Spring has sprung in Northern Virginia, and so has spring cleanup season!

We’re very excited to report we’ve had a lot of requests for cleanup supplies from individuals, families, Fairfax businesses, neighborhood & HOA groups, Girl Scout troops, school SACC groups, Honor Societies, and students of all ages. All of these volunteers have cleaned up residential and commercial communities, schools, and parks wide & far across Fairfax–which means our communities are looking beautifully green and pristine! (To keep it that way takes effort from all of us to use and waste less, and to ensure our trash is properly disposed of and contained!!)

By the numbers

So far this spring, we’ve supported 36 cleanups, with over 1,000 volunteers putting in nearly 100 hours of work improving their communities!

Want to get in on green action in Fairfax? There are so many roads to take if you want to get involved in cleaning up your community! Here are three of our favorite roads that lead to a cleaner and greener Fairfax. 

Route 1: Contact your county supervisor (and look them up here)– they’ve got all the details in your area and may even have a cleanup planned!

Route 2: Find your local community center by putting your address into this map. Oftentimes, they host their own cleanup or know a group that puts one on. 

Route 3: Know of any “Friends of” Organizations? We have a few listed on our website. These groups get down and dirty when it comes to getting Fairfax Clean and Green.

No matter what road you take, there will be a green impact!

Deep down in the ocean, it’s not only microplastics piling up (~63% of seafloor dirt is plastic). BIG pieces of plastic, along with other trash, used to stay where it fell. It now can move due to human activities and pile up in odd, and important, places. A study out of the University of Barcelona found a shocking amount of trash piling up on a submarine bridge in the Messina Strait, between Sicily and Italy. Scientists estimate three billion metric tons of waste could accumulate in this area over the next thirty years!

Literally tons of plastic accumulating isn’t just a problem at far away lands. The Chesapeake Bay keeps 94% of microplastics that enter the Bay in the Bay, according to a model done by researchers from Pennsylvania State University and the Virginia Institute of Marine science. A “sink” of plastic, or a place where plastic is held, is the opposite of a “source”, where plastic would be introduced into the natural environment. The Chesapeake Bay as a sink of plastic pollution means plastic accumulates over time in this important natural resource.

What’s more, the results naming the Chesapeake Bay as a plastic sink are based off modeling. Science models inform what we could expect in the future. While it may seem odd to place power in a possibility, modeling methods are a frequently used to begin to answer and understand big, elusive phenomenon. Think of it as a forecast of likely scenarios—its better to estimate future possibilities than have no clue what they future holds at all! This makes models a powerful tool in preparedness and necessary for decision making.

The ocean’s deep dark pollution is no secret! Plastic is universal in its harm to aquatic ecosystems, both near (Chesapeake Bay) and far (Messina Strait).

Recent news highlights plastic pollution challenges in Virginia and gives insight on the work being done, as well as what more be done. This article notes 60% to 80% of trash in Earth’s oceans comes from our behavior on land and while this is absolutely true, there are intricacies at work when looking at plastic, and waste in general, problems. The most current research uses only 2% of this trash as being litter (including illegal dumping). If this is true, where does this other trash come from? And why, after almost 40 years of cleanups in Fairfax County, is trash persistent in the natural environment?

Mismanaged waste from industry and insufficient solid waste infrastructure is to blame. What does this problem look like in Virginia, to have insufficient solid waste management and infrastructure? You can look at any number of apartments, townhomes, and condos in Fairfax County to find evidence of a blatantly broken system. Based on information from a local condo facility, these condos receive 75% decreased waste service compared to single family homes in Fairfax County (see graphic). Insufficient service leads to improper disposal of trash– piling up of trash bags around dumpsters, which attracts nuisance wildlife. Wildlife then rips open bags, and viola! Trash is now free to wash into local waterways. Similarly, in Northwestern Fairfax county, condo residents are told to pile up in bags on storm drains on trash day (see photo). With these examples, we see how systems are currenting failing people, rather than people failing to do their part.

Waste collection inequity of service in Fairfax County is evident after a day out in local, urban waterways. Trash is a reality and it has to go somewhere! Improved solid waste management and infrastructure are necessary to address waste in our waterways. Limiting our use of plastic products and community clean ups are a positive step in the right direction, but many products necessary for daily life are, literally, wrapped in plastic. 

Solving waste problems, like waste itself, is messy and one size does not fit all. In addition to messaging and necessary legislation to decrease the amount of waste generated in the first place, we need to look critically at the existing infrastructure. Waste systems have not been adapting with change for decades and we see evidence of this in our local waterways and oceans. Tackling waste pollution must involve creative opportunities for better waste handling processes for residential and commercial properties.

 Katie Register, the author of the article mentioned above, raised great points, particularly regarding necessary legislation and the shortcomings of Virginia’s Litter Tax. Moreover, her work with Clean Virginia Waterways and research with Longwood universities is instrumental to plastic pollution mitigation progress. Check out some of their great work to arm yourself with knowledge this summer!

Long Time, Still See: plastic rocks in the geologic record

Scientists have recently found plastics in a deep-sea submarine trenches in the South China Sea. They have begun to investigate how plastics and microplastics break down in the deep sea, to determine the lifecycle of seafloor plastic. The rock record of earth’s history preserves evidence of our litter problem and if plastic gyres, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch weren’t enough, we’ve found another level (literally) of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems. Check out the article to learn more about what research have found and what they are currently looking into. 

Coffee and the Race Against Time

We live in an age of environmental catastrophes and extinctions; this podcast comes to the table with the story of the race against time to save coffee. Coffee plants are hit hard by climate change, Arabica coffee, in particular, is not able to survive increases in temperatures. Which is a HUGE problem to coffee drinkers. New species are being investigated to try to find a breed of coffee that could live up to the legend of Arabica coffee. Take a listen to learn more about the global problem and what is currently being done to address this potential, future catastrophe. 

P.S. No need to run to the store in a bout of panic buying– crops will continue to persist in our lifetime and likely will be available to future generations, just at a higher cost and lower availability.

D.N.E (does not exist)

A new book, Second Nature by Nathaniel Rich, addresses unsetting environmental truths and asks the ominous question: does the natural world even exist? The book covers a wide variety of narratives, from starfish ripping off their arms, to zombie-like cows, to bunnies glowing green under a black light. Rich’s book brings examples of environmental horrors to light not to scare us, but to make us aware of problems we as a species are causing. To learn more about this novel and others like it, check out this article.

Can a Story About Litter Be Lovable?

This wholesome news about two little girls receiving a response to their letters to Santa sent via balloon demonstrates unintended consequences of balloon releases. In addition to the generous stranger in this story that provided the girls a gift that their family couldn’t afford due to the pandemic, the do-gooder was initially picking up other peoples’ trash (i.e. deflated balloon). The mother is said to have “thought it would deflate and disappear in a tree nearby”. Balloons do not disappear, but this is a common misconception! Because the family’s balloon was found by a Good Samaritan, thankfully a positive story came about. Unfortunately, this is not what we often see in our environment (see photo below). Like the mother initially thought, many deflated balloons end up caught in trees or trapped in streams. Check out the article to learn more about the incredible story of a balloon taking a 650 mile from Kansas to Louisiana.

Get Green At Gatherings

We are entering into celebration season! From proms, to weddings, to graduations, balloons are often a big part of events. But want to know a crazy statistic? This article estimates an average of 31,000 balloons as found along U.S. beaches PER YEAR. Celebrations, especially after such a challenging year, will be central to our lives. However, wildlife should not be the ones who pay for the consequences of our actions. After balloons are used (and oftentimes intentionally released in large numbers), they become an environmental hazard to animals because they look like food to animals; for example, sea turtles think brightly colored balloons look like their favorite food, jellyfish! Not only do these balloons end up inside animals’ stomachs, they also are eyesore in local waterways. Think about how your celebration this year can keep balloons out of the environment and wildlife’s stomachs. What’s more, let your local politicians know you support the legislation recently passed in Virginia (see below).

More Balloons, More Problems: Virginia Takes On Intentional Balloon Release

What do we do about all these balloons that don’t get picked up by a Good Samaritan? Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation that bans the intentional release of all non- biodegradable balloons and fine offenders $25 per balloon. Environmentalists know that balloon litter is common in our waterways and causes harm to marine and freshwater animals. While balloons are central to many celebrations, more green options exist so that people AND the planet can have a good time. Check out more information on eco-friendly celebration options.

Refuse to Lose to Climate Change

Amanda Gorman, American Youth Poet Laureate who spoke at President Biden’s inauguration, recently shared a special piece of work to celebrate Earth Day. She was selected to speak by Dr. Jill Biden, is a Harvard graduate, and has also performed at a United Nations summit and on Good Morning America. Check out the link to hear the incredibly inspiring Earth Day video that calls us to rise up for the Earth.

Tons of waste with nowhere to go:

Forty-two million metric tons of plastic waste was contributed to land and sea by the United States in 2016. This ends up being 286 pounds of plastic waste per person a year! Where does all of this plastic waste go? Almost 90% of all US recyclable plastic is exported to countries with inadequate infrastructure. The solution to the plastic pollution crisis is to reduce plastic production at its source! The authors of this article talk about how to reduce the enormity of plastic waste in our country and the environment. Plastic producers, production companies, and the United States’ FEDERAL government must take action regarding plastic waste disposal and recycling. We agree that it is beyond the scope of individuals to address the obscenity of this issue. Check out the article to find out more details about how scientists have gathered information on the United States’ contribution of plastic waste!

One country’s trash is another country’s… trash

Malaysia became the top importer of the world’s plastic waste after China banned imports in 2018. Recently, the country sent back 267 shipping containers of now illegal plastic waste, and is in the process of returning 81 more. It’s also important to mention that of 150 containers returned, 17 were from the US. This news reiterates the fact that the United States does not have the capacity to deal with its own waste and has a history of pawning off its environmental pollution on developing nations. Companies must be held accountable for the waste they create to sell their products with things like extended producer responsibility– taking the burden of addressing plastic product pollution from the consumer to the ones who create the product in the first place. Check out the article to learn more about Malaysia’s drive to stop other countries’ from smuggling their waste into Malaysia’s borders.

Plastic pollution takes on new front in the remote arctic:

Microplastics in the arctic? Are we surprised? Microplastics (i.e. tiny plastic particles, fibers or fragments less than five millimeters) have been documented across the globe, from city centers, remote uninhabited islands, and on the ocean floor.These tiny plastics are carried by wind currents and found throughout the arctic. Plastics absorb heat more than ice or show, which can accelerate snow and ice melt that is already threatened by global warming. Plastic pollution has become intertwined with the climate crisis and we cannot hope to mitigate climate change without taking a deeper look at how our trash causes irreconcilable harm to the environment. Read the full story here. 

Basic? We think Starbucks new green initiative is anything but. 

Hold on to your inner basic, millennial white girl, because Starbucks has recently piloted a new green program at their headquarters in Seattle. Customers pay a one dollar deposit when they order their drink and return their cup at their next visit, receiving a one dollar credit in addition to ten reward points. This program will kick off as a two-month trial in five Seattle stores, and we hope this sustainable initiative provides an effective alternative to disposable hot cups. Check out the article for more info on other trials Starbucks has run and sustainability contests run by Starbucks and McDonald’s.

General Assembly Action Alert!

The 2021 General Assembly is moving fast and we’ve got another action alert! House Bill 2159, which will ban the intentional release of balloons is going to be heard by the House Agriculture and Natural Resources- Natural Resources Subcommittee tomorrow (1/20). The subcommittee hearing starts at 7 am. Pushing through the ban on intentional balloon releases will be a great way to start the day! The current Virginia law allows for 49 balloons to be released every hour. The 2020 bill to ban all intentional releases failed in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, it is critical we all make our voices head this year!

The General Assembly is all virtual this year, and that makes it much easier to be an active participant- no more rushing to drive to Richmond to make sure your voice is heard! Use this link to provide written comments about why you want intentional balloon releases banned in Virginia. You can also use the same link to sign up to speak during the committee meeting. There are full talking points provided by Christina Trapani of Eco Maniac Company and Mark Swingle of the Virginia Aquarium & Science Center available here! If you want to see comments other people have made, follow this link!

Summary of HB 2159

Release of balloon prohibited; civil penalty. Prohibits any individual 13 years of age or older or other person, including a corporation, from intentionally releasing, discarding, or causing to be released or discarded any nonbiodegradable balloon outdoors and provides that any person convicted of such violation is liable for a civil penalty of $25 per balloon, to be paid into the Game Protection Fund. Current law prohibits a person from knowingly releasing 50 or more such balloons within an hour and sets the civil penalty at $5 per balloon, with the proceeds deposited into the Lifetime Hunting and Fishing Endowment Fund.

Conservation Easements:
Although not litter or plastic specific there is another important bill that is supported by the Virginia Conservation Network also being heard in this hearing, and we encourage positive comments for it as well. HB 1760 ensures that courts protect conservation easements when the land is sold to a new owner. This would close the loophole on people taking advantage of conservation easements who then go against everything they stand for. Conservation easements are designed to protect land, and they specifically prohibit development. We once saw a speaker at a conference brag about getting Virginia law changed so she could develop land that had been bought at a reduced price because of a conservation easement. This easement became a full on tourist attraction, rather than a farm designed to protect Virginia’s natural spaces. Protect the Occoquan Watershed has a great write up about conservation easements. You can read talking points here for HB 1760 provided by the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Nature Conservancy on the Virginia Conservation Network website.    

To put on everyone’s radar, we are feeling hopeful we’ll be able to have our Earth Daze event at Aslin in Herndon on the 24th of April to Celebrate Earth and Arbor Days, so Save the Date!    

Virginia General Assembly: The Virginia General Assembly started yesterday (1/13) and important bills are moving quickly.

Yesterday was the first step towards ensuring expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) food and beverage service containers are banned. The House Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee held the first vote on House Bill 2092 and the bill passed out of the committee with a 15 Yes – 7 No vote! If you have a minute, let our elected officials know you appreciate them standing up for Virginia’s environment!

Tomorrow, House Bill 2042, which gives localities the ability to increase the mandated percentage of tree cover that must be replaced or conserved during development will be heard in the House Counties, Cities, and Towns Committee. Tree cover is important on so many levels: it helps improve water quality, provides natural habitat, reduces erosion, mitigates flooding, reduces heat-island effect, acts as natural traffic calming, raises property values, and improves quality of life. Virginia loses over 16,000 acres of trees every year, and this bill could help reduce the accelerating loss of greenspaces across the Commonwealth. You can read a great one page write up about the importance of expanding tree coverage in Virginia on the Virginia Conservation Network website here! If your delegate is a member of the House Counties, Cities, and Towns Committee this is a great time to let them know you support increasing tree cover! Contact information for committee members is available through the House Counties, Cities, and Towns Committee links. 

Plant NOVA Natives: Sticking with the theme of the need to expand green space, we wanted to share some information about a local group doing great work. Plant NOVA Natives has been providing a series of workshops with some more coming up! They have hosted a series of videoconferences called “Ask an Expert” where local experts have helped people create flourishing native plant ecosystems! They have compiled the video series on a YouTube playlist you can check out here. And for more great native plant information read their latest newsletter here!

Bioplastics and Greenwashing: We’ve written about why “biodegradable” plastics are not the answer to the plastic crisis- switching from one type of plastic to another will not solve our problems, it’s purely greenwashing (marketing a product to make it seem environmentally friendly). The most glaring problem with biodegradable plastic is that they require industrial facilities to compost. You can’t put them in your backyard composter to use on your home garden. China recently announced a plan to eliminate single use plastics by 2025, but their plan has some serious shortcomings.

China is planning on substituting traditional plastics with “biodegradable” plastic. In the last year, Chinese companies have increased their ability to produce “biodegradable” by over 4 million tons every year. This expansion of production facilities has not been combined with building the infrastructure necessary to handle increased production. When dealing with any kind of plastic, remember the 4 Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Read the entire story about why switching to “biodegradable” plastics is not a feasible option here. Recently Glad released their new “green” sandwich bags made of 50% plant based material. These bags cannot be recycled, they are not biodegradable, they will sit in landfills just like every other plastic bag. Labeling these bags as “green” is a perfect example of greenwashing- the product is being falsely marketed as an environmentally friendly alternative. 

PPE Waste Problems: Masks are good; we wear them and encourage everyone to follow CDC guidelines, just make sure they don’t end up as litter. Improperly disposed masks are clogging storm drains and harming wildlife. In 2020 over 1.5 billion masks made their way into the ocean. Face masks are a necessity and reusables ones are great. Here’s a story about the increased prevalence of masks in natural environments. Reusable masks are great, we’ve made some with old t-shirts and we’ve purchased some from local businesses that have had to pivot during the pandemic- there are always other options than single use items!

McDonald’s to Remove Toxic Chemicals from Packaging: There is a lot of excitement that McDonald’s has announced they will eliminate toxic chemicals (PFAS- Perfluorooctanoic acid) from their food packaging materials by 2025. You read that correctly, the largest food chain in the world has toxic chemicals in their packaging. They aren’t alone,  PFAS is in everything from clothing to pots and pans, even food packaging. PFAS chemicals damage the immune system and have been linked to a litany of cancer and neurological problems. PFAS impacts groundwater and is extremely difficult to clean up when it reaches the environment. There are a few bills in Virginia that aim to reduce PFAS impact in the state, and it is always helpful to let your elected officials know you are concerned about the spread of this toxic chemical. For some more information about PFAS you can read the full story about PFAS in food packaging here.

We mention the term greenwashing a lot and it is possible folks don’t always know what we’re talking about, it’s whitewashing, but for the environment. It is deliberately trying to conceal unpleasant facts- a cover up, or to sweep something under the rug by making something seem more environmentally friendly than it really is, in order to appeal to consumers who are spending their money based on these good environmental practices. 

Greenwashing is an unflattering term because it is the process of conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about how a company’s products are more environmentally sound. Greenwashing is considered an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally safe,  or that the company is taking legitimate actions to reduce their negative environmental impact. An example that comes to our minds is the Volkswagen clean diesel scandal where the company marketed their diesel vehicles as the cleaner option knowing they were emitting dangerous chemicals. It led consumers into believing they were buying a product that has become “better” when it actually has not. When bottled water companies advertise that the caps on their bottles are now smaller so they use less plastic, that is greenwashing. In short, it is a lie, at best a half truth. 

(Plastic waste in a Fairfax County creek. Photo credit: Clean Fairfax)

A couple weeks ago we shared a story about British Petroleum’s (BP) personal carbon footprint calculator. This week’s greenwashing all-star is Royal Dutch Shell. Shell’s Twitter account tweeted “What are you willing to change to help reduce emissions?” Our first question was, “Who let that Tweet go public?”

What is Shell doing to reduce emissions? In 2016 Shell announced they would be investing between $4 and $6 billion in their “new energies” program to increase their renewable energy portfolio. The company has only spent about $2 billion on “new energies” since 2016. During this same time period Shell spent over $120 billion on fossil fuel projects and plans to spend $30 billion annually in the coming years bolstering their commitment to fossil fuels. Here’s the full story on Shell gaslighting the public. 

Shell isn’t just focused on energy production, the company is spending billions of dollars building up their plastic production capabilities. Shell is in the final stages of constructing a multibillion dollar plastic production facility outside of Pittsburgh. This facility will have ethane supplied by the new Falcon pipeline and its own rail system with over 3,000 freight cars. Shell has built this brand new 386 acre facility thanks in part to a $1.6 billion subsidy to reduce construction costs, the largest tax subsidy ever provided in Pennsylvania. When this plastic production facility is complete, it will be capable of producing over 1 million tons of plastic pellets every year. The tax subsidy they received for this project is almost equal to what the company has invested in renewable energy in the last four years. Shell’s new plastic facility will result in over 2 million tons of carbon dioxide every year. 

So we ask again, what is Shell doing to reduce emissions? The answer- Nothing. You can read about Shell’s new disastrous plastic production facility here and here.

(Plastic bottles on the bank of the Potomac River in Fairfax County. Photo credit: Clean Fairfax)

Another reason we don’t need Shell building one of the largest plastic production facilities in the world is because the US is already by far the world’s largest generator of plastic waste. In 2016, the US generated 42 million metric tons of plastic waste and ranked third among coastal countries for litter and mismanaged waste on shorelines with 2.24 million metric tons escaping into the environment. 2.24 million metric tons would cover the White House lawn in a pile as high as the Empire State Building. The US has just 4% of the global population, but generates 17% of all plastic waste and we have no solution to handle the waste we are generating. National Geographic did a great write up on the latest global trash study that you can read here. You can read the entire study, The United States’ Contribution of Plastic Waste to Land and Ocean, here. 

We (regular people, consumers, folks who are trying to do the right thing) cannot be expected to continue to clean up the messes that have been made by these corporations. The responsibility to clean up and solve the plastic crisis must be placed on corporations. Yes, we must take every plastic bottle to the recycling bin and we must reduce our usage of single use plastics, but without systemic changes at the top the crisis will only continue. We produce almost 20% of plastic waste on the planet without the infrastructure to handle the flow. Corporations must act to benefit society rather than ask us what we are going to do to reduce emissions.  

We can always do better, But they HAVE to do better. Our lives depend on it.