Sept 22 - Fewer Bags Found in Local Coastal Cleanup Thanks to Alameda County Bag Ban

This weekend was the 30th annual International Coastal Cleanup day, and volunteers noted decreases in some specific litter thanks to local plastic bag bans.

According to media reports, the Alameda County bag ban, implemented at the beginning of 2013, resulted in fewer plastic bags in the Berkeley cleanup spots.

One volunteer found zero plastic grocery bags in the two hours he spent volunteering.

Eben Schwartz, statewide cleanup director from the California Coastal Commission, added,

"...in San Francisco, where the ban first went into effect in 2008, we've seen a 34% decline since then."

Internationally, plastic grocery bags are consistently among the top 10 items found during this annual event. Nearly 200 cities or counties in the US have some kind of policy to reduce single-use bag waste.

Tell Governor Brown to sign California's bag ban (the first in the nation approved by any state legislature) into law. Take a few seconds here.

(photo: plastic bag in the Sacramento River)