Image by Frank WagnerOPINION – One of the most expensive misuses of local taxpayer dollars in the U.S. is the amount of money spent disposing of recyclable beverage containers in landfills every year.
Image by solarsevenOPINION – California has long been a leader in environmental protection. Now is the time to reaffirm our promise: to live up to our state’s track record of bold environmental action and keep California at the forefront of the fight against plastic pollution for generations to come.
Image by cyano66OPINION – It’s time for our leaders to strive to keep trusted allies in the energy industry operating and innovating in the Golden State—not drive them away.
Image by StokketeOPINION – California’s ambitious program to reduce the amount of methane gas produced by organic waste is a powerful example of how individuals, local governments, and business can work together to protect the planet for our children and grandchildren, all while creating jobs and investment in our communities.
Image by monticello via shutterstockWhen it comes to supporting the circular economy, improving plastic recycling, and reducing waste, do we want to help the environment or regulate more?
Environmentalist Heidi Sanborn.(Photo: Screen capture via YouTube, from California insider)California recently approved three sweeping environmental laws: SB 54, SB 343, and AB 1201. Hopefully, this game-changing legislation will shape national policy about recycling, composting, plastic pollution, and human health. We have many people to thank for the recent measures to reduce plastic pollution and increase plastic recycling, but we citizens rarely know who. Heidi Sanborn is one of those people.
A woman pours the contents of an in-house compost unit into a larger outdoor container. (Photo: Electric Egg, via Shutterstock)By expanding California’s existing legal definitions of compostability and biodegradability to cover more products than plastics, and by creating more specific, safer definitions, the single-use disposable products that companies label as “compostable” will now actually biodegrade into safe, usable organic matter. This package of environmental legislation transforms the rules around environmental marketing claims and continues California’s move toward a truly sustainable economy.
A dog eyes a trove of dumped plastic containers in Moorpark, Calif. (Photo: Alexandra Bilham, via Shutterstock)Approximately 85% of single-use plastics in California never get recycled. By standardizing and clarifying the labeling of recyclable waste, California’s new law aims to align manufacturing standards with state regulations in order to increase the amount of plastic material that actually gets recycled.
The Thermalito Power Canal in Oroville, Butte County. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)OPINION: California is flush with cash and staring down a thirsty future. According to the EPA Needs Survey and Assessment, our state needs $50 billion in infrastructure improvements to ensure safe drinking water for everyone. Our unprecedented state budget surplus and drought-induced water use restrictions make it clear: Now is our chance to modernize our water systems, and we must act with urgency.
A crane with a claw digs into a mound of scrap metal at a recycling yard. (Photo: oneSHUTTER oneMEMORY, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The recent push by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to adopt “emergency” regulations to impose “hazardous waste” rules on the state’s metal-recycling plants would have the potential to shut down a vibrant recycling industry.