CEC Webinar Series: Plastics

Plastic trash is invading every corner of our planet — impacting our waterways, oceans, soil, and alarmingly, even our air as tiny particles of airborne “dust.” At a time when we are acutely aware of the importance of a healthy body and strong respiratory systems, how can we decrease our dependence on single-use plastic, especially as the fossil fuel industry works to triple its production by 2025?

In our November 17 webinar, we got an introduction to a new model – the circular economy – that requires producers to take responsibility, save energy, design waste out of the system, and create a market for re-use.

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• Visit Dr. Roland Geyer’s website to learn more about the Circular Economy model and how you can help reduce the environmental impact from industrial production and consumption.
• Learn more and stay updated on the soon to be completed Santa Barbara County ReSource Center at the Tajiguas Landfill.
• Review the City of Santa Barbara’s Trash & Recycling webpage for tips on how to reduce waste and what can and cannot be recycled – and check out Marborg Industries’ how to dispose of anything guide.
• Reference Toad & Co.’s Eco Cheat Sheet so you know what’s in your clothes and select options that are best for the environment.
  Check out the Ellen MacArthur Foundation website – and listen to their podcast to learn more about how they are promoting the shift to a Circular Economy.

Additional actions you can take:

• Join the Santa Barbara Circular Economy Club and help bring the circular economy to cities worldwide by building strong local networks that design and implement local circular initiatives. Email [email protected] for more info and to join.
• Switch out your cleaning products by seeking out companies like Blueland for tablet-based soaps and sprays or Tru Earth for strip-based laundry detergent. Watch for The Loop products – featuring refillable containers from your favorite brands – online and in local stores.
  Buy gently used clothing at Crossroads Trading Co., The Closet Trading Co., or ThredUp – or have your worn clothes repaired at Patagonia ReWorn.
  Read Plastic: We Are What We Eat and Breathe and watch or share CEC’s Plastics Webinar Series to learn more about the plastics crisis and how it has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In our July 29 webinar, we learned about updates to the Ablitt’s film plastic program and reviewed the dos and don’ts for our blue recycling bins with waste management experts from the City of Santa Barbara and MarBorg.

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Questions & answers from the webinar

• Review MarBorg Industries’ website for information on how to dispose of anything – and stay tuned for details on how to handle mattresses and bulky items. If you have questions, contact Customer Service at (805) 963-1852 or Sarah Stark at [email protected].
• Visit the City of Santa Barbara’s Trash & Recycling website for information on trash and recycling services and waste reduction ordinances. If you have questions, contact Hillary Allen at [email protected].
• Check out the County of Santa Barbara’s Less Is More website for waste reduction resources and to learn more about hazardous waste, electronics recycling, home composting, and much more.

• Support the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2020 – sign here.
• Help ensure the groundbreaking California Recycling and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act has enough signatures to qualify for the statewide ballot – sign here.
• Demand that Amazon stop polluting our planet with single use plastic pollution – sign here – and opt to bundle all your purchases to arrive together to reduce the footprint of your transactions.
• Visit Santa Barbara Channelkeeper’s website to learn more about beach and creek clean-ups and participant science water monitoring – and subscribe to their e-news so you never miss an event or opportunity to engage.
• Divert your plastic film from the landfill. Ablitt’s is no longer accepting film plastic drop-offs in their lobby, but you can make an appointment when they have a designated drop-off day. Email [email protected] to request to receive information about upcoming dates. Learn more about plastic film recycling on CEC’s website or Santa Barbara Channelkeeper’s website.
• Purchase products from your favorite brands waste-free on Loopstore.com.
• Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for plastic and waste reduction ideas and additional resources – and share on your personal or organization social media channels. See our Plastic Free July Social Media Toolkit for resources.

In the webinar on July 8, we explored how CEC and partner Santa Barbara Channelkeeper have been working for over a decade to reduce the Central Coast’s dependence on single-use plastic. This event focused on the connection between our health and plastic at a time when the industry is using the pandemic crisis to roll back regulations on plastic bags and other packaging.

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• Read Where’s Airborne Plastic? Everywhere, Scientists Find to learn why there is “no nook or cranny” on the planet where plastics do not exist.
• Visualize the amount of microplastic we eat in this Reuters article, A Plateful of Plastic.
• Read how COVID-19 brought a sudden and dramatic halt to our environmental positive streak and how we can balance the need to protect human health while working toward a more sustainable world.
• Peruse this year-long series of reports from Reserve, Louisiana, where the risk of cancer is 50 times the national average for the United States.
• Better understand why more than 125 virologists, epidemiologists, and health experts from 18 different countries say it is safe to use reusable plastics during the pandemic.
• Read the AB-1080 Solid Waste law, written to position California to be on the forefront of reducing pollution from plastic packaging and products.
• Consider contacting Trader Joe’s (select sustainability from feedback dropdown) and Costco (click on feedback in sidebar) to request that they reduce their plastic packaging.
• Listen to The Safety and Future of Reuse from the Indisposable podcast (see below) to learn how reuse solutions and systems can help save businesses money, get people back to work, protect public health, and drastically reduce plastic pollution.

• Ask the cashier to put your items back into the cart instead of into fresh grocery bags – and transfer them to reusable bags outside.
• Encourage stores to resume accepting reusable bags – even if it means you have to bag items yourself. Tri-County Produce has allowed reusable bags throughout the pandemic and the Santa Barbara Farmers Market allows reusable bags at most stands.
• Review the items in your cart before checkout – identify one or two that are packaged in plastic and try to find a similar product in alternative packaging.
• Avoid the “Big Four” – bottled water, plastic bags, straws and coffee cups. Check with your favorite coffee shop to see if they are accepting reusable cups again – and request that they consider doing so if they are not.