The plastic crisis is not all doom and gloom, even with the uncertainties caused by the Covid pandemic, there are positive steps to reduce plastic waste happening right now!

Maryland Styrofoam Foodware Ban: As of October, 1st, expanded polystyrene (EPS), commonly referred to as Styrofoam, food and beverage containers are banned in Maryland! For anyone who participates in clean ups along the Potomac River they should start to see a reduction in the amount of EPS they find during their clean ups. Not only is this great for the environment, it’s great for Virginia because at the 2021 General Assembly our elected officials will have to vote to confirm the 2020 vote to ban EPS food and beverage service containers. With both DC and Maryland banning EPS food and beverage service containers, Virginia does not want to be left behind. You can read some more about Maryland’s EPS ban here!

Scottish Single Use Plastic Ban: The Scottish government has begun the process to ban several single use plastic products. Under the plan they are developing businesses would not be allowed to provide customers with plastic cutlery, foodware, including EPS. Scotland has already taken some great steps forward, they already have a nationwide single use plastic bag fee and have passed regulation to begin a container deposit program. The new plan would take their fight against the plastic crisis even further. Zero Waste Scotland has extensive information, check it out here!

(Infographic credit: Zero Waste Scotland, from referenced website)

Canada Single Use Plastic Ban: By the end of next year Canada will ban several single use plastic items including plastic bags, cutlery, six pack rings, and EPS food and beverage containers. This action in Canada would ban many of the same harmful plastic products that have been targeted by the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act that we have been talking about so much. The further plastic waste reduction legislation advances around the world, the more likely it becomes that the US federal government will take similar sweeping action. Read more about Canada’s single use plastic ban here!

Litter Free Virginia: The Virginia General Assembly should be wrapping up soon and that means we’ll start hearing about the legislation elected officials will be submitting for the 2021 General Assembly. Last session there were almost 4,000 pieces of legislation that was covered in 60 days, it would be impossible for one person or organization to track every important piece of legislation. At Litter Free Virginia (litterfreeva.org) we track every bill that has to do with single use plastic, the litter tax, recycling, composting, and solid waste. These bills don’t always get a lot of attention and our elected officials need to know their constituents want them to take action to stop the plastic crisis. During the General Assembly we send out about 1 email every week to let people know where the bills stand and how they can take action. We encourage you to sign up for the Litter Free Virginia newsletter to help make you a more effective advocate for plastic waste reduction!

As a non profit organization, especially a small one, we don’t have the funds to engage in lobbying. By providing this information, about pieces of legislation, we serve our mission and the people of Fairfax County and the Commonwealth of Virginia through advocacy.

Yesterday, along with constituents of Virginia’s 10th congressional district, we met virtually with a staffer from Congresswoman Wexton’s office to discuss the problems we all face everyday with plastic waste and the importance of the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act (BFFPPA). Today we thought we’d share some more information about why this bill is so important.

One of the reasons so much new plastic is being produced is because it is cheaper to create new plastic than it is to use recycled plastic. It is about 90% more expensive to make a plastic bottle with recycled material. The corporations producing these bottles are going to use the cheapest method possible. The BFFPPA would mandate that plastic bottles are manufactured with an increasing percentage of recycled content. This bill would also require a nationwide $0.10 beverage container program. In Virginia we recycle about 20% of our plastic bottles, the most efficient beverage container programs have recycling rates over 90%.

(Plastic waste in a Fairfax County stream. Photo Credit: Clean Fairfax)

The three largest plastic polluters in the world, Coca-Cola, Nestle, and PepsiCo have committed to spend a total of $215 million over the next seven years on recycling and waste clean up. In fiscal year 2019, Coca-Cola profited over $20 billion. One material recovery facility (recycling center) costs a minimum of $20 million, their combined investment can build ten recycling centers. We can’t stress this enough, we can not recycle ourselves out of the plastic crisis. These brands have made commitments to reduce the plastic waste, but none of these companies have invested enough money to accomplish their goals. Even if they do, plastic in the ocean will rise from 11 million tons today to almost 30 million tons in the next twenty years. 

In the next five years, the fossil fuel industry is planning to spend $400 billion to build plastic production facilities. There are two plastic facilities scheduled to come online in Virginia next year. The BFFPPA would  place a temporary moratorium on new plastic facilities. This would give the EPA the opportunity to update regulations ensuring these facilities are using the most efficient pollution mitigation technology.As the fossil fuel industry is spending $400 billion in plastic expansion, they are only spending a combined $2 billion on plastic waste reduction. The BFFPPA would require that plastic producers would be responsible for collecting and recycling the material they generate. These corporations must play an active role in cleaning up the mess they have created.

Half of all the plastic that is produced is intended to be used once. Products that last for hundreds of years should not be used once. The BFFPPA would phase out the most common polluting single use products including, single use plastic bags, expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) food and beverage containers, plastic stirrers, and plastic utensils. 

This piece from Reuters, The Plastic Pandemic, offers a detailed explanation of how the plastic waste problem became a crisis decades ago.

If you want to learn more about the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act there are great resources from The Surfrider Foundation and Oceana.

Are you looking for a way serve your community and get outside? This Saturday we’ll be on Upper Long Branch in Bailey’s Crossroads hosting our final sponsored community clean up of the calendar year. This is a great opportunity for kids that need community service hours for school or anyone who wants to improve the health of our watershed!

Upper Long Branch flows into Four Mile Run which is a tributary of the Potomac. If the plastic and other litter is left there it will make its way to the Chesapeake Bay and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean.

The clean up will go from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and we’ll meet at the end of Magnolia Ave. in Falls Church. The easiest way to find it is to put the intersection of Glen Carlyn Rd. and Magnolia Ave. into your GPS and then follow Magnolia down until the end and park on the side of the street. (There are some screenshots of the map at the bottom of this post.)

Upper Long Branch is a rocky, shallow creek so hard rubber boots that can get wet and muddy are highly recommended! We’ll provide all the clean up supplies- bags, gloves, and some trash grabbers. Please bring your own reusable water bottle, we will have a water jug on hand for refills!

If you have question about the clean up please email cfc@cleanfairfax.org. We are looking forward to seeing everyone Saturday morning!

We want to call attention to a number of exciting opportunities and requests related to litter clean up throughout the greater Fairfax community:

• Are you looking to join an organized clean up? Clean Fairfax is hosting a community stream clean up in Bailey’s Crossroads on November 9^th. If you’re interested in volunteering for the day please let us know! We’ll release the exact location when we get closer to the date. I grew up in Bailey’s and this clean up is particularly important to me. This creek is where my friends and I would explore and where our appreciation of the natural world was fostered as kids. The wildlife has largely disappeared and has been replaced by litter. Come out and help us bring wildlife back to Bailey’s Crossroads creeks! This is the last Clean Fairfax sponsored clean up of the calendar year so get your community service hours in for school now!

• Have you noticed a recurring litter hotspot in your neighborhood? We want to help your community find permanent solutions. We will help you find the sources of the litter and develop strategies your community can implement to solve the problem.

• Do you want to host your own community clean up? Supporting county-wide cleanups by individuals, groups, schools, churches, and businesses is one of the most important aspects of our work. Go to https://cleanfairfax.orgprograms-events/community-clean-up-program/ and fill out the form and we’ll give you all the supplies you’ll need for free! All you need to do to schedule your own clean up is find your own clean up location, pick a day, gather a few volunteers, and let us know of your plans. In selecting the site for your clean up we recommend going about a mile each direction from your home, work, school, or church. The supplies include 30-gallon trash bags, gloves, clear bags for recyclables (upon request), safety vests (upon request), safety tips, and any other supplies that we might have to support the cleanup. Please try to give us 10 business days to get your supplies to you.

And finally, if you want to document litter you find when out and about around Fairfax County or across Virginia, share your pictures on social media using #litterfreeva. Sharing pictures with this hashtag helps us track litter throughout the county and across the Commonwealth.

As the weather begins to cool and you’re looking for some late season paddling, camping, or hiking to see the leaves changing colors, a little upfront planning can make your trip both zero waste and lots of fun. I spend a lot of time looking for adventure while paddling on the Potomac or walking Shenandoah with my dog and know how quickly a day can be ruined by coming across a stash of plastic bags or food wrappers. Natural spaces are a shared resource and we should all look to protect them, utilizing Leave no Trace principles. In that spirit, I’m going to share a few tips, tricks, and products I’ve used over the years to minimize my impact when I venture into the outdoors.

Planning Ahead
Planning ahead is critical to a zero waste adventure. When I’m getting ready for a day outside, my planning doesn’t just include figuring out where I’m going and getting my gear ready. The process includes being methodical about how I’m going to pack my food and water for the day. My goal when I leave my apartment is to not stop until I reach my destination so that means no stops for snacks or coffee at a gas station or roadside market that often rely on non-compostable material. Preparing all of my food the night before leaves more time for fun on the day of, and it also enables me to not bring any single use items out into the woods.

Food Storage
I start the day by making my coffee and putting it in my reusable mug which keeps the coffee hot longer and helps avoid a mid-drive pit stop. After the coffee is ready, I pull all of the food I prepared the night before out of the fridge and put it in my pack. My adventure lunch always contains at least one peanut butter and jelly sandwich, trail mix, and some fruit. To avoid single use plastic, I use a silicone option instead. There are a lot of brands out there and I use Stasher Bags to carry everything! Stasher bags are great for every day use – not just for weekend warriors! One Silicone Stasher Bag can eliminate hundreds of Ziploc bags from a waste stream.

Water
Anytime I go into the woods I have to bring enough water for myself and my dog, and we both have way more fun when we’re hydrated. My adventure days, just like my work days, start by filling up my 64 ounce Hydroflask water bottle. When we’re out on a hike, the big bottle stays in the car and then we have nice cold water for our trip home. I carry two 32 ounce Hydroflasks in my day pack so Buddy and I are always well hydrated. If I’m in my kayak, the 64 ounce bottle comes along for the ride and stays cold even in the sun.

We may leave many of the conveniences of home behind when we head out looking for adventure, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be conscious of the impact single use plastic can have on the outdoors. A little bit of planning can keep you and your four legged companions well fed and hydrated without leaving behind litter for other outdoor enthusiasts to find.

We recently met the outreach coordinator of a local foodbank and she wanted to know how she could help her foodbank lower their environmental footprint. She invited us out to see the foodbank and the first thing we noticed was the incredible work they are doing for their community. They provide food and household products which can’t be purchased with food stamps to food insecure families every month. Their foodbank is set up like a grocery store allowing customers to shop as they would in a grocery store. During the previous month alone, the foodbank distributed 3,047 plastic bags to hold the products they make available to community members. We immediately realized the significant opportunity this provided us to make a lasting difference in the community and set out to find an alternative.

To provide families with a strong, viable alternative that allowed them to participate in the broader waste reduction movement, we bought the foodbank 3,000 reusable shopping bags, with a simple message on the bags, “Fill Me Up, Bring Me Back, I’m Reusable!”. The foodbank is going to keep track of how many bags are brought back every month, and our hope is to see at least half of the bags make repeat appearances at the facility. If 1,500 of these bags come back every month, that would equate to a total of 18,000 single use plastic bags that do not go into circulation over the course of a twelve-month period. Our goal is to minimize single use plastic and we are excited to have enthusiastic partners embark with us on this pilot program.

We all do it, probably on a hourly/daily basis. There’s a fast food cup nestled on the bed of grass next to the sidewalk, or a Snickers wrapper blowing down the street towards the cul-de-sac. You shake your head disapprovingly, but walk by without picking it up. You think, “I’m not touching that — who knows where that piece of trash has been? Besides, it’s just a drop in the bucket.”

While we sympathize, we can’t stress this more: organized cleanups aren’t enough. They aren’t! Despite a burgeoning emphasis on a decreased use of plastics, displaced trash via littering or otherwise will continue to be a NoVA issue for the foreseeable future. And while cleanups (and education) are a good start, Clean Fairfax wants to encourage you to pick up that piece of litter as you walk to work, school or to the grocery store. This may seem like a endless and futile task, but every piece of trash counts. More importantly, you’re developing a social norm. When your neighbor sees you picking up that cup, they become more likely to do it too. If they see multiple people behaving this way, they become exponentially more likely to do so. If most Fairfax County residents picked trash up when they saw it, our streets and parks would be significantly better off!

Don’t forget to wash your hands afterwards. Don’t forget to schedule a cleanup with us if/when there’s too much litter for your two hands to carry! And finally, don’t forget to email us about habitually littered areas in your community so we can put it on our community map!

Plastic is plaguing our environment. It comes in all sizes and forms, but the smallest types are called microplastic. Microplastic is defined as “extremely small pieces of plastic debris in the environment resulting from the disposal and breakdown of consumer products and industrial waste.” (US Department of Commerce)

We know that microplastic comes from various sources such as large plastic debris that breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic. Microbeads are a type of microplastic that is very tiny polyethylene plastic manufactured for beauty and health products as an exfoliant. Microbeads are so small that they easily pass through water filtration systems and end up in the ocean, causing a potential threat to ocean life.

The issues with microbeads aren’t new. These products have been appearing in beauty products for over fifty years now, due to natural ingredients being replaced with plastic. The issue with microbeads is still relatively unknown. It wasn’t until 2012 that consumers and companies began to learn about the dangers of microbeads. There currently is not a lot of information on microplastics or how they impact the environment but hopefully that can change with the rise of awareness around this issue. With Former President Barack Obama signing the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, which effectively banned plastic microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products, we can expect to see a decline in microplastic damaging our environment.

US Department of Commerce, N. O. and A. A. (n.d.). What are microplastics? Retrieved March 26, 2018, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html

In 2018, people understand the need to recycle. We understand that sustainability is important and that rapid change is needed, but little headway has been made. Why is change so difficult? Why do we still litter and refuse to recycle?

The HuffPost explores this phenomenon in the article “The Psychology Behind Why People Don’t Recycle”. In this article, Brian Iacoviello, an assistant psychiatry professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City states, “Recycling is a behavior, much like exercising or eating healthily, people often engage in this behavior less than they should”.

According to a 2011 Ipsos Public Affairs survey, “only half of adults recycle every day, a third tend to recycle less frequently, while 13% admit that they never recycle”. Although there are barriers to recycling in various communities and among different demographics, it doesn’t explain why people don’t make a stronger effort to recycle. Let’s explore a few common reasons for not recycling, and discuss remedies for said attitudes:

“It’s not accessible or it’s inconvenient”

Recycling doesn’t require too much time. We all live busy lives but taking the time to recycle can help make a change. Fairfax County provides a straightforward system for recycling pick up.

Some local governments don’t have a pick up for recycling. We encourage you to talk with your local government to see if a recycling program can be started. You can also research outside programs to see if there is a recycling program in your area.

“I’m not sure what to recycle”

This can be tricky for certain products that don’t fit into a certain category. Fairfax County provides a fantastic guide to figure out what should be recycled and what should be put into the trash. (http://www.fairfaxva.gov/government/public-works/operations-division/refuse-recycling/recycling-guide)

As you recycle, make sure that the products you are recycling are clean and without food residue. Products that aren’t sufficiently clean take more energy to recycle. 

“It won’t make a difference”

Recycling has been proven to save energy, reduce landfills, preserve resources, protect wildlife and help with climate change issues. By taking a brief moment out of your day to recycle, you are making a difference in the world.

You don’t have to make a drastic change in your life to help our planet. Being a little more environmentally cautious can make a drastic change in our environment and our everyday life.

Clean Fairfax Council would like to welcome its newest team member, Sam Raasch! Sam is a northern Virginian, born and raised, and a graduate of the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State University. He is passionate about science communication and engaging the public in conservation efforts. Before landing at Clean Fairfax, Sam worked in various natural resource conservation roles at Virginia Tech, New York University, World Resources Institute and the US Forest Service.

But more importantly, Sam is an associate of the infamous Litterati. What’s the Litterati, you may ask? Why, it’s a mobile app that uses crowdsourcing to identify, map, and collect the litter we pick up as a community. It’s a simple but formidable concept that can change the way litter reduction is researched and resolved.

Any time Sam sees a piece of trash, he opens the Litterati app, snaps a quick photo, and the app applies a GPS coordinate, classifies the type of trash and uploads it to a map. Why is this useful? First and foremost, Sam finally has an easy, effective way to alert authorities about local litter hotspots, and consequently, local authorities better understand their municipality’s waste management needs. Furthermore, the data can be used to put pressure on businesses that are not focused on sustainability! Perhaps Sam’s favorite taco shop gives far too many hot sauce packets per order and the packets are ending up in the local stream. Sam’s a nice guy but he might be forced to use his finely tuned Litterati skills of persuasion to show them, using the app, that their sauce packets are ending up in the wrong places!

Litterati is one of the most recent efforts to crowd-source data collection for science, but we’ve seen several other great examples of technology that inspires conservation. The app iNaturalist, essentially a real-life version of Pokemon Go, allows citizens to take photos of local flora and fauna and share the data with scientists. In 2012, 150 tons of plastic pellets spilled from a container ship directly off the shores of Hong Kong during a severe typhoon. A citizen then created a geo-tagging app to track the various locations of the spill, and residents used the app to begin the cleanup effort.

If you’re interested in being part of litter reduction in Fairfax County but don’t have the time to organize a stream cleanup, download Litterati (https://www.litterati.org/)! Help our county clean itself, one photo at a time.

P.S. — Litterati is currently in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to continue improving the app.