Support California AB 521: Help Protect Marine Life from Plastic Pollution!

Each year thousands of seabirds, sea turtles and other marine life are harmed by plastic pollution in our oceans. That’s why we’re supporting California bill AB 521, which would set goals for reducing plastic pollution in our coastal waters and require producers of plastic products to join consumers and state and local governments in addressing the problem of marine plastic pollution. You can read the full text of the bill here.

If you’re a California resident, it’s easy to do your part:

1. Find your California representative.  

2. Use or adapt the following copy to send them a message: 

I am calling/e-mailing to urge you to vote “yes” on AB 521. This bill will help protect seabirds, sea turtles and other ocean animals that I care about from the harmful impacts of marine plastic pollution. It will set reasonable targets for reducing marine plastic pollution in California’s ocean waters and require producers of plastic products to join consumers and state and local governments in addressing the problem of marine plastic pollution. Thank you for considering this important issue and working to protect our oceans.

How Plastics Impact Our Oceans

Plastic is one of the biggest pollution problems impacting the world’s oceans. Everyday items such as single-use plastic containers and packaging can have significant impacts on ocean life. A 2012 study by the Convention on Biological Diversity found that 663 different marine species are impacted by plastic pollution.

Plastic products find their way to the ocean through storm drains, streams and rivers and may be mistaken for food, as they break down into smaller particles that resemble small fish or krill. Some plastics can travel ocean currents all the way to the North Pacific Central Gyre where they are picked up by Laysan albatrosses like our Aquarium resident albatross Makana, shown above. Scientists estimate that each year, around 4.5 metric tons of plastics are brought onto Midway Island in the remote Pacific Ocean by albatrosses feeding plastic to their young. The canister shown on this page is the contents of one albatross’s stomach!

How AB 521 Helps

AB 521 would incentivize actions like redesigning products and improving product recycling. The bill would set reasonable targets for reducing marine plastic pollution through these and other actions and also provide much-needed funding for state and local plastic pollution cleanup efforts.

Thank you from the Monterey Bay Aquarium for supporting this important bill!

Learn more about Makana and ocean plastics.

Learn about our plastics exhibit, which showcases spectacular art installations and photo collages created from everyday plastics.