Taking Out the Trash

Sharing the Responsibility for Keeping our Creeks, Shorelines, and Ocean Free of Marine Debris

By Linda Hunter

I'm looking forward to seeing you at one of our Coastal Cleanup Day events on Saturday, September 19! I am always heartened by the level of enthusiasm and concern expressed by volunteers at cleanup events. Inevitably, someone asks, "Where does this trash come from and who is responsible for it ending up far away from its source - all the way to the middle of the Pacific Ocean?"

We know that the nature of a watershed is to move things around, especially since a watershed is, by definition, the area of land where rainwater drains to a body of water - in our case, the San Francisco Estuary. We can educate consumers to be watershed stewards, to reduce our plastic footprint, to reuse, and recycle. But is that the whole story? Are consumers alone to bear the responsibility for all this trash?

At The Watershed Project, we believe that we all share a responsibility for the trash so prevalent in our throw-away culture. Consumers, manufacturers, and government agencies need to own up to the importance of reducing the impact of debris on our environment.

So, in celebration of Pollution Prevention Week, The Watershed Project has formed some key partnerships in our battle against marine debris. First, we've joined forces with the California Product Stewardship Council in a campaign to make manufacturers more responsible for what happens to their products when they're worn out or used up. By promoting Extended Producer Responsibility, consumers and local governments can encourage eco-friendly product design and packaging and boost the amount of waste that can be recycled or reused. By bringing producers into the discussion of how to dispose of their products, our communities can help dismiss the myth that the only cost of consumption is the one that's on the price tag.

Our second partnership is with the Department of Toxics and Substance Control, which has launched the Green Chemistry Initiative - a program that promotes the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous substances. Green chemistry features benign design, intended to substitute biodegradable materials for plastics and other products that degrade into toxic components or wind up in landfills. It's a way of applying the Precautionary Principle to product design - to anticipate disposal problems and design green solutions right into products.

On Tuesday, September 22, The Watershed Project will join these partners along with the Ocean Protection Council, Project Kaisei, and the Algalita Foundation at a press conference to announce our collaboration. We'll have an opportunity to explore the Kaisei, a research vessel that recently returned from a voyage to the heart of the Pacific Gyre and will hear from leaders in the fight against marine debris. We are excited to express our commitment to shared responsibility and seeing the challenge of pollution through the eyes of an entire community - a watershed approach to the problem of marine debris.

For more information email linda@thewatershedproject.org or call (510) 665-3495.