HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 9 - Eco SloENVIRONMENTAL CENTER
OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
ecoslo.org
October 24, 2017
City of San Luis Obispo
Attn: Mayor and City Council
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
San Luis
Obispo
SURFRIDER Chapter
FOUNDATION
slo.surfrider.org
RE: Regulating the sale and distribution of single -use plastic beverage bottles on City
property and establishing regulations to increase availability of water bottle filling stations
Dear Mayor Harmon and City Councilmembers:
My name is Mary Ciesinski. I am a resident of the City of San Luis Obispo and I serve as the
Executive Director for ECOSLO, the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County. This letter
represents the support of ECOSLO as well as SLID Surfrider.
As the County Coordinator for Coastal Cleanup Day for the past 13 years, ECOSLO gets a unique,
one -day snapshot of the debris in our county. Each September over 1,200 volunteers come
together to clean up trash at 30 locations at our local beaches, streams and lakes. Two of the top 10
items found are related to single -use plastic bottles - the bottles themselves and plastic bottle caps.
Both of these items have shown up in the top ten debris items collected during Coastal Cleanup Day
in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County for at least the past four years.
In 2014 and 2015, Coastal Cleanup Day in SLO County collected about 950 plastic bottles each year.
In 2016, volunteers collected nearly 1,500 plastic bottles, making it the sixth most collected item,
and during this year's Coastal Cleanup Day, just six weeks ago, plastic beverage bottles came in as
the seventh most collected item in SLO County, with 1,989 plastic beverage bottles picked up by
volunteers.
As for bottle caps, in 2016 and 2017 this item came is as the fifth most collected item, with 2,141 in
2016 and 2,504 collected this year. When we talk about plastic bottle debris, we also need to think
of these environmentally harmful caps, as they are more difficult to pick up and are more easily
ingested by wildlife.
To support the City's efforts, ECOSLO has been posting the City's online feedback pages for this
regulation on our Facebook page, and received supportive responses from our followers. So far,
these posts have reached more than 1,400 people.
I urge your support for a ban on the sale of plastic bottles. As I've shared before, single use plastic
bottles are a convenience, and when that convenience is removed, behaviors shift. I also urge your
to support infrastructure for additional water refill stations, so that refilling reusable water bottles
becomes even easier. We have a unique opportunity with plastic bottles, in that we can also focus
on infrastructure for refill stations and water fountains, not just a "ban".
I look forward to the City of SLO being a leader in moving away from the use of single -use plastics,
and being a pioneer for sustainability. Your decision tonight may not only affect the city, but
hopefully, and eventually, influencing our county and our state. Thank you for your time and
support of this item.
Thank you,
Mary A. Ciesi
LISLO,Executive D
o
Cynthia Replogle, Vice Chair, Surfrider SLO