…the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches, for

all people….

Mission

Programs

Rise Above Plastics Mission:  To reduce the impacts of plastics in the marine environment by raising awareness about the dangers of plastic pollution and by advocating for a reduction of single-use plastics and the recycling of all plastics.  

“THROWAWAY LIVING”

1955

Plastics: What, Why, Where

What’s Made of Plastic?

INDIA 4.4 LBS (2 kg)

EUROPE 132 LBS (60 kg)

U.S. 176 LBS (80 kg)

Annual Plastic Use per Person

Bioplastics are not the answer.•Require INDUSTRIAL COMPOSTING to biodegrade(140° and fed microbes)

•Cannot contaminate ‘regular’ plastics recycling if mixed in•“Renewable source material;” but often genetically-modified and shipped long distances.

•Do not biodegrade in water or when

littered, acts like

‘regular’ plastics

and photodegrades.

BIODEGRADEABLE PLASTICS

THERE IS NO ‘AWAY’, it all goes somewhere.

(California Integrated Waste Management Board, (California Integrated Waste Management Board, ““Plastics White PaperPlastics White Paper””

Landfill 50%

Recycled

Durable Goods 20%

Unaccounted for 25%

Where does our plastic go?

The “missing” 25%

Rick LoomisLos Angeles Times

LosAngeles River

2012 CoastalCleanup Day

561k volunteerscollected

10+ million lbs.of litter over

17k+ miles ofcoastlineworldwide.

The top 7 itemsare typicallymade of plastic.

Plastics at Sea

5 Gyres: Where Plastic Accumulates

Thousands of marine mammals and sea birds die every year after ingesting or being tangled in plastic marine litter.

All of this debris on the right (more than a half-pound of plastic) was removed from the stomach of an

albatross on remote Midway Island in Hawaii

Plastic particles attract chemicals in the ocean

This pellet could have up to

1 million times the chemical

concentration than the water around it

Scripps Institute estimates that fish off the West Coast ofThe United States ingest 12,000 TONS of plastic per year.

This Rainbow Runner had 17 pieces of plastic in its stomach.

BYOWhether at SCHOOL, A FRIEND’S HOUSE, OUT TO DINE, OR ON A PLANE

Step One: REDUCE & REUSE

Visit Earth911.com and your local waste management website

Step Two: LEARN WHAT TO RECYCLE

What happens when something is RECYCLED?

Step 3 – Support Policy Reductions

Ten states have a bottle recycling bill and 100+ cities have a Plastic bag ban or fee-based ordinance for checkout bags.

= decreased litter and increased recycling

1: BYO

2: Recycle Right

3: Get Involved: surfrider.org/rap

Three Scenarios for Plastic Pollution

Beyond Bag Bans Establish a plastic pollution baseline and seek meaningful reductions.  

What are the top items collected at your beach cleanups? 

Additional Plastic Pollution Reduction tactics include: - polystyrene bans/ordinances - smoke-free beaches - balloon release bans/ordinances, - fishing gear responsibility - stop spending city funds on bottled water, - no plastic straws at beach concessions, etc. - on a larger scale: Bottle Bills, Zero-Waste cities

and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)