Page 4
Spring 2014
Balloons Blow!
Don’t Let
Them Go!
Did you know?
The City of Santa Cruz loans Dori Poles and
banners, a no-waste decoration, to schools
and other groups hosting celebrations and
festivals.
to be a “no-balloon event.” For your
next event, be kind to the environment
by using cloth or crepe paper streamers,
bubbles, potted plants, reusable
windsocks, or, for larger events, our
Dori Poles and pennants! Call 420-5449
for details on borrowing them.
Saturday, April 19
11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Bottle Caps on the Beach
How many bottle caps have you seen
on Santa Cruz sidewalks, beaches, and
creek banks? Recently, local students
picked up over 200 caps in just one
beach cleanup! In the classroom, these
students
researched
plastic
pollution in
our oceans.
They learned
that Laysan
Albatross are
dying from
eating pieces of plastic, including bottle
caps. Students now call bottle caps
“Death Caps.”
Albatross live on Midway Atoll in
the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They
fly hundreds of miles searching for food,
picking up colorful pieces of floating
plastic, instead, to feed to their young.
According to Wikipedia stats on the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch, of the
Appliance/Bulky Item Pickup is May
17. Residents must call Customer
Service at 4205220 by 5 p.m. on
Thursday, May
15 to make an
appointment for
a May 17 pickup.
Pickup is free, but
there is a recycling
1.5 million albatross on Midway Atoll,
nearly all of them have plastic in their
guts.
Inspired students suggest that plastic
bottle manufacturers tether caps to the
bottleneck, while others suggest either
avoiding single-serve plastic bottles or
encouraging shoppers to buy in glass or
aluminum. The next time you walk down
the beach, bend down and pick up that
bottle cap—an albatross will thank you!
Every year thousands of people pick
up litter from Santa Cruz area beaches.
Last year, we picked up almost 35,000
pounds of trash. According to Save Our
Shores, these were the top six items
collected last year:
l Cigarette Butts – 91,357
l Plastic Pieces – 36,719
l Plastic Food Wrappers – 28,717
l Plastic Foam Pieces – 16,012
l Plastic Bottle Caps and Rings –
13,424
l Plastic Bags – 8,270
fee for some items. You may use
your free service tags for curbside
appliance pickup.
You will need
two tags for a
refrigerator, airconditioner, or
freezer, and one
tag for all other
appliances.
California law requires that plastic metallic silver
(mylar) balloons must come with an attached weight
that is heavy enough to prevent them from flying
away! The balloons are actually made from an
aluminized plastic. This metallic covering conducts
electricity, so when the balloons get loose, they can
wreak havoc on power lines. The weight is also a good idea
because it prevents the balloons from becoming sky litter.
© iStock | Saturated
Remember the last time you saw a
balloon floating into the sky? It bobs
back and forth with a long ribbon tail.
You strain your eyes to watch as it gets
smaller and smaller, the wind whipping
it up and away, and suddenly it’s
gone…or is it?
What goes up must come down!
Balloons released into the air – whether
by accident or on purpose – eventually
come down, falling onto parks and
streets and into waterways and our
ocean. Once they land, they’re not
pretty balloons anymore—they’re litter.
Buying balloons might seem like a
small issue, but when you figure that
most kids have birthday celebrations
which include balloons, the numbers
add up. Balloons are used at carnivals,
birthdays, special events, and holidays,
and they are often used as party décor.
They can be made out of rubber, latex,
different plastics, and come in different
colors. They can be filled with different
gases or air. But whatever they’re made
of, they can have disastrous effects on
marine life. Like plastic bags, balloons
and fragments can be mistaken for
food by wildlife, and many animals try
to eat them. The ribbons and strings
can become an entanglement issue for
animals.
The City of Santa Cruz discourages
the use of balloons by offering a
no-waste solution. Local schools and
special events can borrow Dori Poles
and pennants from the City Public
Works Department when they pledge
A Quarterly Newsletter of
Keep Your Butts off
the Beach!
Cigarette butts are some of those “little
things” that add up. Butts are snuffed
out at the beach or migrate there from
city streets and storm drains. When
butts are flicked into streets or gutters,
the rain carries them into storm drains
which flow right to the ocean. So
sweeping up butts or other debris from
your neighborhood will help keep our
beaches clean.
California Assemblymember Mark
Stone has introduced Assembly Bill
1504, which would ban the sale of all
cigarettes with filters in California.
Aimed at cleaning up this top source
of litter, the bill would allow the sale
of unfiltered cigarettes only (filters
have not been shown to make smoking
safer). According to Mark Stone,
“About 845,000 tons of cigarette butts
end up as litter around the globe each
year. Cigarette butts remain the single
most collected item of trash for cleanup
events at parks, rivers, and beaches.”
In the past 25 years, volunteers have
picked up 52.9 million cigarette
butts during the International Coastal
Cleanup event, which is sponsored
by Ocean Conservancy. Filters and
butts take up to 50 years to degrade.
The City of San Rafael installed
a 7 foot high “Cigarette Eater
Meter” in their downtown area
which collected 50,000 butts in just
three months. Through sponsorship
donations, the butts raise money for
a local non-profit at one cent per
butt. Other cities, such as New York
and Los Angeles, are considering butt
redemption programs, which operate
much like the bottle bill.
Green Business
This year, the Monterey Bay Area
Green Business program has added new
measures to counter the environmental
impacts of plastic debris. Certified
Green Businesses will be required
to eliminate the use of balloons at
events and to use compostable straws
instead of plastic straws in restaurants.
In addition, these businesses will be
asked to eliminate the use of disposable
food and drink containers in favor of
reusable ones, to work with vendors to
reduce packaging, and to use reusable
office items rather than disposables.
Green Businesses are welcoming these
changes because they know customers
look for the Green Business sticker
and prefer to patronize businesses
that are going the extra mile for our
environment.
These new requirements became
We want your suggestions,
questions and comments!
effective January
2014 for
businesses
applying
for new
Green
Business
Certification
and for
those up for
recertification.
(Businesses must be recertified every
three years.) By December 2016, all
Green Businesses will be meeting the
new requirements.
For a list of local Green Businesses,
go to: www.montereybaygreenbusiness.
org. For more information, contact:
Agnes Topp, Green Business
Coordinator, at 420-5423 or atopp@
cityofsantacruz.com.
Funded by City of
Santa Cruz Public Works
Copyright© 2014
City of Santa Cruz Public Works
and Eco Partners, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Public Works Department
809 Center Street, Room 201
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831-420-5160
www.cityofsantacruz.com
PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER
WITH 70% POST-CONSUMER NEWS
CONTENT, USING SOY INKS
Public Works Department
(831) 420-5160
www.cityofsantacruz.com
Spring 2014
The Straw That Broke
the Camel’s Back
By Chris Moran, Waste Reduction Manager
The parable goes something like this.
A camel was loaded down with so
much weight that when one more straw
was added to the load the animal was,
finally, incapable of even moving. This
beast of burden was pushed beyond
its capacity to fulfill its function,
beyond its ability to operate. The
camel’s downfall highlights that even
the mightiest entity can be brought
down when it is overused, or abused,
to a point of no return. The fable is
ancient, its origins tracing back to the
13th century, but that message is as
important today for our earth
as it was then for the camel.
Like that last straw,
small changes can make a
big difference. Thirty years
ago, it didn’t seem like a big
deal to drink coffee from a
foam plastic cup. The cup
wasn’t even around very long because
we tossed it into the garbage and it
was (seemingly) gone. Since then,
the world’s population has reached
around seven billion. Everything we
do matters because we’re not the only
person throwing out that cup, not the
only smoker flicking cigarette butts
onto the road, not the only consumer
using another straw. Millions of people
are using bottled water, letting balloons
escape into the sky, or discarding bottle
caps. Seven billion individuals loading
up the camel matters—even the little
things, even the last straw.
Climate change tells us that the
camel is biting back. Today we know
more about how humans affect our
environment, how our use of fossil
fuel is warming up our planet. Oceanic
gyres are full of pieces of plastic, and
44% of all seabirds and 22% of marine
mammals have ingested plastic. In
response, over 100 cities and counties
in California have banned plastic foam
takeout containers, and, recently, New
York City joined in as well! Cities and
counties are embracing plastic bag
bans. Small changes, like deciding what
kind of cup we drink from, represent
the bigger choices we make that will
ultimately determine what kind of
ocean we will have, what kind of world.
Jackie Nunez had her “last straw”
moment at a local beachside restaurant
about two years ago. She asked for a
glass of water, which arrived with a
plastic straw. She didn’t ask for a straw,
didn’t want a straw, but there it was.
She still carries that straw as a reminder
that it’s up to her to make that change.
Now she asks for drinks with “no straw,
please.” She became active.
Jackie joined Save Our Shores
(www.saveourshores.org) as an ocean
steward, initially donating 50 hours of
time to beach cleanups, dock walking,
outreach, and education. Then she
started “The Last (plastic) Straw”
movement (www.thelastplasticstraw.
com) to help lessen the impact of this
one piece of plastic pollution.
Jackie once lived in Puerto Rico,
where “plastic pollution on the beaches
has risen exponentially every year that
I go back,” she said. “I compare what it
looked like in the ‘70s, then ‘80s, and
in the last 10 years the plastic garbage
on the beaches is over the top. The
flow of plastic into our oceans is just
disastrous.”
As Jackie experienced her “last
straw” moment, she noticed the triangle
tent on the table touting “Water Is
Precious,” which prompted her to
think that the “Ocean Is Precious,”
too. The model was already out there!
Like asking for a glass of water, Jackie
encourages restaurants to adopt the
same model for straws—if
someone wants one, they can
ask for it. She now works with
local restaurants to “ask first”
and to encourage customers to
request that drinks be “Straw
Free.”
In the U.S. alone, we use
and discard 500 million straws
a day. That’s 127 forty-footlong school buses filled with
straws EACH DAY—a cost
both financially and to the
environment. Did you know that a
little straw could take up so much
space? Consider what a business
does to provide straws to their
customers. Straws need fossil fuel to be
manufactured. They must be ordered,
packaged, billed, shipped, unpacked,
stored, handed out, paid for, cleaned up,
and thrown away (because
movement to
they’re not recyclable).
eliminate the
The average life, or use,
use of plastic
of that straw is from
straws. Milo
five to 10 minutes,
Cress of Eco
yet it remains in our
Cycle’s (www.
environment 500 or more
EcoCycle.
years. It will outlive you
org) “Be Straw
Jackie Nune
and generations to come.
Free”
started
z
Is that the burden we
his campaign
want the camel to carry?
at the age
If restaurants simply said, “Straws
of nine by
Upon Request,” the use and associated
asking restaurants to adopt the “ask
cost would plummet.
first” policy. Now 12 years old, he
According to Save Our Shores, the
has embarked on an international
plastic straw always hits the top ten
speaking tour, talking to school groups,
list of items found during international
restaurant organizations, and tourists
beach cleanups. For Jackie, the plastic
on the beach. (Visit “Down to the Last
straw is important because it’s an easy
Straw” on Facebook.) “Straw Wars,”
item to remove from our lives and our
a group of Soho, London restaurants
oceans, and the straw is a metaphor
(and beyond), are voluntarily providing
for other single-use items in our lives.
straws only when a customer asks or
Straws are tangible, easy to think
they’re eliminating them completely.
about, and almost everywhere. We have Their motto is “Don’t Be a Sucker, Say
to ask, “Do I need this?” Ironically,
No to Plastic Straws.” At the beginning
Jackie’s partner ended up with a broken of 2014, the island of Bali experienced
jaw. “Some people may actually need
torrents of rain which culminated in
them, but if they do, there are steel
beaches covered with plastic pollution.
straws, paper straws, and glass straws
Search “Rubbish Tsunami Swamps Bali
available,” she said. “We can do better,” Beachfront.” The photos will shock
she added. “When dining at a nice
and amaze you. Residents there are
restaurant, you will see cloth napkins,
“becoming active.”
silverware, and glassware—that’s no
Paper straws are on the verge of
place for a plastic straw!”
being “in” again. They’re so retro!
In 1888, Marvin Stone wrapped
Fortunately, Aardvark Straws of Ft.
paper around a pencil and dipped the
Wayne, Indiana, is still in business.
tube into paraffin to form the first paper It is the only U.S. manufacturer of
straw. Paper straws were the norm until paper straws. As the original inventor
the 1960s when plastic ones edged
and patent holder that started making
straws in 1888, Aardvark’s
straws are “made in America,”
biodegradable, and 100%
chlorine-free! Look for them in
your favorite restaurant soon or
visit www.aardvarkstraws.com.
For Jackie Nunez, her last
straw was a plastic straw. The
small actions we take now can
make a big difference down the
line. So, what’s your last straw?
Turn to the back page
to learn more about other
them out. This indestructible plastic
“small” changes to consider. Small
straw now creates pollution at every
changes make way for big differences.
stage of existence. Using up resources,
Thirty years ago that foam cup seemed
they become litter and, ultimately, are
insignificant, but now we know better.
all discarded—all 500 million a day.
Whether it’s a cup, bottle cap, balloon,
Unfortunately, thousands end up as
plastic straw, or cigarette butt, keep
litter in our environment.
the camel in mind and don’t be the one
Fortunately, we are not alone in the
adding the last straw.
Spring 2014
get
reel!
© Morgan Lane Studios | iStock | Thinkstock
Earth
Day
• Reel mowers produce no harmful emissions and emit no
exhaust into your face and your neighborhood’s air.
• Reel mowers are whisper quiet, allowing you to hear your
children playing and enjoy the birds chirping. You can still
listen to your music on headphones, but you won’t have to!
• You’ll enjoy a brisk walk and some resistance training while
you mow.
• Reel mowers are virtually maintenance free. Occasionally, the
bearings and cutting edges may need a little lubricant and a
slight adjustment. The cutters will need to be sharpened every
couple years.
• You’ll never struggle with the pull cord on a reel mower.
Simply start walking and the mower starts, too.
• Reel mowers take less space in the garage or shed.
• Reel mowers are the cheapest to purchase, operate, and
maintain.
A reel mower isn’t right for every yard. The mowers are best
suited to smaller yards, such as those that are 10,000 square feet
(about one-quarter acre) or less. However, many of today’s lawns
are no bigger than this—especially if you have areas devoted to
native or drought-tolerant plants and mulched.
If you’d like more information about reel mowers (or about
electric mowers), ask at your hardware store, lawn and garden
center, or home supply store. You can also learn more at www.
reelmowerguide.com; http://eartheasy.com/article_reel_mower.htm;
or www.artofmanliness.com/2012/05/23/in-praise-of-the-push-reelmower.
Have Coffee. Reading about recycling
Will Travel.
© Hemera Technologies | Photo Objects | Thinkstock
Spring 2014
Walking and biking are good for your health and your
pocketbook. Of course, they are also better for our
environment because walking and biking don’t require
fuel or spew out emissions.
However, if you like to take a cup of coffee with
you when you leave the house, what are you supposed
to do? Reusable travel mugs are fine if you are walking,
but may not be fully leak-proof when you bike. There’s a
simple, waste-free solution—thermal or canteen bottles.
The thermal-style bottles keep hot drinks hot and cold
drinks cold. These bottles can be sealed, so you can put
them into a backpack or bag without worrying about
leaks and spills. Many have a built-in loop to allow you
to hang the bottle from your handle bars. Others have
insulated pouches with handles or loops. Still others will
fit right into your bike’s water bottle holder.
If your drink of choice is water or a sports drink,
you can use the same style bottles. Simply fill the clean
bottle with tap water or sports drink from your gallon
jug.
Look for leak-proof thermal bottles at local stores.
Many carry these bottles and accessories. Or, go online
and search for “leak-proof drink bottles” or “canteen
bottles.”
Award-winning children’s author Dan Gutman tapped 100 other children’s
book authors and asked them to give their advice for reducing waste, saving
energy, conserving water, and improving our environment. The results are
compiled in Recycle This Book: 100 Top Children’s Book Authors Tell You
How To Go Green (Yearling, 2009). Written for students in upper elementary
and junior high school, the essays are grouped into four categories, which
focus on what you can do at home, at school, in the community, and for the
world.
With titles ranging from “The Ugly Truth About Spit” by Gennifer
Choldenko to “Since We Can’t Stop Moose From Belching” by Todd
Strasser, Recycle This Book will have young people giggling. But they’ll also
want to learn more about their favorite authors, how they live, and what they
suggest to improve our environment. They’ll laugh with Rick Riordan, who
writes, “Saving the environment would be so much easier if I were a Greek
mythological character,” in his essay, “Zeus Says: Zap This!” And they’ll
wonder about Megan McDonald, author of the Judy Moody series, who
discovers vampires in her house and must get rid of them. (It turns out they
are the kind that suck electricity, not blood.)
For younger students who are in Kindergarten through second grade, look
for Recycle Every Day! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace (Two Lions, 2003). In this
picture book, a bunny named Minna wants to enter a Community Recycling
Calendar Contest. Her family makes suggestions, but Minna is waiting for a
“just right” idea. Finally, she creates her poster and waits to find out whether it
will be selected for the calendar. We won’t give away the ending! Author and
illustrator Nancy Elizabeth Wallace also offers instructions for children who
want to make their own “cut paper art.” Learn more at her website: www.
nancyelizabethwallace.com.
Look for Recycle This Book or Recycle Every Day! at your local library,
a favorite bookstore, or online. Remember to look for used books first!
&
ThenNow
Quotes
Requoted
Photo Courtesy of Dean P. Smith
Each year in the U.S., gas-powered lawn mowers consume well
over 600 million gallons of gasoline. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency estimates that an additional 17 million gallons
of gasoline are spilled when filling lawn mowers and other garden
equipment. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission, more than 234,000 people were admitted to the
hospital or treated for lawn mower-related injuries in 2012, more
than 17,900 of which were children under age 18. Plus, gaspowered lawn mowers spit out harmful air pollutants and disturb
the peace and quiet of our spring and summer days.
However, gas-powered mowers aren’t the only way to keep
your lawn looking good. Electric mowers are quieter and exhaustfree. Some electric mowers need an extension cord, but many of the
newer ones contain a rechargeable battery. With battery-powered
models, you simply plug the mower in to charge it and then unplug
it while you cut the grass. These cordless mowers are heavier and a
bit more difficult to maneuver than the corded models. Neither type
requires oil changes or gasoline. You do have the cost for electricity,
but that may be as little as $10 to $20 per mowing season.
Another, and even more environmentally friendly, option is
a reel, or manual, lawn mower. Here are just a few of the great
reasons to use a reel mower:
• Reel mowers leave behind healthier grass plants because
they “snip” the grass, cutting it in the same way that a pair of
scissors would. (Powered rotary mowers actually tear the grass
blades.)
• Reel mowers don’t need gasoline, so an empty gas can will
never change your plans. They also don’t require an electrical
charge, so you don’t have to remember to plug them in.
Page 3
© Brad Wolfe | iStock | Thinkstock
Page 2
We simply need that wild country available
to us, even if we never do more than drive to
its edge and look in. For it can be a means
of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as
creatures, a part of the geography of hope.
Wallace Stegner, 1909-1993
American writer
In the early 1960s, Gaylord Nelson, a U.S.
Senator from Wisconsin, proposed a nationwide
conservation tour to President John F. Kennedy.
The tour, which took place in September 1963,
was overshadowed by other events. However,
six years later, in the summer of 1969, Nelson
got the idea for a national “teach-in” about the
environment. Planning began for this teach-in,
which was dubbed Earth Day and set for April
22, 1970. A call went out. And Americans
responded.
Going into that first Earth Day, no one
could have predicted what was about to occur.
School children, college students, community
leaders, public officials, and citizens mobilized
a huge, grassroots effort. By April 22, 1970,
20 million Americans, or 10 percent of our
nation’s population in that year, took part.
This demonstration for the environment
brought about sweeping changes at the
federal and state levels. Later that same year,
President Richard Nixon established the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency by Executive
Order. In the years that followed, dozens of
environmental laws were passed, protecting our
coastlines, clearing our air, and cleaning up our
water supplies.
Today, nearly 45 years later, the successes
of Earth Day are readily apparent. The worst of
our day-to-day environmental problems have
been addressed. In most places and by most
standards, we have cleaner air and safer water
than we did four and a half decades ago.
However, this year and every year, Earth
Day reminds us that there is still work to
be done. We’ve cleaned up many of our old
messes, but we aren’t finished. Plus, we need
to continue to monitor our progress, making
adjustments and improvements as testing and
technology change. And, of course, along the
way, we’ve created some new problems, such
as the huge pile of electronics that we discard
each year.
The good news is that Earth Day is about
individuals acting to make a difference. Today,
you can make that difference. Get involved.
Reduce the amount of waste in your life—
conserve energy, save water, and create less
trash. Recycle all that you can, providing
useful materials to the manufacturing process.
And, spread the word, especially to children
and youth. Someday soon this will be their
environment. Show them how and why to take
care of it now.
Page 4
Spring 2014
Balloons Blow!
Don’t Let
Them Go!
Did you know?
The City of Santa Cruz loans Dori Poles and
banners, a no-waste decoration, to schools
and other groups hosting celebrations and
festivals.
to be a “no-balloon event.” For your
next event, be kind to the environment
by using cloth or crepe paper streamers,
bubbles, potted plants, reusable
windsocks, or, for larger events, our
Dori Poles and pennants! Call 420-5449
for details on borrowing them.
Saturday, April 19
11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Bottle Caps on the Beach
How many bottle caps have you seen
on Santa Cruz sidewalks, beaches, and
creek banks? Recently, local students
picked up over 200 caps in just one
beach cleanup! In the classroom, these
students
researched
plastic
pollution in
our oceans.
They learned
that Laysan
Albatross are
dying from
eating pieces of plastic, including bottle
caps. Students now call bottle caps
“Death Caps.”
Albatross live on Midway Atoll in
the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They
fly hundreds of miles searching for food,
picking up colorful pieces of floating
plastic, instead, to feed to their young.
According to Wikipedia stats on the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch, of the
Appliance/Bulky Item Pickup is May
17. Residents must call Customer
Service at 4205220 by 5 p.m. on
Thursday, May
15 to make an
appointment for
a May 17 pickup.
Pickup is free, but
there is a recycling
1.5 million albatross on Midway Atoll,
nearly all of them have plastic in their
guts.
Inspired students suggest that plastic
bottle manufacturers tether caps to the
bottleneck, while others suggest either
avoiding single-serve plastic bottles or
encouraging shoppers to buy in glass or
aluminum. The next time you walk down
the beach, bend down and pick up that
bottle cap—an albatross will thank you!
Every year thousands of people pick
up litter from Santa Cruz area beaches.
Last year, we picked up almost 35,000
pounds of trash. According to Save Our
Shores, these were the top six items
collected last year:
l Cigarette Butts – 91,357
l Plastic Pieces – 36,719
l Plastic Food Wrappers – 28,717
l Plastic Foam Pieces – 16,012
l Plastic Bottle Caps and Rings –
13,424
l Plastic Bags – 8,270
fee for some items. You may use
your free service tags for curbside
appliance pickup.
You will need
two tags for a
refrigerator, airconditioner, or
freezer, and one
tag for all other
appliances.
California law requires that plastic metallic silver
(mylar) balloons must come with an attached weight
that is heavy enough to prevent them from flying
away! The balloons are actually made from an
aluminized plastic. This metallic covering conducts
electricity, so when the balloons get loose, they can
wreak havoc on power lines. The weight is also a good idea
because it prevents the balloons from becoming sky litter.
© iStock | Saturated
Remember the last time you saw a
balloon floating into the sky? It bobs
back and forth with a long ribbon tail.
You strain your eyes to watch as it gets
smaller and smaller, the wind whipping
it up and away, and suddenly it’s
gone…or is it?
What goes up must come down!
Balloons released into the air – whether
by accident or on purpose – eventually
come down, falling onto parks and
streets and into waterways and our
ocean. Once they land, they’re not
pretty balloons anymore—they’re litter.
Buying balloons might seem like a
small issue, but when you figure that
most kids have birthday celebrations
which include balloons, the numbers
add up. Balloons are used at carnivals,
birthdays, special events, and holidays,
and they are often used as party décor.
They can be made out of rubber, latex,
different plastics, and come in different
colors. They can be filled with different
gases or air. But whatever they’re made
of, they can have disastrous effects on
marine life. Like plastic bags, balloons
and fragments can be mistaken for
food by wildlife, and many animals try
to eat them. The ribbons and strings
can become an entanglement issue for
animals.
The City of Santa Cruz discourages
the use of balloons by offering a
no-waste solution. Local schools and
special events can borrow Dori Poles
and pennants from the City Public
Works Department when they pledge
A Quarterly Newsletter of
Keep Your Butts off
the Beach!
Cigarette butts are some of those “little
things” that add up. Butts are snuffed
out at the beach or migrate there from
city streets and storm drains. When
butts are flicked into streets or gutters,
the rain carries them into storm drains
which flow right to the ocean. So
sweeping up butts or other debris from
your neighborhood will help keep our
beaches clean.
California Assemblymember Mark
Stone has introduced Assembly Bill
1504, which would ban the sale of all
cigarettes with filters in California.
Aimed at cleaning up this top source
of litter, the bill would allow the sale
of unfiltered cigarettes only (filters
have not been shown to make smoking
safer). According to Mark Stone,
“About 845,000 tons of cigarette butts
end up as litter around the globe each
year. Cigarette butts remain the single
most collected item of trash for cleanup
events at parks, rivers, and beaches.”
In the past 25 years, volunteers have
picked up 52.9 million cigarette
butts during the International Coastal
Cleanup event, which is sponsored
by Ocean Conservancy. Filters and
butts take up to 50 years to degrade.
The City of San Rafael installed
a 7 foot high “Cigarette Eater
Meter” in their downtown area
which collected 50,000 butts in just
three months. Through sponsorship
donations, the butts raise money for
a local non-profit at one cent per
butt. Other cities, such as New York
and Los Angeles, are considering butt
redemption programs, which operate
much like the bottle bill.
Green Business
This year, the Monterey Bay Area
Green Business program has added new
measures to counter the environmental
impacts of plastic debris. Certified
Green Businesses will be required
to eliminate the use of balloons at
events and to use compostable straws
instead of plastic straws in restaurants.
In addition, these businesses will be
asked to eliminate the use of disposable
food and drink containers in favor of
reusable ones, to work with vendors to
reduce packaging, and to use reusable
office items rather than disposables.
Green Businesses are welcoming these
changes because they know customers
look for the Green Business sticker
and prefer to patronize businesses
that are going the extra mile for our
environment.
These new requirements became
We want your suggestions,
questions and comments!
effective January
2014 for
businesses
applying
for new
Green
Business
Certification
and for
those up for
recertification.
(Businesses must be recertified every
three years.) By December 2016, all
Green Businesses will be meeting the
new requirements.
For a list of local Green Businesses,
go to: www.montereybaygreenbusiness.
org. For more information, contact:
Agnes Topp, Green Business
Coordinator, at 420-5423 or atopp@
cityofsantacruz.com.
Funded by City of
Santa Cruz Public Works
Copyright© 2014
City of Santa Cruz Public Works
and Eco Partners, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Public Works Department
809 Center Street, Room 201
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831-420-5160
www.cityofsantacruz.com
PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER
WITH 70% POST-CONSUMER NEWS
CONTENT, USING SOY INKS
Public Works Department
(831) 420-5160
www.cityofsantacruz.com
Spring 2014
The Straw That Broke
the Camel’s Back
By Chris Moran, Waste Reduction Manager
The parable goes something like this.
A camel was loaded down with so
much weight that when one more straw
was added to the load the animal was,
finally, incapable of even moving. This
beast of burden was pushed beyond
its capacity to fulfill its function,
beyond its ability to operate. The
camel’s downfall highlights that even
the mightiest entity can be brought
down when it is overused, or abused,
to a point of no return. The fable is
ancient, its origins tracing back to the
13th century, but that message is as
important today for our earth
as it was then for the camel.
Like that last straw,
small changes can make a
big difference. Thirty years
ago, it didn’t seem like a big
deal to drink coffee from a
foam plastic cup. The cup
wasn’t even around very long because
we tossed it into the garbage and it
was (seemingly) gone. Since then,
the world’s population has reached
around seven billion. Everything we
do matters because we’re not the only
person throwing out that cup, not the
only smoker flicking cigarette butts
onto the road, not the only consumer
using another straw. Millions of people
are using bottled water, letting balloons
escape into the sky, or discarding bottle
caps. Seven billion individuals loading
up the camel matters—even the little
things, even the last straw.
Climate change tells us that the
camel is biting back. Today we know
more about how humans affect our
environment, how our use of fossil
fuel is warming up our planet. Oceanic
gyres are full of pieces of plastic, and
44% of all seabirds and 22% of marine
mammals have ingested plastic. In
response, over 100 cities and counties
in California have banned plastic foam
takeout containers, and, recently, New
York City joined in as well! Cities and
counties are embracing plastic bag
bans. Small changes, like deciding what
kind of cup we drink from, represent
the bigger choices we make that will
ultimately determine what kind of
ocean we will have, what kind of world.
Jackie Nunez had her “last straw”
moment at a local beachside restaurant
about two years ago. She asked for a
glass of water, which arrived with a
plastic straw. She didn’t ask for a straw,
didn’t want a straw, but there it was.
She still carries that straw as a reminder
that it’s up to her to make that change.
Now she asks for drinks with “no straw,
please.” She became active.
Jackie joined Save Our Shores
(www.saveourshores.org) as an ocean
steward, initially donating 50 hours of
time to beach cleanups, dock walking,
outreach, and education. Then she
started “The Last (plastic) Straw”
movement (www.thelastplasticstraw.
com) to help lessen the impact of this
one piece of plastic pollution.
Jackie once lived in Puerto Rico,
where “plastic pollution on the beaches
has risen exponentially every year that
I go back,” she said. “I compare what it
looked like in the ‘70s, then ‘80s, and
in the last 10 years the plastic garbage
on the beaches is over the top. The
flow of plastic into our oceans is just
disastrous.”
As Jackie experienced her “last
straw” moment, she noticed the triangle
tent on the table touting “Water Is
Precious,” which prompted her to
think that the “Ocean Is Precious,”
too. The model was already out there!
Like asking for a glass of water, Jackie
encourages restaurants to adopt the
same model for straws—if
someone wants one, they can
ask for it. She now works with
local restaurants to “ask first”
and to encourage customers to
request that drinks be “Straw
Free.”
In the U.S. alone, we use
and discard 500 million straws
a day. That’s 127 forty-footlong school buses filled with
straws EACH DAY—a cost
both financially and to the
environment. Did you know that a
little straw could take up so much
space? Consider what a business
does to provide straws to their
customers. Straws need fossil fuel to be
manufactured. They must be ordered,
packaged, billed, shipped, unpacked,
stored, handed out, paid for, cleaned up,
and thrown away (because
movement to
they’re not recyclable).
eliminate the
The average life, or use,
use of plastic
of that straw is from
straws. Milo
five to 10 minutes,
Cress of Eco
yet it remains in our
Cycle’s (www.
environment 500 or more
EcoCycle.
years. It will outlive you
org) “Be Straw
Jackie Nune
and generations to come.
Free”
started
z
Is that the burden we
his campaign
want the camel to carry?
at the age
If restaurants simply said, “Straws
of nine by
Upon Request,” the use and associated
asking restaurants to adopt the “ask
cost would plummet.
first” policy. Now 12 years old, he
According to Save Our Shores, the
has embarked on an international
plastic straw always hits the top ten
speaking tour, talking to school groups,
list of items found during international
restaurant organizations, and tourists
beach cleanups. For Jackie, the plastic
on the beach. (Visit “Down to the Last
straw is important because it’s an easy
Straw” on Facebook.) “Straw Wars,”
item to remove from our lives and our
a group of Soho, London restaurants
oceans, and the straw is a metaphor
(and beyond), are voluntarily providing
for other single-use items in our lives.
straws only when a customer asks or
Straws are tangible, easy to think
they’re eliminating them completely.
about, and almost everywhere. We have Their motto is “Don’t Be a Sucker, Say
to ask, “Do I need this?” Ironically,
No to Plastic Straws.” At the beginning
Jackie’s partner ended up with a broken of 2014, the island of Bali experienced
jaw. “Some people may actually need
torrents of rain which culminated in
them, but if they do, there are steel
beaches covered with plastic pollution.
straws, paper straws, and glass straws
Search “Rubbish Tsunami Swamps Bali
available,” she said. “We can do better,” Beachfront.” The photos will shock
she added. “When dining at a nice
and amaze you. Residents there are
restaurant, you will see cloth napkins,
“becoming active.”
silverware, and glassware—that’s no
Paper straws are on the verge of
place for a plastic straw!”
being “in” again. They’re so retro!
In 1888, Marvin Stone wrapped
Fortunately, Aardvark Straws of Ft.
paper around a pencil and dipped the
Wayne, Indiana, is still in business.
tube into paraffin to form the first paper It is the only U.S. manufacturer of
straw. Paper straws were the norm until paper straws. As the original inventor
the 1960s when plastic ones edged
and patent holder that started making
straws in 1888, Aardvark’s
straws are “made in America,”
biodegradable, and 100%
chlorine-free! Look for them in
your favorite restaurant soon or
visit www.aardvarkstraws.com.
For Jackie Nunez, her last
straw was a plastic straw. The
small actions we take now can
make a big difference down the
line. So, what’s your last straw?
Turn to the back page
to learn more about other
them out. This indestructible plastic
“small” changes to consider. Small
straw now creates pollution at every
changes make way for big differences.
stage of existence. Using up resources,
Thirty years ago that foam cup seemed
they become litter and, ultimately, are
insignificant, but now we know better.
all discarded—all 500 million a day.
Whether it’s a cup, bottle cap, balloon,
Unfortunately, thousands end up as
plastic straw, or cigarette butt, keep
litter in our environment.
the camel in mind and don’t be the one
Fortunately, we are not alone in the
adding the last straw.