce the contamination of ocean water by microplastics through storm drains and waste treatment facilities. It was also interesting to see that somewhere as close as Half Moon Bay has fish contaminated with plastic. It will be interesting to see what if anything comes out of this research.

There are three bills that are close to being ready for Gavin Newsom to look at. These bills look to phase out single-use packaging for more environmentally friendly alternatives by 2030. Recycling no longer works as well because of China’s decision to not accept certain containers that consumers recycle which has lead to recycling centers to get rid of recyclables by dumping them in landfills. There has been strong opposition by companies that use plastic for their containers as it would be an increased cost to them. Part of their negotiations lead to a target number of 100% recyclable plastic to only 75%.

This article discussed the politics behind the movement to ban single-use plastic. I think it is great that there is an effort being made to make our state less be a disposable society but one that recycles. It is disheartening to know that there are a large number of lobbyists that are pushing for more relaxed regulations on the plastic bans. I also think that the government should address the lack of recycling infrastructure in the state and how inefficient the process currently is.

In the following article, the author describes a new bill that California governor Gavin Newsom signed banning hotels from supplying travel size bottles in an effort to reduce the number of plastics being thrown away by hotels and guest. The bill will take effect in 2023 and applies to hotels with over 50 rooms. There are fines associated with violations of the bill in order to incentivize establishments to comply. In light of this act, Marriott International announced that it would replace individualized soaps and shampoos with bulk dispensers in its showers which is estimated to save about 250 pounds of plastics per year for a single 140 room hotel, roughly equivalent to 23,000 plastic bottles. 

This article is a great example of how the government can make a huge impact when it comes to the health of our environment. There are hotels everywhere in California that utilize small plastic bottles for toiletries and by banning them from using these will reduce the amount of plastic significantly. These items are incredibly wasteful and by banning them not only will reduce the amount of plastic in the world, but will also reduce the resources used to produce these products. I think this is a huge step in the right direction for our state to become more environmentally friendly and reduce plastic waste.