PRESS RELEASE
MEDIA ALERT
Surfrider’s Rise Above Plastics (Huntington Beach/ Seal Beach Chapter)
Public Comments at HB City Council Meeting
Contact: Tiffany Dekle
HB/ SB Surfrider Rise Above Plastics Coordinator
TDekle@gmail.com
714-351-3709
What:Public comments at Huntington Beach city council meeting
When: Monday, August 15th, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Where: 2000 Main St. Huntington Beach
Press Release:
City of Huntington Beach Set to Vote on Ban of Plastic Bags
The HB/SB Surfrider Chapter needs your support as the Huntington Beach City Council is slated to discuss and vote to ban single use plastic bags in Surf City. The cities elected officials are set to determine the fate of plastic bags in the City of Huntington Beach on Monday, August 15, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. when council members are expected to throw their support behind banning the single use plastic carry-alls.
The council is considering an all-out ban on the use of plastic bags by grocery stores and other similar retail establishments.
The ban is aimed at addressing the on-going problems associated with the non biodegradable bags, such as polluting all waterways, clogging storm drains and most importantly washing up on our beautiful beaches and killing marine life.
You are being urged to attend the meeting to make your voice heard or by contacting the mayor’s office and telling him that you support the ban.
The people of Huntington Beach are looking for the Huntington Beach City Council to take a leadership role and send a message about their commitment to keeping Surf City green and its beaches pristine. The ban ordinance has a vast number of supporters in the City of Huntington Beach, as well as the backing of environmental groups Surfrider Foundation and Heal the Bay. The Surfrider Foundation supports this ban because plastic bags pollute our streets, beaches, ocean and getting rid of single use plastic bags in retail stores is a small step to correcting the problem.
According the HB Surfrider Executive Committee Chair, Tony Soriano, “Single use plastic bags are one of the biggest polluters, there are six pounds of plastic bags in the ocean to every pound of plankton. We need to collectively change that”. Central to our campaign is an attempt to kill the demand for non-necessary plastics at the source. Which are retail establishments. The easy target are the plastic bags. We are attempting to find ways to shift the general public away from these items through awareness, education and legislation and other innovative methods to be developed by our members. Banning the use of plastic bags in the city is a great step.
The HB/SB Surfrider Chapter suggests switching to reusable bags for every day use. By switching and using just one reusable bag we can reduce the use of over four hundred “one time use” plastic bags per year.
The United States uses 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. Californians are issued 600 plastic bags every second. Most are used one time and then discarded. Many never reach a trash can.
The following cities in California have banned single use plastic bags.San Francisco, Malibu, Santa Monica, Calabasas, Marin County and Unincorporated Los Angeles County and most recently Long Beach, have enacted bans.
If the ban is passed, the City of Huntington Beach would be the first city in Orange County to do so.
Lets join forces this Monday, August 15th at 6pm and let the city council know we need a change! People who are interested in learning more about the event or participating can visit the event page
https://www.facebook.com/HBSBSurfriderFoundation (click on events).
The HB Civic Center is located at: 2000 Main st. Huntington Beach, CA 92648
(Cross Streets Main/Yorktown)
