More Environmental Protections Considered For Santa Cruz Co.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Santa Cruz County already has bans on single-use plastic bags, polystyrene products, single-use personal care products in visitor accommodations, straws and other contributors to environmental waste. But concerns about litter and plastic pollution continue to mount, including a recent study showing alarming levels of microplastic particles in Monterey Bay.

The county is also forced to address chaos in the global recycling market, which some experts say began at the start of 2018 when China no longer accepted the world's used plastic. As a result of the turmoil, some states and local jurisdictions are finding it increasingly expensive to recycle.

So now the county is looking to it residents for ideas on further environmental protection measures. To begin, the county is asking residents to take a quick online survey to weigh in on plastics and plastics regulation. The survey is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r...

The data garnered from the survey will be considered when the county board of supervisors begin discussions on additional environmental protection measures. Those public discussions are slated to take place during the board's regularly scheduled August 6, 2019 meeting, held at 701 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. Meetings are free and open to the public.