Wildlife Over Waste Photo Petitions

Dear Legislators,

Nothing we use for a few minutes should be allowed to pollute our planet for hundreds of years. That’s why we support House Bill 2883, a ban on polystyrene cups and food containers in Oregon.

Plastic pollution is a growing problem, responsible for country-sized swirling gyres of plastic waste in our oceans and growing landfills in our country’s interior. This pollution is damaging our ecosystems and endangering public health.

Every day, people throw away millions of disposable plastic items, including polystyrene cups and containers. Polystyrene foam, commonly referred to as Styrofoam, is among the worst forms of plastic pollution. Like all plastics, it does not biodegrade but breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, which means every bit of polystyrene ever made is still out there. Often, these pieces are swept into our waterways, ending up in our oceans and lakes.

Scientists have found plastic fragments in hundreds of species, including 86% of sea turtle species and nearly half of all seabird and marine mammal species. Ingesting these fragments is often fatal, as evidenced recently by a dead Sperm whale that washed up on the coast of Spain with 64 pounds of plastic in its stomach. This plastic will continue to pollute our water and threaten wildlife for centuries to come.