April 19, 2018

Assemblymembers Mark Stone and Ian Calderon

State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0029
Stone: 916-319-2029, Fax: 916-319-2129

Calderon: 916-319-2157, Fax: 916-319-2057

Re: AB 2779 Plastic Beverage Container Caps Retention – Support

Dear Assemblymembers Stone and Calderon,

We would like to again express our support for your Assembly Bill 2779, as we had in 2017 for AB 319 (Stone).

The Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1978, primarily to promote environmentally sound discards management practices, including waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting. Our 270 members include recycling businesses, employees, entrepreneurs, and individuals supportive of various Bay Area and State Zero Waste initiatives.

AB 2779 would prohibit a retailer from selling or offering for sale a single-use plastic beverage container with a cap that is not tethered to or contiguously affixed to the beverage container. This bill is particularly important for a number of reasons.

Plastic beverage caps contribute to the increasing plastic pollution problem in inland, coast and ocean waters.

Plastics comprise an estimated 60-80% of all marine debris and 90% of all floating debris. The primary source of marine debris is urban litter runoff. Reports by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and the January 2016 report by the World Economic Forum “The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics”, by 2050, plastics in the ocean will outweigh fish pound for pound, if societies keeps producing and failing to properly manage plastics at predicted rates. Bottle caps contribute to this massive discharge of plastics from land-based sources. Bottle caps and lids are the #3 item found on California beaches during annual Coastal Cleanup Day. Marine debris is a human-induced global problem with adverse effects on coral reef ecosystems and marine wildlife, but large-scale removals are only a temporary solution.

Due to the interplay of ocean currents, marine debris preferentially accumulates in certain areas throughout the ocean. A study published March 22, 2018 found that the North Pacific Gyre contains 79,000 metric tons. This study, Evidence that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is Rapidly Accumulating Plastic, published in Scientific Reports, found that approximately 46% of the material in the Gyre by weight was comprised of abandoned fishing nets. Microplastics accounted for 94% of the estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the area. The study found that the plastic pollution in the Gyre is increasing exponentially, and at a faster rate than surrounding waters.

Plastic bottle caps are among the most highly littered items impacting sea life, particularly threatening the Laysan Albatros with extinction.

The Midway Atoll, part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM), including the entire Hawaiian Archipelagand, is home to 3 million Laysan Albatross. A two-year study funded by the US EPA reported that of the 500,000 Albatross chicks born on Midway Atoll each year, 200,000 died (40%), with many having twice as many plastic pieces in their stomachs as those that died from other causes. Although adults can regurgitate the plastic, chicks cannot, and die from dehydration, starvation, or injury when sharp edges of degraded plastic puncture internal organs. In a 2016 research project, shoreline marine debris was removed from five different islands/atolls in the PMNM. A total of 24,123 lbs. of marine debris were primarily derelict fishing gear and plastics, including 1,468 plastic beverage bottles and 4,457 bottle caps. The Laysan Albatros, a Calfiornia species, is a poster child for this marine debris problem, but 90% of all seabird species are impacted.

Plastics do not biodegrade, rather with ultraviolet radiation exposure and photo-degradation, they disintegrate into smaller pieces, eventually become microplastics. Small plastic pieces are confused with small fish, plankton, or krill and ingested by aquatic organisms. Over 600 marine animal species have been negatively affected by ingesting plastic worldwide. In 2017, scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, found that corals are also ingesting small plastic particles, which remain in their small stomach cavities and impede their ability to consume and digest food. Furthermore, research demonstrates that ocean plastic debris attracts hydrophobic chemicals and persistent organic pollutants like PCBs and PAHs, that have an affinity for, and can bind to plastic particles, whereby they enter and accumulate in the food chain.

Plastic debris threatens human health.

Microplastics consumed by marine organisms make their way into the animals' tissues and are showing up in the fish that humans eat. In a recent study by UC Davis and Hasunuddin University in Indonesia, researchers sampled fish from fish markets in Makassar, Indonesia and in Half Moon Bay and Princeton in California. One-quarter of the fish sampled in all locations contained plastic. In California, 80% of the plastic debris in the fish consisted of microfibers. In contrast, none of the fish in Indonesia were contaminated with mircofibers.

Recent studies by the San Francisco Estuary Institute indicate that littered consumer plastics contribute to the increasing load of microplastics in the San Francisco Bay. Research also shows that some fish sold in California markets have ingested plastic debris in their guts. Consequently, degraded plastics are polluting seafood consumed by people, posing potential health risks.

Microplastics have also made their way into drinking water. Researchers, at the State University of New York and the University of Minnesota, tested 159 drinking water samples from 14 countries across five continents, finding that 83% were contaminated with microscopic plastic fibers. In the United States, 94% of the water samples contained microplastic.

The technology exists to leash the lid and recyclers want the plastic.

A few bottled water companies, including Crystal Geyser and Nestle, have started the switch to caps tethered to plastic bottles. Variations of tethered or integrated caps currently exist. Many recyclers already have the technology to separate variant plastics. Beverage bottles are generally made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), whereas caps are typically polypropylene (PP) or high-density polyethylene (HDPE). During processing, the bottles are chopped into small pieces, and within a sink-float tank, the PP and HDPE will float, and the PET will sink. Once separated, the materials can be recycled.

Given the uncertain outlook for the Federal EPA, it is increasingly important for California to take a leadership role in promoting and employing common sense, practical solutions through legislation, regulation, policy changes and public education to mitigate the scourge of land and marine debris pollution, and risks to human health, within achievable time-frames.

NCRA is pleased to add our SUPPORT for AB 2779, and we thank you for introducing this important measure to keep the lid leashed to the bottle.

Sincerely,

K. D. Brooms John Moore

K. Douglas BroomsJohn Moore

NCRA Board of Directors, Co-Chairs Zero Waste Advocacy Committee

Laura McKaughan

Laura McKaughan, President

NCRA Board of Directors

Cc:Assemblymember Richard Bloom, Fax: 916-319-2150

PO Box 5581, Berkeley, CA 94705

Phone 510-217-2433

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