Last Wednesday, Save The Bay’s Political Director Allison Chan joined Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan for a film screening of the documentary We’re All Plastic People Now and a panel discussion on the Bay Area’s environmental, legislative, and community-driven responses to microplastic pollution. The panel also included fellow advocates Andria Ventura, Legislative and Policy Director at Clean Water Action, and Nick Lapis, Director of Advocacy at Californians Against Waste.

Microplastics in the SF Bay

For Save The Bay, working to address microplastic pollution is a clear part of our mission to protect the San Francisco Bay for people and wildlife. Research from the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) has found microplastics in San Francisco Bay water and sediment at some of the highest levels measured globally¹. Additionally, they estimated that at least 38% of fish in the Bay have consumed microplastics, indicating that microplastics are entering Bay food webs. More research is needed to determine the health impacts of these microplastics on fish and humans who may consume them, but research shows that humans across the world already have concerning levels of microplastics in our blood, brains, and organs.

State and Local Policy Solutions

Although personal choices like opting out of plastic utensils or using reusable water bottles play an important role in reducing plastic waste, we believe the most impactful solutions come from legislation that standardizes best practices across the board and reduces plastic production at the source. As Allison noted “solutions … have to come from the entire stream of where the problem begins all the way down to our experience of it in the environment”.

Some examples of effective policies that we’ve supported include:

• The Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (SB 54): This bill, passed in 2022, requires plastic packaging producers to reduce single-use plastic packaging and foodware by 25% and ensure that 100% of plastic packaging and foodware are compostable or recyclable by 2032. This places the responsibility on the companies that produce the most plastic to phase plastic out of our products.
• Microfiber Filtration Bill (AB 1628): In 2023, Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan championed a bill that would have required all new washing machines sold in the state to include a microfiber filter by 2029. Many microplastics found in the Bay are fibers which may shed from clothing during washing and drying. The bill was vetoed unfortunately.
• Local foodware ordinances: Cities such as Berkeley and Oakland have passed local ordinances that prohibit restaurants from using single-use foodware for dine-in customers and from offering single-use takeout utensils unless a customer requests them. These types of local policies can help build support for statewide policies.

City Planning Solutions

Stopping the use of single-use plastics that contribute to the proliferation of microplastics is incredibly important. As we continue to pursue those objectives, we have to deal with the constant flood of microplastics already in our environment. Though it may not be the first solution that comes to mind, the way we design our cities can also help reduce microplastics by stopping them at the source or capturing them before they reach our waterways.

Green stormwater infrastructure

SFEI’s research found that stormwater is by far the largest source of microplastics in the Bay, depositing approximately 7 trillion microplastics per year. This means that microplastics on streets and other city surfaces are being washed by rainwater into storm drainpipes, creeks, and eventually the Bay.

Traditional trash capture devices, which capture larger pieces of trash in the storm drain system before they can reach the Bay, unfortunately cannot capture smaller plastic pieces. To capture microplastics, we need to incorporate more green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) into our cities. GSI – such as rain gardens, bioswales, and tree wells – use soil and vegetation to capture, slow and filter stormwater runoff.

SFEI studied an experimental rain garden over the course of 3 years and 11 storm events and found that it was able to remove 90% of microplastics from stormwater. Research from the Washington State Department of Ecology found similar results and recommends roadside GSI as a best practice for filtering out microplastics and other pollutants from road runoff.

Design more walkable, bikeable, and transit-friendly cities

SFEI’s microplastics study found that nearly 50 percent of microplastics in stormwater in the Bay Area are likely from tire-wear. When cars are driven, the rubber from their tires wear down over time, leaving rubbery microplastic particles on roads where they’re eventually washed into the Bay.

One way to address this source of microplastics is to reduce the amount we drive by designing cities that are more walkable, bikeable, and public-transit friendly. This can include improving public transportation systems and investing in pedestrian and bike safety. This can also mean building more dense housing located near public transit lines, jobs, and other amenities, reducing people’s need to drive.

By focusing on how we build our cities to encourage fewer miles driven and adding GSI, we will not only reduce the flow of microplastics into the Bay, but these strategies also solve multiple problems – including reducing climate change-inducing emissions, making our neighborhoods more appealing for walking and shopping, and supporting more housing to meet our region’s housing needs.

Looking Ahead

Many of the policies that have succeeded at the state level started with local action – community groups making demands of their cities to implement plastic bag or to-go container bans. Save The Bay led and supported several of these efforts across the Bay Area. We will continue to advocate for policies to address plastic pollution, including supporting more nature-based stormwater filtration, and ways to reduce our reliance on plastics. Despite the challenges, we know that the solutions are within our grasp and that popular opinion is on our side. We are grateful to leaders like Asm. Bauer-Kahan for her commitment to advancing impactful laws and moving progress forward because our communities and children deserve to live in a world free from plastic pollution.

Watch the full panel discussion here.

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¹ SFEI. San Francisco Bay Microplastics Project Executive Summary. https://www.sfei.org/sites/default/files/biblio_files/MicroplasticsExecutiveSummary.pdf