Announcing the Chesapeake Bay Trash Trawl with 5 Gyres

We are very excited to announce a great new project coming up next month!

5 Gyres, renowned for research on plastic pollution in the ocean's gyres, is coming to Maryland in November to help us learn more about plastic pollution in our own Chesapeake Bay. We know our rivers are polluted, and we know of the growing plastic soup in the North Atlantic, but little work has been published about the waters in between.

We'll be sailing for four days from November 12 through 15, on a 42-foot Sabre Sloop out of Deale. The team will drag a manta trawl to sample of microplastics, giving us data to estimate the types of plastic and density of these pieces in bay waters. We'll also conduct a qualitative survey of larger trash floating on the surface.

5 Gyres trawl in the North Atlantic Ocean

But the best part is the team we are taking with us. We don't want to just see what's out there for ourselves--we want to show you! We are inviting an impressive list of policymakers and other influencers to come along and help with the sampling and surveys. We expect to have a few seats left for the interested public. If you'd like to join us, email Julie at julie@trashfreemaryland.org for more information.

We are also excited to be working with the National Aquarium to get the word out about our voyages and our findings. Be sure to follow us and the Aquarium on social media for the latest updates.

Many thanks to Trash Free Maryland member Chris Charbonneau, owner of local reusable bag company Joey Totes, for providing the boat and captaining the trips. If your company is interested in supporting the project as a sponsor, email us!

DC bans the foam

It's summer, so we'll take a short trip to the south…

In a marathon session before summer recess, the DC Council held its final vote today on the Sustainable DC Omnibus Act of 2013, unanimously passing 11 environmental measures, most notably a ban on polystyrene foam food containers. While dozens of cities on the West Coast have enacted such policies, DC is the first major city on the East Coast to do so.

Polystyrene is a major contributor to trash pollution, comprising roughly a quarter of the volume of trash collected at trash traps in Anacostia River tributaries. It breaks into impossibly small pieces, making it difficult to collect, and recycling is not viable.

The ban, which takes effect January 1, 2016, will cover carryout food containers like cups, plates, and clamshells from restaurants, grocery stores, and takeouts. In 2017, all disposable food service ware in the city, including lids, straws, and utensils, will have to be recyclable or compostable.

The bill was amended today to remove meat trays from the list of banned items. The amendment also requires that the District conduct a study of trash on the Anacostia River by 2016. The ban is not contingent on the study, and it could prove very helpful to demonstrate how effective trash reduction activities have been since the last major study in 2008. (Ongoing tracking of material caught in traps shows trends--like reductions in plastic bags.)

Trash Free Maryland director Julie Lawson worked closely on the campaign, keeping TFMD members informed and identifying strategies for getting them involved. She also directly lobbied councilmembers, wrote an article for Greater Greater Washington, kept the issue on the forefront of social media, and worked with outside stakeholders to either garner support or keep them on the sidelines. The original bill language proposed an effective date of 2018; we successfully argued to move it up to 2016.

Thanks to the TFMD members who were instrumental in this victory, including Alice Ferguson Foundation, Anacostia Riverkeeper, Anacostia Watershed Society, Clean Water Action, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and the DC Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. Thanks also to our DC partners, DC Environmental Network and the Sierra Club DC Chapter.

Join us February 3 for our first Member Meeting & Training

One of our goals for 2014 is to help our fantastic members better connect with each other, and provide members with more resources to create effective campaigns. We have members all over the state, protecting local streams, teaching students, cleaning up neighborhood parks, and making compost. Imagine the power we have when we come together to work for the same goals!

Trash Free Maryland Alliance members are invited to our first annual member meeting and training, on Monday, February 3, in Annapolis. The event is free for all members--including staff, interns, board members, and volunteers. We have a great agenda planned out and can't wait to see you all!

Register by clicking here. More detailed info will be sent directly to registered individuals so please sign up by January 31!

If you are not yet a member of Trash Free Maryland (see the member list to the right), email Julie for more info about how to join.

Agenda

3:00-3:15 Introductions and Overview of Trash Free Maryland (Julie Lawson, TFMD director)

3:15-3:45 The Science of Plastic Pollution
3:45-4:00 The Psychology of Litterers

4:00-4:45 Policy Solutions to Litter
- TFMD Legislative Agenda Overview
- Container Deposits (Mike Smaha, Owens-Illinois)
- Disposable Bag Fees (Brent Bolin, Maryland League of Conservation Voters and TFMD co-founder)

4:45-5:00 Break

5:00-5:45 Making Your Voice Heard (Jen Brock-Cancellieri, Maryland League of Conservation Voters)
- Overview of the General Assembly
- How to Influence Your Representatives

5:45-6:00 Wrap-up

Thank you to Delegate Michael Summers (D-District 47) for sponsoring this venue!

The DC bag fee is cleaning up the Anacostia River

Nash Run is one of the dirtiest streams in the Anacostia River watershed. However, thanks to D.C’s 5-cent disposable bag fee, one major source of pollution is finally on the decline.

“Astronomical levels of trash” and “dirtiest of all streams” -- these are phrases used to describe the humble little Nash Run, a small tributary of the Anacostia River. Nash Run starts in Fairmount Heights, MD, and runs through the Deanwood neighborhood of DC before emptying into the Anacostia near the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. It is one of the biggest contributors of the litter pollution impairing the Anacostia River. But a study on this stream over the past 4 years offers hope that the litter problem can be reversed.

Before the bag fee, and for a short time after, the number of bags in the Anacostia seems to have actually been increasing. Data from a 2007-2008 yearlong survey by the District Department of the Environment show that the total number of bags found in eight tributary streams doubled in a single year. Of course, the absolute numbers of bags (and all litter) varies a lot depending on the weather, but this survey showed an increasing trend:

Chart from Anacostia River Trash Reduction Plan, referring to monitoring study results from Summer 2007 to Spring 2008, before the bag fee. “Number” is the total # of plastic bags found during surveys of 8 stream tributaries of the Anacostia River.

In 2009, the Anacostia Watershed Society installed a trash trap on Nash Run and began collecting data on the types of trash it collected. The trash trap is a special device placed in the stream that allows water to pass through, but catches litter. Once a month for the past four years, volunteers have cleaned out the trap and counted the number of bottles, styrofoam, bags, and other debris.

The amount of trash collected depends on how much rain has fallen during the month -- heavy rainfall carries more trash to the stream and thus the trap. So in order to have a more objective measure of the change in plastic bag use, we use the number of bags found compared to the total amount of trash collected -- expressed as bags per kilogram of trash.

As you can see, similar to the DDOE chart above, this chart also shows an increasing trend in plastic bag litter from March 2009 to June 2010. However, the overall trend is a decrease in plastic bags polluting the stream over the 3-year period after the bag fee was implemented, from January 2010 to November 2012. Why didn’t decline didn’t start immediately after the bag went into effect? We can see several reasons why this might be the case: First, about one third of the Nash Run watershed is actually in Prince George’s County, MD, where there is no bag fee. So, the number of bags entering the stream from Maryland was presumably still increasing according to that 2007-2009 trend. Secondly, it takes time for litter to make its way from neighborhood streets to local streams. Third, compliance and understanding of the bag fee was not 100% right away. So, it’s not too surprising that the number of bags in the stream didn’t drop immediately.

What is clear is that the number of bags is declining, and that this decreasing trend matches the experience of other stream cleanup groups in the DC region. The Alice Ferguson Foundation, which runs cleanup events throughout the Potomac watershed, reported a 50% decline in plastic bags in Montgomery County in the first year after the the Montgomery bag fee went live. The faster decrease may be due to a faster adoption rate in Montgomery County and streams that are fully within the county, unlike Nash Run.

The Anacostia Watershed Society will continue to tally monthly data from the trash trap on Nash Run. Based on these initial results, we expect to see the decline in plastic bags continue, especially if Prince George’s County and/or the state of Maryland implement their own 5-cent bag fees.

Potomac Watershed Trash Summit Coming Up!

We love the Potomac Watershed Trash Summit. New partnerships, fresh ideas, engaged elected officials, Potomac Champions, action planning ... what’s not to love? The Alice Ferguson Foundation will host the 7th Annual Potomac Watershed Trash Summit on Wednesday, November 7, at the Silver Spring Civic Building, in Silver Spring, MD, bringing together stakeholders to talk trash, elevating litter as an important environmental issue in the region.

This year we are honored to have the keynote address by Jean-Michel Cousteau, founder and president of the Ocean Futures Society, as well six fantastic sessions. These sessions serve as an opportunity for elected officials, government agencies, businesses, nonprofits and concerned citizens to sit down together and come up with action plans to address the issue of trash. Sessions will include:

• Policy: It’s Time to Act! Bring your ideas for how we can use policy to reduce litter and encourage responsible disposal.
• Creative Engagement: Expanding the Base Learn about innovative ways people are engaging and inspiring action.
• The 4 Rs: Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Be challenged to improve our efforts to Rethink, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle at home, in the workplace and within our communities.
• Monitoring: Watch it! Craft a set of tools for monitoring litter that can be utilized by partners throughout the region.
• Compost: Protecting Our Watershed Help plan a DC region initiative to promote the benefits of utilizing compost to improve stormwater control.
• Regional Litter Prevention Campaign: Strengthening the Grassroots Strategize on new ways to mobilize citizens through community-based social marketing.

We love the Trash Summit because it’s a chance to celebrate, learn, and plan with our partners. The critical word here is partners. The Trash Summit, the Trash Free Maryland Alliance, all our actions for a Trash Free Potomac, are only as successful as the partnerships that we build. We hope you will take time to join us on November 7th and be one of those partners.

For more information visit TrashSummit.org.

To register, click here. Registration includes breakfast and lunch. For nonprofit rate please contact Katie Thatcher.

Draft TMDL for Baltimore Harbor Now Available!

At long last, the Maryland Department of the Environment has released the draft of the trash Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Baltimore Harbor. The regulations described in this document aim to reduce the amount of trash and floatable debris in the middle and northwest branches of the Harbor, fed by the Jones Falls and Gwynns Falls watersheds. The limits are designed to return the Harbor to compliance under the Clean Water Act, by reducing trash to levels that the Harbor ecology can resolve on its own.

We are reviewing the document and will be preparing comments. The draft TMDL is available for download here and as we complete our review we will post summaries and key points for comment here. Please check back!

Public comments are due October 12 to Melissa Chatham at MDE, 1800 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21230 or mchatham@mde.state.md.us. An informational briefing will be held on Friday, September 21, from 1 to 3 pm at MDE's offices, also at 1800 Washington Boulevard.

Support a Prince George's County Bag Bill

By Brent Bolin
Director of Advocacy, Anacostia Watershed Society
Cross-posted from www.anacostiaws.org

The Anacostia River is so severely impacted by trash that in 2007 it was declared impaired by trash under the provisions of the Clean Water Act. Only the second river in the country to be so designated, and the first multi-jurisdictional river (Maryland and DC), in 2010 a trash TMDL, or pollution diet, was issued that requires Anacostia jurisdictions to reduce the amount of trash entering the river.

At the end of 2008 AWS released a scientific study of trash in the Anacostia River. One of the key findings of this study was that 33% of the trash in the tidal river was plastic bags, while nearly 50% of the trash in tributary streams was plastic bags.

Plastic bags snagged along the Northwest Branch in Chillum, MD

The only truly sustainable way to deal with trash in our waterways is to reduce litter at the source -- AWS and volunteers can't be expected to hold trash clean-ups forever, and even trash traps only capture a portion of the trash in a waterway (and also require time and effort to maintain). For this reason AWS supports sensible policy changes that reduce trash at the source, such as DC's bag bill.

The DC bag bill is seen as a model trash reduction policy because of its simplicity and effectiveness. Assessing a 5-cent fee on disposable carryout bags, the bag bill creates an incentive for consumers to bring their own reusable bags to the store -- if you don't take the store's bags, you don't pay! As a result of this policy:

• DC has seen an estimated 80% reduction in bag use -- from 270 million bags in 2009 to 55 million bags in 2010
• Alice Ferguson Foundation reported polling data on the impact of DC's bag bill -- 78% of businesses reported either positive or no impact to their business and 75% of DC residents reported using fewer single-use plastic bags

There is no such thing as a free bag -- instead the cost of purchasing bags is passed on to the consumer via higher prices. AWS estimates the "hidden cost" of bags at $15 - $37.50 yearly for each Marylander. The bag bill is pro consumer because it exposes this hidden cost and allows the customer to avoid it. Unlike a tax, the bag fee can avoided -- if you don't want to pay the bag fee, you never have to!

Bags along roadside vegetation in Hyattsville, MD

Montgomery County has already followed DC's lead and enacted a bag program, and it is time for Prince George's County to do the same - it will help the county meet trash TMDL obligations, clean up our waterways, and generate funds for water quality propection.

How you can help
For complicated reasons involving the county's charter from the state, Prince George's County must receive authorization from the General Assembly in order to enact a bag fee program. Fortunately, the County Executive and several members of County Council are interested in the bag bill and they are seeking that authorization in the form of a local bill in the General Assembly. Prince George's County spends $2.5 million annually on litter clean-up and a bag bill would help reduce a major source of litter in our communities.

Please consider supporting the bill by attending the local hearing this Saturday, December 3, 9AM, at Queen Anne’s Theater, Prince George’s County Community College, Largo, MD. The bag fee authorization bill is number PG 402-12. Even if you aren't sure how you feel about a bag fee program, this decision should be made by the county council and not by state delegates so please urge your legislators to support home rule for Prince George's County by enacting PG 402-12.

Write your delegates and delegation chair Melony Griffith to tell them to support PG 402-12!

We reap what we sow

Shocking video of a canal in Naples after a storms:



Why do we do this to ourselves? Thanks to @FlotsamDiaries for the tip.

Guest Post: Are you ready for the Trash Summit?

by Laura Chamberlin
Program Manager, Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative
Alice Ferguson Foundation

We’ve worked together on cleanups. We’ve worked together to pass bag fees and get stronger regulation. We’ve worked together to improve composting in the region. Let’s continue our efforts to solve the litter problem in the Potomac watershed at the 6th Annual Potomac Watershed Trash Summit, on October 19 from 8:30am to 4:30pm at George Mason University’s Founder’s Hall in Arlington, VA.

With an array of roundtables, there is something for everyone. Topics include: policy issues, trash reduction technologies, odd items in our watershed, the regional litter prevention campaign, regulation, and containing waste. Nearly 300 stakeholders will participate including elected officials, community businesses and leaders, NGOs, teachers, government agency leaders, and trash experts to discuss how to create a lasting reduction of litter and waste in the area.

As a working summit, attendees not only have the opportunity to participate in the development of actions, but to commit to taking action for a cleaner and healthier Potomac Watershed. Expect to come away with inspiration and network of people working towards the same -- ending litter.

This year’s summit will also engage and empower local students through the Summit’s Youth Track. Fifty high school students from the DC metro area will have the opportunity to attend a round table discussion proceeded by a briefing, create action items for their own schools, and present discussions to the larger group. Demonstrating the power of youth, the lunchtime keynote address will be delivered by a local middle school student who has been a strong advocate for a clean watershed since she began her campaign at the age of eight.

Will you join us? Will you make a commitment to taking REAL action to reducing litter in the Potomac and beyond? To learn more and register go to www.trashsummit.org.

There Is No "Away"

Legendary comic strip "For Better or For Worse" took on the problem of trash in our waterways in Sunday's edition:

Creator Lynn Johnston had this to say about the strip:

Cartoonists are discouraged from using comic strips as a platform for preaching reform - but every now and then, something really gets under your skin and you simply have to write about it. For me, littering is a red flag. If I ruled the world all convicted litterists would receive a stiff fine, a broom and a dustpan. They would be sentenced to cleaning the community streets, parks and beaches for as long as it took to reform them - and even then, they would be on parole.  

When Katie cut her foot on a broken beer bottle at the beach one weekend, I penned this Sunday page - and the response was immediate. I received a lot of mail from folks who feel the same way I do - and it occurred to me: with so many people angry, frustrated and disgusted by littering, why do we still have so darned much of it??!!

I cut my foot on glass once while surfing in Ocean City. I feel much more comfortable wearing Five Fingers or my wetsuit booties now. Has this happened to anyone in your family?

Thanks to Rob Nixon at Waiting for the Next Swell for posting about this!

Where is "away"?

After a rainstorm in Maryland, it's the Bay. From the Baltimore Sun:

Yesterday's downpour did more than flood Fells Point and spill sewage into the Jones Falls. It trashed the Inner Harbor. ... The water's surface was carpeted with plastic drink bottles and foam cups, a ball or two and lots of leaves, branches and other debris.

Anybody have their own account of trashy water following our recent storms?