Dale and Lois Derouin
From removing invasive species to serving as naturalists, Legacy Club members and TNC volunteers Dale and Lois Derouin give their all to support nature.
Plastic pollution is in soil and streams, drinking water and wildlife—and even inside of us. A staggering amount of plastic trash ends up in the ocean, and it is increasing at an alarming rate. Foregoing drinking straws at restaurants and bringing reusable bags to the market are good steps to take—but a problem of this enormity requires solutions at a scale to match.
Enter California
California is the fifth-largest economy in the world. Its famed coastline provides critical habitat for resident and migrating birds, as well as threatened and endangered species such as orca whales, sea otters and sea turtles who live offshore in the Pacific Ocean.
“We started with a concern for ecosystems and communities that rely on oceans for sustenance and well-being,” says Tom Dempsey, director of The Nature Conservancy’s California Ocean Program. “We looked downstream at plastic pollution, but we realized that TNC could play a leading role in finding more systemic solutions.”
For decades, TNC has worked to protect California’s lands and waters. With relationships across the political spectrum and partnerships fostered over time, TNC was positioned to bring stakeholders from business, government and environmental sectors together to design a bold plan to significantly and rapidly reduce plastic production and waste. Following years of negotiations and collaboration, TNC California helped pass the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act—Senate Bill 54—which was signed into state law in 2022.
“This is the most comprehensive plastic policy to date in the United States because it shifts the burden from individuals to producers,” says Patrick Jurney, who directs TNC’s plastics project in California. “It is both ambitious and practical. Companies need consistent expectations. If they are all being held to the same standards, then they all have the same motivation to change.” In addition to mandating a 25% reduction in single-use plastic production and requiring all of it to be recyclable or compostable, the legislation requires producers to pay into a fund that will generate $5 billion over 10 years to clean up and improve communities and ecosystems.
Plastic Pollution
Microplastics, Microfibers and Ocean Plastic.
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Top to bottom: Pcess609/Shutterstock; Surfrider; Sebnem Coskun/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Growing Impact
Building from the milestone of SB 54, TNC is taking on additional aspects of plastic pollution in California—and beyond.
For example, “microplastics, including fibers from products like clothing, make up an enormous portion of the plastic in the ocean,” says Patrick. “And even though we can’t see it, those tiny fragments are affecting the health of wildlife and getting into the food we eat.” TNC is working to analyze solutions for microfiber pollution and calling on apparel brands to apply new practices across their supply chains at an ambitious pace.
The ecological and economic importance of California makes lessons learned there globally significant. Over the last two years, the TNC California team that is focused on plastics policy has participated in negotiations for the United Nations Plastics Treaty. This international, legally binding agreement will address the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal.
“It isn’t going to be easy, but this is a challenge we can solve,” says Patrick. “We made this problem—and together, we can fix it.”
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