February 18, 2022 | CONTACT: Tom Waldman / 818-747-4089 tom.waldman@lacity.org
Los Angeles City
Councilmembers Paul Krekorian, Mitch O’Farrell, Paul Koretz and Bob Blumenfield
have called on the State Legislature and the Attorney General to take immediate
action to fix the state’s broken recycling system. The Councilmembers
introduced a resolution on February 16th declaring
the city’s support for groundbreaking recommendations of the California Statewide Commission on
Recycling Markets & Curbside Recycling, as well as several pending bills that align
with those recommendations.
The Commission
was formed in 2020 to examine California’s massive recycling system and propose
comprehensive reforms to increase its effectiveness. To date, the
Commission has released 34 policy recommendations that were unanimously approved.
While the State Legislature has acted on some of these recommendations, the
Councilmembers pressed for much more aggressive and urgent work to make
statewide recycling more successful.
The Resolution
also calls on Attorney General Rob Bonta to enforce the state’s labeling laws
on plastic bags and films. The Councilmembers noted that many plastic
items, and especially bags and films, are often falsely labeled as
recyclable. In truth, these plastic items are virtually never recycled, and
bags and films actually damage equipment at materials recovery facilities.
“The world is
drowning in plastic pollution that is destroying the marine environment and
fouling California neighborhoods,” said Councilmember Krekorian. “For
decades the petrochemical industry has enriched itself at the expense of the
planet by pushing single-use plastics and promoting the myth of plastics
recycling. This false narrative gives consumers comfort in using more
plastic, when in fact only five percent of all of the plastic ever produced has
been recycled. California needs to encourage more recycling of metal,
glass and paper, and it needs to stop fueling the wishful thinking that most
plastics are recyclable in the real world. They are not.”
"The plastics industry
has been trying to dupe us about recycling ever since the days of the so-called
'Crying Indian' commercial," said Councilmember Paul Koretz. "It's
time to stop the shell game, stop labeling items as diverted from landfill when
that is ultimately their destination, and save our cities millions of dollars
from having to process contaminated blue bins."
"This is an issue of
real urgency, and California must lead the way," said O'Farrell, the chair
of the City Council's Energy, Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and River
committee. "There is no recycling of plastic in any real way, in
California or much less anywhere else. Anyone who ever takes a walk on a city
sidewalk - in Los Angeles and beyond - will see plastic waste that ends up in
our gutter, then in our storm drains, and then in the ocean. This is
unacceptable, and we must act now."
“Expanding how, and what, we can recycle is a critical
component to addressing climate change on the local level,” said Councilmember
Bob Blumenfield. “There are many great ideas that have been proposed that can
help our environment, save our city money and allow for more materials to be
recycled but we must continue to push on our friends in Sacramento to help make
this progress happen.”
"For decades
California has led our nation, and the world, on climate policy by passing bold
environmental legislation, and now we must tackle our broken recycling systems
to preserve a healthy California for future generations," said
Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, a co-author of AB 1690. “As the 5th largest
economy in the world, we have the opportunity to show that our state can
improve our recycling stream and strengthen markets for recyclable materials,
while creating new jobs, combatting pollution, and conserving natural
resources."
The 16-member
Commission is chaired by National Stewardship Action Council’s (NSAC) Executive Director,
Heidi Sanborn. “The public is tired of their garbage rates and taxes
increasing while seeing little benefit, and they want programs that work
cost-effectively,” said Sanborn. “Eliminating wasteful single-use, mislabeled and
unnecessary toxic products from the market will address those issues.”
The resolution
comes on the heels of the Council’s action this week to develop a comprehensive
plastics reduction strategy for the City of Los Angeles.
Los
Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian represents Council District 2, which
includes the east San Fernando Valley. He is chair of the Budget and Finance
Committee and he is also on the Metro and Metrolink boards of directors. His
website is paulkrekorian.org, where you can sign up for news
updates. Visit him on Twitter (@PaulKrekorian) or Facebook.
