Loudoun County may be up next for a plastic bag fee in Virginia (see here and here)!

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors will vote in January whether to adopt the bag ordinance, which would produce a potential revenue of $275,000 to $340,000 in 2023 for things like environmental cleanup, education programs to reduce environmental waste, mitigating pollution and litter, or providing reusable bags to recipients of benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program in the county.

As we may already know, bag fees are an equitable, economically viable, environmentally friendly and safe (re: human health) way to reduce plastic pollution. Take a look at our bag bill busting resource for talking points that counter common misconceptions used as support against a bag bill.

From these talking points, we’re reminded 1) bag bills are a user fee, not a tax, since at any time you can elect out of it, and 2) plastic bag fees reduce plastic pollution in a way that does not disproportionately harm vulnerable communities, such as low income or BIPOC communities.

Fingers crossed for Loudoun County! Passing a bag bill would be a great way to kick off the new year in a green way.

A UK based team that promotes positive climate goals this holiday season has many tips to spruce up your holiday in a green way!

With three weeks until the end of the year, Clean Fairfax has three things to do for a delightful and sustainable holiday. Check out our tips below, it’s as easy as one-two-tree!

It’s business as usual for streams, like us, to be facing a lot of stress; from new developments, changes in climate, introduction of chemicals, extraction for drinking water/ irrigation, the list of stressors seems endless and dire. Good news can be found at a local, Fairfax County stream, Old Courthouse Spring Branch (Spring Branch) in Difficult Run Watershed. This stream is near Tysons Corner, right off of Leesburge Pike. If you’ve ever taken a walk at Ragland Road Park, or even been around Best Buy in Tysons, you’ve been along this stream!

Old Courthouse Spring Branch is looking good! Why, you may ask? Old Courthouse Spring Branch’s stream restoration is complete; this means the stream is new and improved with upgrades. The restoration area has engineering solutions including big boulders to protect the stream from erosion and woven blankets keep things stable by stopping land from washing away during floods. All these improvements serve various purposes, but overall SLOW DOWN and stabilize the stream. [Fun fact, streams with rocky bends and additional vegetation slow water down and reduce destructive and dangerous flows.]

Spring Branch’s meandering bends and yellow blooms this fall added a glowing haze around the once degraded stream bed. As of a few years ago, however, walking along this stream was not an enjoyable or very pleasant experience. Meandering by the stream you may have wondered if the stream was actually a dumpster (Photo 1a&b). Litter in all its ugly glory was the star of the show at Old Courthouse Spring Branch. The stark transformation from dumpster to dreamy made us ask the question, “where the litter that previously afflicted the stream go?” Changing how water moves through a stream wouldn’t necessarily change the amount of a pollutant, like plastic, in a stream. But plastics now move differently and we wondered how they now moved and where litter is now at? Pollution doesn’t disappear from restoration, so we put on our boots and bustled down Spring Branch.

Hiking along the stream bed, we found the picture perfect upgrades to the stream do not completely solve all Spring Branch’s problems. Alleviate some stress in the stream? YES! But to solve stream stress? Nope. The stream’s slower flows are still moving litter, most notably plastics, and dropping them off at different pit stops (Photos 2-4). Improvements have, however, decreased the amount of litter being trapped in certain spots in the stream. For example, we have side by side pictures of the Spring Branch in 2017 and 2021 below (before and after restoration, respectively). We see less litter is being trapped in the log jam along the stream.

What’s more, with the stream’s upgrades other changes downstream are happening. During restoration in April, we found a water snake hanging out under stream debris that had built up from flooding. Today, almost 6 months later, we see more debris has built up and now traps more litter. 

Old Courthouse Spring Branch’s glow up is complete, but the perfect, unicorn solution has yet to be found to solve all its stress. Next time you’re in the area, consider checking out the newly restored stream and let us know what you think!

Still hanging on to those Halloween pumpkins? Think green when it comes to disposal. Instead of throwing pumpkins in the trash, there are many fun ways to extend their life. Compost them at a local facility, or bury them in your backyard! Not ready to say goodbye quite yet? You can turn your pumpkin into a treat for wildlife, but consider that pumpkins can also attract nuisance pests as well– don’t be surprised if squirrels or raccoons come for a snack. You can make a bird feeder from this quick guide; this craft will keep the snack for the birds! What’s more, some zoos feed pumpkins to their cute creatures. Keep your pumpkins out of the trash–they’re a treat.

If you still don’t have a Halloween costume ready for this weekend, think green when it comes to your last minute getup. This article dives into 1) how Americans will spend $3.32 billion on costumes this year, 2) how many of these costumes are “disposable” and made primarily of plastic, and 3) what kinds of alternative costume solutions are out there so we aren’t part of the pollution. From using what you already have in your closet, buying second hand, or making a costume yourself, there are many possibilities when it comes to our Halloween ensemble. 

If you already have a costume, or aren’t planning on dressing up, consider diving into the dark side of Halloween. Our favorite chocolates often have ingredients (e.g. palm oil) that contribute to deforestation and climate change. We can consider alternative brands or candy options to make our treats less tricky. Check out the Sierra Club’s article from 2019 for rainforest safe Halloween candy options. Have a sustainable and spooky Halloween celebration!

In a recent study, a few *sus* (i.e. suspicious) findings were came to light (your modern slang update). Water use in cities is going down (>25%), even as the population gets larger (>40%). This is great news for the environment! Limiting how much water we use is important to maintaining healthy flows and habitat for our aquatic plants and animals.

How much isn’t the only factor impacting stream health; what is in our waterways can be just as important to keeping the Chesapeake Bay, rivers, and creeks healthy. How do we know what’s in our water? We can look at things, such as the saltiness and cloudiness of a creek, to tell us something about our water. Maybe there’s road salt being used? Maybe there’s construction in the area? Changes in the landscape cause changes in the water and corresponding plants and animals that rely on healthy rivers for survival.

Many agencies and partners go out to streams and track these kinds of changes to inform water management. For example, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Fairfax County recently released their ten-year (2007-2018) study of local streams to assess stream health and stability.

Clean Fairfax’s own research has found plastic pollution to be prevalent in Fairfax county streams, particularly single-use plastic bags and plastic water bottles. We can tackle the trash in our waterways by advocating for the environment with policy changes. How can you advocate? You can put on your scientist hat and investigate your local stream. Voice your questions and concerns from your observations to your own municipal government or ask your district supervisor what initiatives they have in place to ensure a healthy Chesapeake Bay, rivers and creeks.

How to help the environment: 1) push to increase funding for water infrastructure in the Chesapeake Bay and 2) dive into environmental initiatives and issues in Virginia. 

Hey Bay, (Chesapeake) Bay

Water infrastructure includes water supply, flood management, proper sewage and drainage systems, and coastal restoration infrastructure. Investing in this infrastructure, according to Chesapeake Bay Foundation, would restore the environment, improve public health and create green jobs.  For these reasons and more, the American Rescue Plan has allocated approximately $4.3 billion to Virginia for legislators to determine how to use.

When it comes to spending federal funds in Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has powerful recommendations that would create vast, long-lasting benefits. Did you know, over half of Virginia resides in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (i.e., a drainage area that leads to a body of water)? This means initiatives that are good for the Bay are good for Virginia! So much so that the City of Fairfax has its own comprehensive Chesapeake Preservation Plan. This plan serves as a planning tool and also a reference for your local water resource (see figure A2; p.11 on PDF, p.159 on document). Investing in Chesapeake Bay infrastructure would consequently be an investment in our local water resources. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s recommendations center around 1) upgrades to storm and wastewater infrastructure to keep pollution out of the natural environment and 2) utilizing trees as green infrastructure to help reduce costly flooding, pollution transport and lower temperatures. Check out their recommendations in more detail with the above links and make sure you tell Congress where you think funding should go!

VA Got Issues (& Policy Solutions)

Virginia Conservation Network (VCN), a network of conservation partners from across the Commonwealth, recently released the annual Common Agenda for 2022. This agenda outlines conservation issues in Virginia and establishes state-specific policy solutions that are short and sweet. Each environmental issue is discussed in two pages, including an executive summary, presentation of challenges, solutions, and policy recommendations. Clean Fairfax is a Partner of VCN and has previously co-authored briefing book papers on plastic and litter pollution. The Common Agenda is quite the detailed resource (152 pages!), so take a quick read over a few of our favorite topics, including 1) Tackling Polluted Stormwater Runoff and Restoring Local Water Quality, 2) Reducing Single-Use Plastic (p. 5-6), Litter, and Marine Debris in Virginia (p. 11-12), and 3) Ensuring Accountability in the Chemical Conversion Industry (p. 109-110). Happy reading!

This month is National Water Quality Month and when it comes to water, quality is the new clean. How do we know if water has “good” quality? Water quality is determined by looking at different characteristics of water, such as cloudiness (turbidity) or saltiness (salinity). By looking at certain characteristics, we are able to judge if water is of good enough quality for a certain use, such as for drinking! 

A reliable source of freshwater, such as a spring, may be of good enough quality for watering plants and animals, but likely doesn’t have high enough quality for drinking without treatment. In the United States, all drinking water is regulated and has to meet federally set standards. Water quality standards are important, because you can’t know if a water source is good by looking at it; you also can’t judge if water is safe to drink by where it comes from. Groundwater (such as well and spring water) can be contaminated with naturally occurring metals from rocks and nutrient runoff from farms. Rivers and streams can similarly face naturally occurring and man-made pollution.

One type of man-made pollution we are especially focused on at Clean Fairfax is plastic. Plastics (such as plastic bags and bottles) are a physical (and sometimes chemical) pollutant. Plastics can block stream flow and threaten the health of wildlife and their habitat when they degrade into tiny pieces, called microplastics. Stay tuned for more water quality tidbits this month– August 2021! In the meantime,check out the EPA’s page on how litter, like single-use plastic, impacts the world’s rivers and oceans. 

ePlastic bags trapped in debris on local, Fairfax County streambank. Photo credit: Emily FoppeA plastic bag fee ordinance will be discussed at a public hearing on September 14 at 4:30 PM in the Board Auditorium of the Fairfax County Government Center. While this legislation is framed as a tax, the ordinance would be more similar to a user fee, because people can opt out by bringing their own bags and the money is partially retained by the store. Taxes are mandatory, so calling it a “bag tax” is misleading. Bag fees are a hot topic, but there are many misconceptions people use to push against them. Here, we touch on the four main categories that arguments fall into and “debunk” these misconceptions.

Plastic bags are not free and millions of taxpayer dollars are spent cleaning up these nuisance plastics. Stores include the cost of bags in the items they sell– just like other operating costs such as electricity and water– so you already pay for them. Part of the fee is returned back to stores to assist in covering costs of alternative bags or provide free reusable bags to low-income communities. Plastic bag fees are equitable for this reason and because the cost per year of such a bill on these communities has been found to be as low as $5. What’s more, reusable bags are better for the environment; they are not made out of fossil fuels and are not less “clean” compared to plastic bags. Plastic bags are not sterile and can be contaminated. We would even argue bringing and handling your own bag at checkout would have less room for potential germ transfer. Lastly, plastic pollution is all around (and in!) us. Tiny plastic particles, called microplastics, are in the air we breathe, food we eat, and endangering many species of animals.

Plastic bag fees provide a proactive and proven way of keeping pollution out of our waterways (and therefore, out of us), as opposed to popular reactive projects (e.g. litter clean-ups). Relying on recycling technologies and clean-ups, according to leading scientists, cannot alone solve the plastic pollution problem we are facing today. Plastic bag bills are an equitable, economically viable, and environmentally friendly solution to fight one front of plastic pollution. Check out Litter Free Virginia’s page for more myth-busting talking points about the single-use plastic bag fee.

We’re here to set the recycling record straight before diving too deep in bag bills and other single-use plastic legislation. Goldilocks would affirm finding the metaphorical bed that is just right to take on plastic pollution takes much consideration. Here, we consider the three primary kinds of recycling exist– upcycling, recycling and downcycling.

Upcycling involves transforming a material into something of higher value (e.g. turning plastic bottles into a bottle filling station at your office), while downcycling involves making material into something of lower value (e.g taking crushed glass bottles to make a roadbed. Recycling refers to the well known process of taking a material into something of the same value (e.g. plastic bottles into more plastic bottles). What may be a surprise to you is traditional recycling is often really downcycling. A study from 2017 found of 14% of global plastic that was collected for recycling, 8% was downcycled, 4% was lost, and only 2% was actually recycled or upcycled. Downcycling is a less ideal option when it comes to waste solutions because it lowers the quality of material over time. Further, less than 1% of what’s recycled will live two lives.

Advanced recycling, or chemical conversion, uses fossil fuels to further process plastic into more environmentally persistent material and this technology has yet to prove itself as a viable climate mitigation alternative. The dream of a circular economy which seamlessly cycles plastics has jumped the gun in the hopes that more recycling will solve our plastic pollution problem. True circular economies 1) utilizes all options across the supply chain to use as few resources as possible in the first place, 2) keeps resources in circulation for as long as possible, 3) extracts the maximum value from them while in use, then 4) recovers and regenerates products at the end of service life. This article does a great job navigating the perceptions and realities of a circular economy and how it goes beyond traditional recycling. 

While new recycling technologies are necessary steps towards a sustainable future, a shift in culture with legislation (such as bottle bills, but similarly bag fees) is a reliable way to eliminate the use of plastic products in the first place. Moreover,  next time you hear about flashy recycling practices, ask if this is true recycling, or downcycling! You’ll be surprised how many environmentally situated arguments and technologies are hidden sources of greenhouse gas.