CRRA2019

TrashBlitz-Stopping the flow of plastic from land to sea

As a native Angeleno, the ocean has always been close to Melissa Aguayo's heart. Melissa discovered environmental activism while studying International Development at UCLA. Prior to joining 5 Gyres, she was with Heal the Bay for many years growing and developing their education, outreach and volunteer programs including Coastal Cleanup Day and the Speakers Bureau program.  Melissa has presented to thousands of people in school, corporate and community group settings in both English and Spanish. She is passionate about social and environmental justice and is working to bridge that gap to create a space of collaboration, inclusivity and advocacy.

TrashBlitz aims to help cities and countries worldwide measure their plastic pollution footprint by mobilizing stakeholders throughout the community to collect data which is then used to build a solutions strategy.  The data captured will show top polluting items, brands and hotspots through the city, town or region. The findings can then be leveraged to engage organizations and community members in advocacy, legislators in policy and corporations in the circular economy and product redesign.  

In the summer of 2019, 5 Gyres will have launched TrashBlitz in Los Angeles.  We will present the findings and lessons learned from Los Angeles as well as how to run a TrashBlitz in your city to drive upstream solutions and stop the flow of plastic from land to sea.

Rob Hilton is the President of HF&H Consultants where he has personally supported over 150 communities on over 400 projects. HF&H helps local governments have successful recycling, solid waste, water, wastewater, and storm water programs. Today, Rob will talk about HF&H’s work at the intersection of Zero Waste and stormwater as they help local agencies throughout California find ways to connect programs and funding to achieve zero discharge in their storm water.

Regulations are increasingly drawing stormwater, wastewater, and solid waste closer together. Trash reduction requirements are now tied to municipal NPDES stormwater permits, and, as such, local jurisdictions are trying to bridge the programmatic gap between the historically separate sectors. How can solid waste collection standards be utilized to reduce litter entering the stormwater system? How can those standards be implemented into franchise agreements? And how can local jurisdictions fund the trash reduction requirements?  Funding trash reduction requirements through your solid waste or wastewater rates can free up general fund resources which would otherwise need to go to stormwater funding.  With the recent passage of SB231, the California Legislature has made it easier to fund stormwater programs from solid waste, wastewater, and stormwater rates instead of the general fund.

The presentation will address the preceding questions and will additionally:

• Educate the audience on the regulatory nexus between stormwater and solid waste.
• Highlight funding sources available to communities for litter mitigation programs.
• Describe how local jurisdictions can implement new fees to cover the cost of trash reduction requirements.

California Regional Coordinator

Dr. Sherry Lippiatt is the California Regional Coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program (NOAA MDP). She works with stakeholders to identify regional marine debris priorities and provides expertise and oversight for MDP-funded prevention, removal, and research projects in the state. Sherry came to the NOAA MDP in 2010 as a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow and was selected as a 2016 NOAA National Ocean Service Team Member of the Year. Sherry holds a Ph.D. in Ocean Sciences from the University of California Santa Cruz.

The California Ocean Litter Strategy: Addressing Marine Debris from Source to Sea was developed to increase collaboration and galvanize interest and funding to tackle marine debris in California. The Strategy was developed through a collaborative, stakeholder-driven process facilitated by the NOAA Marine Debris Program and California Ocean Protection Council. The Strategy updates and expands the 2008 document “An Implementation Strategy for the California Ocean Protection Council to Reduce and Prevent Ocean Litter.” The new Strategy includes six stakeholder goals, covering source reduction, product redesign, trash capture and removal, research, behavior change, and ocean-sourced marine debris. There are 64 specific action items under these goals, which outline how the marine debris community will address the issue over the next six years. This presentation will discuss the priorities of the California Ocean Litter Strategy, success stories to date, and opportunities for CRRA participants from various sectors to get involved.