Bill for Protect U.S. Waters Encountered a Snag
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Government
Bill Working Its Way Through the California Legislature to BanPlastic Microbeadsfrom Cosmetics Has Encountered Obstacles
The bill,AB 1699, authored by5 Gyres Instituteand sponsored by Rep. Richard Bloom of Santa Monica,sailed through the other chamberof the legislature, the Assembly, in May. That action came a little less than a month beforeIllinois enacted such a banin June becoming the first state to do so.
"Passing the Assembly floor is a big milestone for this bill," Bloom said back in May. "I am proud that my colleagues support our efforts to ensure that our waters are clean. Getting plastic microbeads out of these products will eliminate a significant source of pollution." Every year 38 tons of plastic microbeads are released into California's environment.
Alas, that will have to wait a little longer. The bill failed to garner the needed votes in the Senate by a single vote, but the sponsors have been granted reconsideration, which means if they can get one of the absentee legislators to vote for it, it will pass the Senate and go back to the California Assembly for concurrence.
According toMarcus Eriksenof 5 Gyres Institute, plastics industry lobbyists worked hard to block it, wanting legislation more like the far fromideal bill that passed in Illinois.The Ilinois bill leaves a loophole for plastic, like Polylactic Acid (PLA) the so-called biodegradable plastic that corn cups are made of. Unfortunately, PLA doesn't biodegrade in the environment,it requires an industrial composting facility.
Read More Related Content On This Topic - Click Here
Media
Taxonomy
- Environment
- Pollution
- Governance & Planning