MONTEREY, Calif.- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded more than $214,000 in grants to the Product Stewardship Institute, Inc. and the Monterey Bay Aquarium to reduce sources of marine debris in partnership with local students, governments and businesses.
In a news release Thursday, the Institute said it will use a $164,245 grant to implement a study to reduce disposable plastic packaging—a major source of ocean pollution—on the campuses of three California coastal universities. It will then use the results of the study to develop a model program that can be adopted by other universities and fast-food corporations.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium will use a $50,000 grant to train 100 teachers to teach 7,500 students to lead 40 local community action projects to reduce sources of ocean plastics.
"Reducing waste at the source, rather than just cleaning it up, is key to protecting our coastal waters," said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA's Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest in a news release. "These two projects are big steps forward to reducing the amount of trash that ends up in our rivers, oceans, and estuaries."
The Institute will work to achieve a 40 percent reduction in single-use plastic water bottles and an 80 percent reduction in polystyrene take-out containers at fast-food restaurants, dining facilities and student centers at University of California campuses in Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco.
Trash targeted by grant work will focus on the plastics that enter California waterways and eventually disintegrate and become part of the food chain, harming fish and wildlife.
