nited States
Environmental Protectior
Agency
EPA-842-N-14-004
February, 2016
The Flow of., Trash Free Waters
This newsletter is intended to
provide the latest information
regarding Trash Free Waters
(TFW) efforts across the U.S.
EPA and our stakeholders
continue to make progress
reducing aquatic trash in regions
where work is underway.
The Flow is our opportunity to
highlight recent successes, as
well as shine a spotlight on news
and other related items.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
CA's New Trash Control Policy 2
- A message from the Regional
Administrator
Baltimore 3
Galveston
Research 4
Louisiana - A look back
Trinity 5
B.Y.O. NYC! - Guest Article
Breakthrough Initiative 6
Annual NEP Workshop in D.C.
Puerto Rico 7
ANEP Conference in San Juan
The Rapids: News Drops 8
Grant announcements
HOW IS IT FLOWING?
Important regulatory
approaches have been put in
place recently that promise to
make a significant difference in
our collective efforts to prevent
and reduce the amount of
trash, including plastics, from
entering our waters.
On December 28, 2015, the
President signed into law the
Microbead-Free Waters Act of
2015. Beginning on July 1,
2017, there is a ban on
manufacturing rinse-off
cosmetics that contain
intentionally added plastic
microbeads - the tiny beads of
plastic, commonly added as
abrasives to beauty and health
products like exfoliating facial
scrubs and toothpaste;
beginning on July 1, 2018,
there is a ban on the sale of
these cosmetics.
In the State of California, U.S.
EPA approved the State Water
Resources Control Board's new
water quality standards for
trash in California's waters.
The standards approved on
January 13, 2016 are part of
the state's new Trash Control
Policy, designed to keep trash
out of streams, lakes, bays,
estuaries, and coastal and
ocean waters in California to
protect people and the
environment. Municipalities
and other storm water permit
holders must comply by either
installing full trash capture
systems, or using equivalent
devices coupled with
programs such as increased
street sweeping and
educational outreach.
Additionally, on October 31,
2015, the Governor of Puerto
Rico signed an Executive
Order to ban plastic bags. The
legislature then passed a bill
that the Governor signed into
law (247-2015) on December
29, 2015. The ban will take
effect in mid-2016 and will be
preceded by a six-month
educational campaign.
Articles highlighted in this
newsletter feature additional
TFW efforts across the U.S., as
well as in the Wider Caribbean!
Puerto Rico's
Governor
Alejandro
Garcia Padilla
and EPA's
Regional
Administrator
Judith Enck at
the plastic
bag ban bill
signing.
'Aguas Sin Basura' Expands to the Wider Caribbean
At last year's Our Ocean
Conference II in Chile, EPA
announced the expansion of
the Trash Free Waters approach
to the Wider Caribbean, with
Jamaica and Panama as pilot
countries. This is part of a new
partnership with United
Nations Environmental
Programme - Caribbean
Environmental Programme
(UNEP-CEP) and Peace Corps to
combat marine litter in the
region. In November,
Stephanie Adrian from EPA's
Office of International and
Tribal Affairs Office met with
Peace Corps Panama, Panama
Ministry of Environment, and
the Maritime Authority to
discuss this initiative. Next
steps include identifying
stakeholders and the
Panamanian government's
role in preventing marine
litter. Panama termed their
initiative "Aguas Sin Basura,"
or "Waters Without Trash."
EPA has developed a training
module for incoming Peace
Corps Volunteers in both
Jamaica and Panama to
introduce volunteers to
marine litter sources and
impacts and the Trash Free
Waters Program this early
spring.
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The Flow of... Trash Free Waters
How California's New Trash Control Policy Can Help Shrink the Pacific Garbage Patch
by Jared Blumenfeld, EPA Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest
Jared Blumenfeld is
EPA's Regional
Administrator for the
Pacific Southwest (EPA
Region 9), home to 50
million people in
Arizona, California,
Hawaii, Nevada, the
Pacific Islands, and 148
tribal nations. This
column appeared in
print on January 13th,
2016 and highlights
the Trash Control
Policy that EPA
approved for the state
of California.
I predict 2016 to be the year
when real progress will be
made to resolve one of the
world's most vexing
environmental issues — the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
This huge mass of plastic
particles polluting the ocean
between Los Angeles and
Honolulu is fed by litter from
our homes, businesses, and
fast-food restaurants. All too
often it's a throw-away item
we use only once. We should
have zero tolerance towards
allowing this trash to end up
in our waterways. If we stop it
from flowing into the ocean,
we will starve the Garbage
Patch.
The Los Angeles (L.A.) region
has been a global leader in the
fight against litter and marine
debris. In the 1990s, L.A.
became the first in the nation
to declare a war on the trash
that was polluting its
waterways. This bold move,
based on the federal Clean
Water Act, has the L.A. River on
track to be free of trash from
storm drains this year. To
achieve this goal, the City of Los
Angeles invested $73 million to
install almost 38,000 devices
that capture its trash.
When a plastic straw ends up
on the street in LA., it is either
stopped from going down the
storm drain by a screen so that
a street sweeper can brush it
up, or it is diverted into a
concrete box to be cleaned out
later. The straw never reaches
the river or the sea.
This approach is working
throughout the basin, where
42 cities have implemented
measures to capture the
estimated 5.4 million tons of
trash each year that used to
flow unimpeded into the L.A.
River. The cities of Monrovia,
Monterey Park, South
Pasadena, and Temple City
have reduced their trash
discharges by 97-99% through
the installation of capture
devices, public outreach, and
street sweeping.
The efforts in Southern
California have taught us a lot
about how we can solve the
marine debris problem, and
the rest of California is
following suit. This week, I
gave EPA's final approval for
California's "Trash Control
Policy." It now becomes the
first measure in the country
aimed at eliminating trash
from lakes, streams, and
shores across a state. Under
California's new policy, by
2026 trash is prohibited from
polluting our waters, and each
large municipality and
industrial discharger must
implement "trash free"
measures and report its
compliance. This means that
the public can oversee the
progress and make sure that
policy becomes reality.
Our Golden State disposes of
more than 31 million tons of
trash a year, which is still too
much. Many cities have
responded by increasing
recycling and street sweeping,
which both play a key role in
trash and marine debris
reduction. In places where
these tools fall short, expect to
see more trash capture
systems to trap food wrappers,
cigarette butts, and plastic
bottles before they can pollute
our waterways.
Meanwhile, global
manufacture of plastics
continues to rise, reaching 300
million tons annually, with 8
million tons winding up in the
oceans. So it is not just a
matter of preventing trash
from getting to the water's
edge. We also need to reduce
the amount of disposable
material being generated.
There too, California is leading
the way with the ambitious
goal of reducing the waste we
send to landfills 75% by 2020.
Not only must waste be
diverted from landfills to
increase recycling and
composting rates, it has to be
reduced from the get-go.
California's two waste
measures — the diversion goal
and trash policy — represent a
visionary approach to a blight
that for too long has choked
our waterways, harmed
wildlife and endangered our
drinking water supplies. More
cities, states, and nations
should follow the lead of
California and Los Angeles. If
they did, our inland, coastal,
and marine waters would be
far healthier. And the Great
Pacific Garbage Patch would
finally begin to shrink.
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The Flow of... Trash Free Waters
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Getting the Message in Baltimore
Stakeholders in metropolitan
Baltimore are harnessing the
energy and mandate of three
different stakeholder groups
to develop a unified anti-
litter messaging campaign
designed to change
behaviors that lead to litter
and other forms of aquatic
trash. This Baltimore project
is championed by Julie
Lawson at Trash Free
Maryland.
This campaign is a priority for:
(1) the meaningful
implementation plan for the
trash Total Maximum Daily
Load; (2) the Mayor and the
City's Commission on
Sustainability, and (3) The
Healthy (Baltimore) Harbor
Steering Committee.
Rather than develop multiple
campaigns that may compete
for financial resources and
Trash Free Maryland ' trawling'for microplastics in the Baltimore harbor.
Photo Credit: Trash Free Maryland
the public's attention,
stakeholders are pursuing a
public-private partnership to
conduct a single,
comprehensive social
marketing and public
education campaign to
prevent trash pollution.
Integrated social marketing
campaigns based on
community research have
proven to be an effective
strategy for bringing multiple
aspects of an issue together
and creating meaningful
behavior change. Baltimore's
efforts were focus group-
tested at the beginning of
this year and is expected to
launch later in 2016.
Left Behind in Galveston
An enterprising group of
project champions and
stakeholders is seeking to
stem the tide of "Left
Behinds." Led by Artist Boat,
leaders in this important
coastal community,
Galveston, identified used
beach products as a
principal waste stream of
concern - most of which still
have some useful life left in
the product. Dubbed "left
behinds," leaders believe
that good Samaritans leave
these articles on the beach
so that they can be used by
other beach goers at later
points in time. Umbrellas,
boogie boards, balls, beach
toys, lounge chairs, and other
similar items remain on the
sand and oftentimes washed
into the Gulf of Mexico with
the next high tide.
Stakeholders will work with
city leadership to identify
sites at controlled access
points where (1) refuse bags
may be distributed; (2) left
behinds may be stored in
secured sites and
(3) recyclable material may
be collected.
In a breakthrough strategy,
leadership may develop an
"app" to alert secondary
users to the availability of
certain free left behinds at
secured access points so as to
facilitate greater use of
products with embedded
market value. Known as
"Beach Free-cycle" this app,
if developed, could have a
broad reaching use in coastal
communities across America.
Calling all...
CHAMPIONS!
We've found that a
critical component for
progress is having an
impassioned leader to
drive TFW projects from
development through
implementation.
If someone you know
has a great concept for
reducing volumes of
aquatic trash in large
aquatic ecosystems,
have them contact a
member of the TFW
team!
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The Flow of.. Trash Free Waters
TFW Review of Current State of Knowledge
and Ongoing Research
In 2015, TFW coordinated
and completed an agency-
wide review of the current
state of knowledge and
ongoing research regarding
the potential human health
and ecosystem impacts of
plastics in the aquatic
environment. This strategic
exercise helped identify
critical information gaps that
the agency is best positioned
to address through research.
Plastics are a concern in the
environment because they
can be ubiquitous in aquatic
ecosystems, do not fully
degrade, may contain or
transport potentially toxic
chemicals, and may have
potential ecosystem and
human health impacts. The
review, entitled "Plastics in
the Aquatic Environment -
Toward an Identification of
Scientific Information Needs
for Risk Assessment and
Management," serves as an
analytical and planning tool
to assist in prioritizing future
EPA research direction. It is
also an invaluable
coordination tool amongst
federal agencies and other
stakeholders engaged in
research to reduce
duplication of efforts.
Robert Benson representing our TFW program during the "End Littering"
panel at the annual Keep America Beautiful conference on February 1st in
Orlando, FL Stay tuned for updates on our efforts to bring partners together
to develop a cutting edge anti-littering national messaging campaign!
Photo Credit: Keep America Beautiful.
TRUCK DRIVER
APPRECIATION
• WEEK
Thank You,
Priver^!
Post-Production Impressions-Louisiana Projects
TFW took a look back at two \
of our finished projects from
Louisiana. Having baselines
and routine evaluations of
progress helps us ensure that
efforts are showing
measurable progress
towards aquatic trash
prevention goals.
Model Port Policy with the
Port of New Orleans
Interest remains high in the
Model Port Policy developed
by the Port of New Orleans as
TFW looks to expand our
work in the ports sector. But
more than that, the recently
implemented trash collection
initiative has resulted in the
proper disposal of tons of
litter that had previously been
left on the Port's truckways.
The Port's "Keep it Clean"
campaign, aimed at reducing
waste on Port property and
LOUISIANA LOCAL GOVERNMENT
)EQ UTTER ORDINANCE TEMPLATE AND HANDBOOK
in its waterways, was
recognized by the American
Association of Port
Authorities with a national
Environmental Improvement
Award. We are excited to
announce that this campaign
recently received an
additional acknowledgement:
The Port won a 2016
Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality
Environmental Leadership
Program Award for
community outreach. The
award ceremony is March 10!
Litter Ordinance Template
and Handbook
The Louisiana Municipal
Association has applauded the
Litter Ordinance Template
and Handbook as a "fantastic
resource that provides time-
tested solutions for
developing and implementing
local litter control programs"
in its December newsletter.
The effort has garnered
similar feedback from users
across the U.S.
Download your copy of the
handbook on the Trash Free
Waters website.
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The Flow of... Trash Free Waters
PageS
Upcoming Meetings
Virginia Marine Debris
Summit
Gloucester, VA
March 7-9, 2016
10th Annual Trash
Summit-Alice
Ferguson Foundation
Washington, DC
March 22,2016
NY/NJ TFW Partnership
Meeting
New York City, NY
March 24,2016
Puerto Rico TFW
Stakeholder Meeting
Puerto Rico
April 8, 2016
International Joint
Commission Workshop
Microplastics in the
Great Lakes Windsor,
Canada
April 26-27, 2016
Gulf of Mexico Alliance
Meeting
Baton Rouge, LA
June 14-17, 2016
Adopting Spots in the Trinity Watershed!
The TFW program is working
with stakeholders in Texas's
Trinity River Watershed to
raise the bar on "Adopt-A-
Spots" from the River's
headwaters to the Gulf of
Mexico. The grand objective
is to develop a watershed
map, which overlays
adoption" and "fostering"
opportunities with litter
hotspots throughout the
entirety of the Trinity water
basin. This tool will be a
valuable resource for
stakeholders seeking to better
direct the litter prevention
energies of well over
4,000,000 people. A Steering
Committee has been formed
and is working hard to shape
the project design.
A GIS Technical Advisory
Committee has also been
formed and is now framing
the "data call" to key
stakeholders for populating
the GIS databases. The
Steering Committee is
hopeful for a release of the
tool in the fourth quarter of
2016.
B.Y.O. New York City!
Guest Contribution by Sara Lupson, NYC Environmental Protection
New York City recently
announced a new public
awareness campaign aimed at
reducing consumer waste,
street litter, and marine
debris. The campaign will build
upon the success of GreeNYC's
recent "B.Y.O." (Bring Your
Own) campaign, which
encouraged New Yorkers to
use reusable mugs, bottles,
and bags rather than their
disposable counterparts.
Data collected as part of the
campaign provided a rich
understanding of the attitudes
and behaviors of New Yorkers
when it comes to reusable
items. It also showed that the
campaign increased New
Yorkers' sense of responsibility
for reducing waste and intent
to carry reusable items.
Guided by the gathered data,
the new campaign will do an
additional phase of targeted
media, and work with
businesses to create point-
Photo Credit: GreeNYC
of-use prompts. The City is also
studying the sources of street
litter and inland sources of
marine debris, which will allow
the City to work closely with
affected communities and focus
outreach efforts where they will
have the most impact. The
public awareness campaign will
help New York City comply with
its first citywide Municipal
Separate Storm Sewer System
(MS4) permit, effective
August 1, 2015, and meet its
goals of sending zero waste
to landfills and reducing
waste disposal by 90 percent
by 2030. NYC government
continues to work closely
with the active TFW program
in Region 2 and provides
technical guidance to other
messaging efforts that are
part of the TFW campaign.
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The Flow of... Trash Free Waters
TFW Seeking Breakthrough Innovations
On September 30, 2015, the
TFW Program hosted private
sector executives in a dialogue
with Gina McCarthy and Stan
Meiburg. Participants shared
ideas on "moon shot" activities
that could achieve
technological breakthroughs,
alter littering behaviors, and
foster corporate leadership to
reduce the amount of trash
entering U.S. waterways. The
Administrator challenged the
group to follow through on the
collaboration ideas that were
put on the table.
Since then, the TFW team has
engaged in conversations with
dialogue participants and other
interested stakeholder groups.
Several project ideas have
emerged, including: working
with XPrize, Ocean Exchange,
and other innovation drivers to
support possible innovation
challenges, exploring
partnership opportunities to
support the Wrap Action
Recycling Program for plastic
film, bringing corporate
partners to state and
municipal trash prevention
projects, and defining a next
generation cause marketing
campaign to change littering
behaviors.
For more information, contact
Bob Benson at
benson.robert@epa.gov or
202-566-2954.
Trash in Estuaries: TFW-Sponsored Panel at 2016 National Estuary
Program Workshop
On February 23-25, EPA
hosted the 2016 National
Estuary Program (NEP)
Workshop in Washington,
D.C., at which TFW sponsored
a panel discussion that
focused on strategies to build
capacity to implement trash
prevention and clean-up
strategies in estuaries and
their contributing watersheds.
The panelists represented
organizations that share
"trash free waters" goals and
included Jason Rolfe, NOAA
Marine Debris Program; Cecile
Carson, Senior Director of
Affiliate Development, Keep
America Beautiful; Surabhi
Shah, Director, EPA Urban
Waters Program; Javier
Laureano, Executive Director,
San Juan Bay Estuary Program
NEP; and Laura Johnson, EPA
EPA TFW Team Leader, who
served as the panel facilitator.
In a "Meet the Press" style
format, the panelists gave their
perspectives on effective
capacity-building strategies to
build stakeholder buy-in, find
resources, create partnerships,
and institutionalize programs
with lasting results. A
particular benefit of this panel
was the opportunity for
enhanced connections among
the five programs represented,
in addition to making
connections with individual
NEPs. The panel generated a
lot of good will, but also
affirmed how all the programs
interconnect and can support
one another, especially when
tackling aquatic trash issues in
estuaries.
Many NEPs face trash and
litter pollution from land-
based sources with limited
resources to address those
impacts effectively. Each NEP
consists of diverse local
stakeholders who develop and
implement a long-term plan
based on local priorities to
guide their efforts. The NEPs
use a collaborative and
consensus-building approach
by involving community
members in the decision-
making process. EPA's
National Estuary Program is a
non-regulatory program
established by Congress that
works to improve the waters,
habitats and living resources
of 28 estuaries across the
country.
Aquatic Trash Prevention
Great Practices
Compendium... goes
National!
The original Compendium
highlights successful aquatic
trash prevention efforts
that yielded measurable
results in the Mid-Atlantic.
It was so well received that
we would like to highlight
successful efforts
throughout the U.S.
Do you have a great practice
for us to consider? Please
email Johnson.laura-
s@epa.gov.
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The Flow of... Trash Free Waters
Page?
TFW Puerto Rico Making Progress
Since the introduction of the
TFW Program to stakeholders
in Puerto Rico on Sept. 9,
2014, the TFW Team there
has made progress in
implementing the six projects
stakeholders identified in the
TFW Puerto Rico Strategy.
Here are the six projects and
their implementation status:
Alternatives for Single Use
Plastic Bags:
Alternatives for single use
plastic bags: On Dec. 29, the
PR Governor signed into law
legislation to ban plastic bags
and promote the use of
reusable bags in businesses.
Photo Credit: San Juan Bay National Estuary Program
The TFW Team has partnered
with several municipalities and
has been implementing three
pilot projects to set the
guidelines on implementing local
ordinances to comply with this
law.
Stormwater management pilot
project: The objectives of this
project, run by the San Juan Bay
National Estuary Program, is to
characterize trash entering the
storm sewer system and to
identify technologies & green
infrastructure to prevent litter
from reaching nearby waters.
Cigarette butt cleanup & source
reduction: An ashtray prototype
was designed to be used at
locations where people tend to
smoke and where people put
out cigarettes prior to going to
areas where smoking is not
allowed; cigarette butt litter
cleanups and educational
campaigns were conducted in
several municipalities.
Development of a database and
an "atlas" of existing anti-litter
policies, regulations, programs,
locations to recycle, and
educational/outreach
materials: A collaboration
agreement was made with the
Solid Waste Management
Authority to update their
existing outreach materials.
Anti-litter messaging at food
trucks & restaurants within a
watershed: A 'Zero Waste
Guide and Fact Sheet for Food
Trucks' was developed and
shared with Municipal
Recycling Coordinators for their
use and distribution.
Reduction of single use plastic
bottles & styrofoam at
government, private agencies
& sponsored events: An
agreement was made with the
Puerto Rico Manufacturing
Association to incorporate into
their Annual Environmental
Summit practices that reduce
single use plastic bottles and
Styrofoam.
Great work TFW Puerto Rico!
More updates to come.
TFW at Association of National Estuary Programs Conference
Estuarine trash pollution was
a major theme at this year's
National Estuary Program
(NEP) Tech Transfer
Conference sponsored by the
San Juan Bay NEP in San Juan,
Puerto Rico. During her
keynote speech, EPA Regional
Administrator Judith Enck
made a strong commitment
to TFW efforts emphasizing
the importance of reducing
and preventing trash from
reducing and preventing
trash from entering our
watersheds and ultimately our
coastal ecosystems. Joan
Matthews (EPA Region 2
Director, Clean Water Division)
moderated a panel where
Jennifer Coffey (Association of
New Jersey Environmental
Commissions), and Rick
Frederick (Mobile Bay NEP) each
presented separately on land-
based methods to change
littering behavior, and Virginia
Vassalotti (Delaware NEP)
presented on litter data
collection and management as
the cornerstone to reducing
trash loading rates. EPA
representatives also
collectively presented on the
scope of the global and
regional aquatic plastics
pollution issue, along with local
community-level projects and
national initiatives to reduce
land-based aquatic trash.
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The Flow of... Trash Free Waters
The Rapids: News Drops
EPA's
Trash Free Waters
U.S. EPA Headquarters
William Jefferson Clinton
Building
1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, N.W.
Mail Code: 4504T
Washington, DC 20460
Team Lead:
Laura S. Johnson
Phone 202.566.1273
E-mail:
Johnson.laura-s@epa.gov
Senior Advisor:
Bob Benson
Phone 202.566.2954
E-mail:
Benson.robert@epa.gov
Senior Consultant:
Adam R. Saslow
Phone 678.388.1670
E-mail:
Adam.saslow@csra.com
Guide to Reduce Litter in the Foodservice Industry
A guide to help foodservice operators reduce litter was prepared and released in partnership with the
National Restaurant Association, Food Service Packaging, and Keep America Beautiful. The document
titled "A Guide to Reducing and Managing Litter" can be accessed at:
http://conserve.restaurant.org/solutions.
GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
Healthy Watershed Consortium Grants Program
Deadline: March 14th
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities released its first Request for Proposals soliciting
proposals for the Healthy Watershed consortium Grants Program. This is the new delivery
mechanism for grant funding under EPA's Healthy Watershed Program. There are three different
categories of proposals with differing funding amounts. For more information or to apply, please go
to usendowment.org/partnerships/hwcgrantprogram.html.
EPA Environmental Education (EE) Grants
Deadline: April 8th
Under the Environmental Education Grants Program, EPA seeks grant proposals from eligible
applicants to support environmental education projects that promote environmental awareness and
stewardship and help provide people with the skills to take responsible actions to protect the
environment. Since 1992, EPA has distributed between $2 and $3.5 million in grant funding per year,
supporting more than 3,600 grants. For more information or to apply, please go to
http://www.epa.gov/education/environmental-education-ee-grants.
Foam Recycling Coalition Grant Program
Deadline: April 10th
The Foam Recycling Coalition, part of the Foodservice Packaging Institute, seeks grant proposals from
eligible applicants to support increased recycling or packaging made from foam polystyrene. Both
public and private organizations involved in managing residential curbside recycling programs or
material recovery facilities are eligible to apply. Each grant ranges from $15,000-$50,000. For more
information or to apply, please go to www.fpi.org/recyclefoam.
Grant to Improve Access to Residential Curbside Recycling Systems
Deadline: April 15th
The Recycling Partnership has just released its latest Request for Proposals, which is geared specifically
to help counties, municipalities, tribes, and solid waste authorities with 4,000 or more households
upgrade to cart-based collection. For more information or to apply, please go to
http://recyclingpartnership.org/.
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