News Release

Partnership Has a Reminder for Summertime Beach Goers: Plastics. Too Valuable to Waste. Recycle^SM

(Sacramento – June 24, 2008)   Summer is officially here, and in California, beaches up and down the coast are popular vacation destinations. With families on-the-go this summer, the California Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks), the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and Keep California Beautiful (KCB) are encouraging travelers to take advantage of the hundreds of new opportunities to recycle plastics and many other items. 

The trio launched the recycling partnership last November. Since that time, 529 new recycle bins have been placed in 19 locations in the San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Monterey/Santa Cruz areas. The goal is to provide more “away-from-home” recycling opportunities to help keep recyclable plastics out of the ocean and waterways and off our beaches. This will help protect the Golden State’s environment for future generations.

About 79 million people visited California’s State Parks during the 2006/07 fiscal year, with many traveling to visit the 320 miles of State Parks beaches along California’s coastline. Until now, there has not been a widespread public education program that encourages park visitors to recycle plastics instead of placing them in the trash or leaving them behind.

“California State Parks welcomes the opportunity to partner with the private sector and Keep California Beautiful to promote the value of recycling plastics and other materials,” said State Parks Director Ruth Coleman. “This program will help to prevent litter on beaches that costs taxpayers dollars to collect.”

The recycling of plastics in California – which otherwise may be wasted in landfills or left as litter on beaches – can help reduce marine debris.  As a result, partnership leaders are still working to deliver additional recycling bins and/or educational displays that say “Plastics. Too Valuable to Waste. Recycle.”

The ACC played a key role in forming the partnership, citing a need to bring a diverse group of stakeholders to the table to combat waste.

"Plastic is a valuable resource.  It should not be discarded on our beaches or in our waterways.  It belongs in the recycling bin,” said ACC Products Division Vice President Sharon Kneiss.  “We know Californians want to recycle more.  And we want to make sure Californians have those bins readily available to recycle. This partnership highlights our commitment to work with government officials, nonprofit groups and potentially other recycling partners to help make our environment cleaner and provide for the future of California.”

More than 80 percent of U.S. households have access to a recycling program, be it curbside collection or community drop-off centers. Yet in most areas, the demand for recycled plastics exceeds the available supply. While there are approximately 2,100 certified recycling centers in California, many Californians still treat plastics as trash instead of a valuable material that is readily recyclable.

Keep California Beautiful also plays an important role in the beach recycling program. It is a nonprofit, environmental organization that promotes individual responsibility for California’s environment through mobilizing tens of thousands of volunteers to conduct cleanup, litter prevention, recycling and beautification projects throughout the state.

“KCB is excited to join with State Parks and the plastics industry to form this new public-private partnership,” said KCB Executive Director Christine Flowers-Ewing. “We’ll be working to help increase awareness of recycling as a method for litter prevention and to help Californians get the message that plastics should be recycled, not wasted.”

During 2006, Californians recycled more than 12 billion beverage containers – an increase of 814 million containers compared to 2005. California still leads the nation in total quantity of bottles and cans made from plastics, glass and aluminum recycled. In addition, more than 800 million pounds of plastic bags and film were recycled nationally in 2006, including at many stores and participating curbside collection programs in California.

Learn more about plastics.