Two environmental advocacy groups will host a press conference and rally in Ocean Beach Saturday to call for the state legislature to again try to place limits on waste from single-use packaging and products.
The rally, at 9 a.m. at Ocean Beach Veterans Plaza, coincides with Surfrider’s monthly beach cleanup. Organizers hope to highlight the impacts of plastic pollution on the environment and urge swift action to address the issue.
The groups, the Surfrider Foundation and Oceana, are seeking another look at the legislation. AB 1080 and SB 54, dubbed the California Circular Economy and Pollution Reduction Act, failed in September. Sponsors sought to cut reliance on single-use containers by 75% in the next decade.
There was no vote on the bills as the last legislative session ended, according to KQED in San Francisco, so the measures can be revived this year.
Slated to appear are state Assembly members Todd Gloria, Lorena Gonzalez and Tasha Boerner Horvath, San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher and San Diego City Council member Chris Ward. Gonzalez authored AB 1080.
According to Oceana, an estimated 17.6 billion pounds of plastic enters the ocean every year. That’s the equivalent of a garbage truck’s worth of plastic entering the ocean every minute, officials said.
– Staff reports
