Keeping Plastic Out of the Chesapeake Bay

The referenced media source is missing and needs to be re-embedded.

Will Fadely, Baltimore Program Organizer, (@TrillChillWill on Twitter) Last winter, environmental advocates trawled the Chesapeake Bay for trash and made some disturbing discoveries. The Bay is plagued with plastic. Bags are littered across the Bay floor, wreaking havoc on natural ecosystems for crabs and oysters alike. Similarly, plastic microbeads are being found in fish and marine mammals. Plastic bags account for a significant portion of trash and litter pollution in our neighborhood streets, communities, waterways, including rivers and streams that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. Honestly, have you taken a look at the Inner Harbor after a rain storm? The inlets are besieged by plastics, especially single-use bags. The really confounding part: Marylanders are picking up the cost of the litter, spending millions each year on remediation and pickup. With the help on Trash FreeMD, Delegate Lierman, and Senator Montgomery, we have introduced the Community Clean Up and Greening Act of 2015 and it’s working its way through committee. This bill will support business in their move away from plastic bags, and provide counties and municipalities revenue to fund fresh food initiatives, bag giveaways, and environmental cleanups. Ultimately, bettering the health of our communities and waterways. Although the goal is to banning single-use plastic bags, retailers have requested a 10-cent fee on paper bags to help defer costs and encourage consumers to bring reusable bags. Plastic bags are a hidden cost in your groceries. By eliminating them from retailer budgets, it allows retailers to reduce food prices and establish credit programs to incentivize recyclable bag use. At the same time, local governments, municipalities and NPOs (like Clean Water) will be tasked with distributing reusable bags to community members for FREE. Anyone and everyone is eligible to receive free bags, and we especially encourage those on SSI, SSDI, food stamps, WIC, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. to contact us to receive your free bags. The bag ban has proven results in Washington, D.C. showing a 60% reduction in bag use, and a 60% reduction in litter. We have some good news! Last week, the Maryland State Senate passed the strongest legislation in the country banning the creation and sale of consumer products containing microbeads. A single tube of facial cleanser can contain over 300,000 microbeads! Fortunately, there are alternatives such as shells and salt crystals that are readily available for use, making it feasible for manufacturers to discontinue their use of plastic microbeads. Because microbeads are so small, they slip through water treatment plants, and never truly biodegrade, it was crucial we supported amendments to include so-called “biodegradable” plastics from personal care products. The truth is, plastic microbeads have to be heated to over 500^◦F to truly “biodegrade” and this does not occur in water treatment plants. Once in the environment, they attract poisonous chemicals like DDT, PCBs, and other industrial chemicals. Now is our chance to protect the Chesapeake Bay from plastics. Contact your legislator and urge them to keep plastics out of the Chesapeake Bay by banning the bag and the bead!