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PLASTIC FREE VENTURA COUNTY
Our goal is to bring plastic reduction ordinances to each jurisdiction in Ventura County. Stopping pollution at its source is the key to protecting our environment.
It's Not Just About Straws.
Surfrider Ventura’s “Plastic Free Ventura County” campaign launched on Earth Day in 2018 as a response to the amount of single-use plastic litter that volunteers are collecting at local beach cleanups. Some of the common items collected include straws, expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam (TM “Styrofoam”), plastic and bioplastic cups and utensils. Scientists estimate that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by volume – unless we act now!
EPS/Single-Use Victories
- The City of Ventura
- The City of Thousand Oaks
- The City of Ojai
- The City of Camarillo
- The City of Oxnard
- The City of Port Hueneme
Plastics and bioplastics are not marine biodegradable, but instead, photodegrades into smaller pieces of plastic causing pollution that is virtually impossible to remediate. When plastic enters our waterways, it adsorbs toxic chemicals such as DDT, PCBs, PAHs, and flame retardants that can be found in our waterways. For more information on the Rise Against Plastics (RAP) campaign, click here.
To replace EPS foam and disposable plastic, we encourage restaurants and consumers to choose reusable options whenever possible. AB 619, which passed into statewide law in 2019, in part clarifies existing health code laws, ensuring that the public can bring reusable containers to restaurants for take-out.
Let’s encourage the City Councils of Santa Paula, Moorpark, and Simi Valley to stand up to plastic pollution and find ways to use less plastic.
How can you help?
Our campaign is seeking volunteers to help with:
1. Identifying restaurants, food trucks, or any other type of food establishments in Santa Paula, Moorpark, and Simi Valley that do not use polystyrene or only provide straws or single-use plastic upon request and email rap@ventura.surfrider.org with the subject line: Santa Paula, Moorpark, and Simi Valley Restaurant Information. Include the names of those establishments so that we can present this information to the Santa Paula, Moorpark, and Simi Valley City Council.
2. Participate in your own solo cleanups at parks, neighborhoods and any other areas you may see EPS and single-use plastic trash accumulating in Santa Paula, Moorpark and Simi Valley. Check out our Solo Cleanups blog page for more information on Solo Cleanups and send any photos you may have to
rap@ventura.surfrider.org with the subject line Single Use Plastic Photos"
3. The items we are seeking to ban are listed at the bottom of the page. When you see this type of litter in Santa Paula, Moorpark, and Simi Valley (e.g., beaches, parks, parking lots, sidewalks, gutters, etc.), please photograph the litter. If possible, please collect and dispose of the litter as well. Email photographs to rap@ventura.surfrider.org with the name of the city in the subject line and identify the location where the litter was found.
4. You can also post a photo with the location to your Instagram (preferred) or Facebook feed with the hashtag #PlasticFreeSantaPaula #PlasticFreeMoorpark #PlasticFreeSimiValley and tag @surfridervc (Instagram) or @surfriderventura (Facebook). We would especially love to see your photos on social media to help spread the word to friends and family. Here’s an example of how to keep it positive:
“I love our city but hate to see plastic litter around town. It’s not only an eyesore, it also impacts our ocean as everything that goes into our storm drains flows out to our beaches. It also harms the wildlife that we love. Let’s encourage our City Council to stand up to plastic pollution and find ways to use less plastic. #plasticfreeVenturaCounty @Surfridervc”
5. Numerous companies manufacture products that degrade naturally, are recyclable, and can replace the items we are seeking to ban. Here is the link to the City of Malibu’s plastic-free guidelines and examples of compliant foodware. Manhattan Beach has also begun to ban plastics and has provided their guidelines.
What we are seeking to ban:
- Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam to-go containers, plates & cups at restaurants
- Any disposable items made from rigid #6 polystyrene such as cups and lids at restaurants
- EPS foam to-go containers, plates & cups at retail stores
- EPS foam coolers at retail stores
- Plastic and bioplastic straws
- Plastic and bioplastic cups
- Plastic and bioplastic plates
- Plastic and bioplastic stirrers
- Plastic and bioplastic lid plugs (e.g., coffee)
- Plastic and bioplastic utensils
- Plastic and bioplastic condiment/salsa cups
Latest news on the negative impact of EPS and Plastics on our environment and us.
- Microplastics in our Air “Spiral the Globe” in a Cycle of Pollution
- California First to Tackle Microplastics in Drinking Water
- Microplastics in Farm Soil: a growing concern
- The plastics you don’t see might kill you
- Microplastics in human waste
- Plastic Garfield Phones on Beaches
- Plastic Bag Found at the Bottom of the World’s Deepest Ocean Trench
- Bottled water contains thousands of nanoplastics so small they can invade the body’s cells, study says
Latest steps being taken to reduce or ban EPS and Plastics impact
- UN Agrees to Create World’s First-Ever Plastics Pollution Treaty in a Blow to Big Oil
- The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now so Huge and Permanent that a Coastal Ecosystem is Thriving on it, Scientists Say
- Make Your Home Ocean Friendly
- Free Yourself From Single-Use Plastics in July
- Plastic Banks to Reduce Waste
- European Parliament’s Ban on Single Use Plastics
- Plastics from Squids
- EU Single Use Plastic Ban
- Reusable To-Go Wear Startup
- The world can cut plastic pollution by 80% by 2040, the UN says. Here’s how
- How the Tiny Greek Isle of Tilos Became the World’s First Zero-Waste Island