Every week at All Saints Church we put our faith into action. This week we are signing a letter to EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan urging action to stop plastic pollution.

Every year, the United States alone generates 32 million tons of plastic waste and about 7 per cent escapes into the world’s oceans. Part of a worldwide total of about 8 million tons of plastic waste that is dumped into our oceans every year. And this number could triple by 2040. Marine and coastal species cannot survive with this rate of plastic waste invading our waters — ocean wildlife will continue to die from ingestion or entanglement.

Since plastics aren’t biodegradable, they never disappear and instead break down into small microplastics. If an animal like a sea turtle were to die from consuming plastic, its body would decompose and release the plastic back into the ocean to kill again. In fact, scientists have found baby sea turtles with plastic already in their stomachs. If we don’t take action now, plastics and microplastics will completely take over the ocean and eventually the entire planet.

Without tough environmental standards and strong enforcement, Corporate plastic manufacturers aren’t concerned with the negative environmental impacts of plastic. The production of plastic itself is made from harmful fossil fuels, and one of the ways these companies profit the most is from single-use plastics, which account for almost half of all plastic produced every year.

Single-use plastics serve a one-time purpose before being discarded, which means demand is always high. This “throw-away” culture results in more plastic and microplastics ending up in our water supply, our food supply, and even the air we breathe.

Plastics never go away once they are produced, so they will continue occupying more and more of our oceans and our earth until they completely take over our planet — unless plastics can be made to be completely biodegradable or protocols put in place to guarantee 100% recyclability, we must take urgent action to halt plastic pollution.

Plastic is polluting our entire planet, from the beaches to the deepest depths of our oceans. And it is killing marine wildlife. We are demanding that the EPA Administrator protect our wildlife from plastic pollution. We urge him to immediately take action on the plastics crisis and protect the health of our oceans, people, and wildlife.

Options to Take Action:

1. Sign an Action Letter at the Action Table outside the church on Sunday morning.
2. Download a pdf of the Action Letter that you can sign and mail.
3. Click on this link to Friends of the Earth action: Stop Plastic Pollution Now.

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If you ever need to look up your member of the U.S. House of Representatives or your U.S. Senators check here: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.

To find contact information for your California State Senator or California State Assemblyperson check here: www.senate.ca.gov and www.assembly.ca.gov.