The mission of the Virginia Plastic Pollution Prevention Network (VPPPN) is to promote and facilitate coordination, collaboration, and communication among groups working to reduce plastic pollution throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. | |
|
September 2024
Welcome to the Virginia Plastic Pollution Prevention Network (VPPPN). The newsletter will continue to come out monthly. Meetings will occur bi-monthly. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 22* at 2pm using Google Meet.
In this edition:
- Sign-up to be part of the International Coastal Cleanup
- How to join an ICC cleanup
- Upcoming cleanup: First Landing State Park, Sunday September 22
- Good read: 2024 International Coastal Cleanup Report
- Updated: Top 10 Littered Items in Virginia
- Success story: ADV Removed from Tribal Lands
- Report: Derelict Fishing Gear
- Article: The Impacts of Micro-plastics on Fish
- VCN's Common Agenda Includes Plastic Pollution Issue
- Reduce Plastic Tip of the Month
Newsletter content is provided by VPPPN members.
*note the date change
| |
October Virginia Plastic Pollution Prevention Meeting Special Guest:
Katie Cullipher, AskHRGreen.org
Start Smart, Recycle Right
| |
|
Meetings will take place every other month. All meetings will take place on the Google Meet platform. Our guest speaker, Katie Cullipher of AskHRGreen.org, will tell us about their "Start Smart, Recycle Right" educational campaign and the EPA grant that will boost their efforts to reach Hampton Roads citizens about recycling right!
Please note: due to a CVW staffing conflict, the meeting date will be October 22nd instead of October 15th.
| |
|
Now accepting registrations for the
INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEAN-UP
| |
|
While CVW encourages YEAR ROUND cleanup events (and data collection!), most of the International Coastal Cleanup events are held between August and December.
Plan a cleanup -- anytime! Remember, collecting data during your cleanup DOUBLES your impact, and it is EASY to do!
1. Find an area that has litter -- and pull a team together!
2. Read about how to lead a litter cleanup in Virginia HERE. Download a handbook, data cards and more from CVW's on-line Site Captain Tool Kit
3. Sign up by using this Google form. If you can't use Google, please send an email to cleanups@cleanvirginiawaterways.org
| |
|
Clean Virginia Waterways has been the Virginia hub for the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) effort since 1995! Having many dedicated and loyal partners throughout the state has resulted in thousands of pounds of trash being picked up in the Commonwealth annually.
This year CVW continues to be the hub for ICC's across the state. A survey was sent to site captains and the results indicated most people want a list of upcoming cleanup events, so a page has been created on the new Clean Virginia Waterways website. Here you will find cleanup events that have been reported on the Virginia ICC registration form. Events are organized by date and include locations and local contact information. If you would like your event added, please access the registration form at the link provided here. We encourage you to will join a nearby cleanup, and if there isn't one, we hope you will consider leading one. We're all in the together. Keep up the good work!
| |
Cleanup at First Landing State Park | |
|
Where: Chesapeake Bay Beach at First Landing State Park Visitor Center
2500 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach, VA
Date: 9/22/2024
Time: 9:00am - 11:30am
Sign-Up: https://volunteersignup.org/DX3JC
| |
|
Just Released: International Coastal Cleanup
2024 Report
| |
|
In partnership with volunteer organizations and individuals around the globe, Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup® engages people to remove trash from the world’s beaches and waterways, identify the sources of debris and change the behaviors.
| | |
Top Ten Littered Items in Virginia
(thank you for collecting data)
| |
|
According to data collected by volunteers during last year's International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) in Virginia, the top ten littered items in Virginia are mostly from food and beverage containers, although cigarette butts (which are plastic) top the list most years. All data collected year-round by volunteers go into the Ocean Conservancy's TIDES Database. TIDES is a public (open access) data system containing the world’s largest ocean trash dataset, all collected by volunteers. Anyone can make a free account, then easily access data reports for any country, state, region, or location.
Visit the TIDES database! www.coastalcleanupdata.org.
You can be part of the ICC this fall! See Clean Virginia Waterways for details on how to lead a cleanup event, or join a cleanup. Year-round, volunteers can also report data on litter by using the Clean Swell app.
| |
Abandoned Vessel Removal Success | |
Nansemond Indian Nation Removes Abandoned Vessel from Tribal Property
The Nansemond Indian Nation recently removed an abandoned and derelict vessel (ADV) from their Tribal headquarters at Mattanock in Suffolk. The multi-step project was facilitated through collaboration between the Tribe, Virginia CZM, Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), and the Elizabeth River Project.
Before the vessel was removed on July 9, partners first needed to track down the last known owner of the vessel before the Tribe could file for ownership. The Tribe then secured state funds to cover the costs of removing the vessel, which also required environmental permits. The Tribe, eligible for VMRC’s Abandoned or Derelict Vessel Program, secured $26,000 for vessel removal.
For the Tribe, the removal of an eyesore that had for many years impacted the viewshed of the Mattanock property was significant in demonstrating their commitment to environmental stewardship. The vessel had been abandoned in a tidal marsh along the Nansemond River, impacting benthic inhabitants such as oysters and likely leaking fuel undetected over the years.
| |
Derelict Fishing Gear: a new report | |
|
While members of the VPPPN focus mainly on consumer debris items (bags, bottles, food wrappers, cigarette butts, balloons, etc.), the Virginia Marine Debris Reduction Plan recognizes four major sources of marine debris: Consumer Debris; Microplastics and Microfibers, Abandoned & Derelict Vessels; and Derelict Fishing Gear. We are delighted to share that NOAA's Marine Debris Program recently released a Report to Congress: Sources and Impacts of Derelict Fishing Gear, which was required by the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act. The report represents the state of the knowledge of abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear in the marine capture fisheries of the United States and its territories. It provides a summary of the major sources and impacts, estimates annual loss rates for different fishing gear types, and provides recommendations on management measures to further address the problem in the waters of the United States and its territories. Find the full report on the NOAA website: https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/derelict-fishing-gear/sources-and-impacts-derelict-fishing-gear-0.
| |
Microplastics: Impacts on Fish | |
Dr. Meredith Evans Seeley from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science discusses her research "Uncovering the influence of microplastics on disease dynamics in a commercially valuable fish and virus system.” | | | |
Is this ancient process the future of plastics recycling? | |
|
This podcast is the first episode in a new partnership between ProPublica and On Point.
In this first episode: The world is awash in plastic waste. Oil companies claim to have a solution, an advanced form of chemical recycling.
But can it deliver on its promise?
| | |
Virginia Conservation Network's "Common Agenda" includes plastic pollution issue | |
|
The Virginia Conservation Network's annual "Common Agenda" is now available for downloading. It is the most comprehensive overview of Virginia’s environmental policy landscape. A collection of papers written by, vetted through, and voted on by VCN’s 170+ Network Partners, this briefing book explains the Commonwealth’s environmental policy background and potential opportunities for clean water & flood resilience, land & wildlife conservation, land use & transportation, climate & energy, and good governance. This latest Agenda includes the chapters "Plastic-to-fuel: A False Solution" and "Eliminating Plastic Pollution". The VCN's Common Agenda is published annually and widely circulated to policymakers, educational institutions, civic leaders, environmental advocates, and the public.
| |
Reduce Plastic - Tip of the Month | |
|
The VPPPN monthly eNewsletter wants
YOUR INPUT!
| |
|
If you would like to have your upcoming event (or publication) mentioned in the monthly VPPPN eNewsletter, write a paragraph with the following information, and email it to VirginiaPPPN@gmail.com.
Are you reading a book about plastics, environmental justice, ocean sustainability and health or another related topic? What about a podcast series relevant to plastic pollution or marine debris? We want to know so we can share that information with other VPPPN members!
FORMAT: Submissions to the VPPPN monthly eNewsletter must be sent as a Word or Pages document or as text in an e-mail. Word limit: 150. You can also send us a photo, logo, or flyer as a JPG.
CONTENT: Include the title, time, date and place of the event or program, and a phone number (with area code) or e-mail address of a contact person. State if the program is free or has a fee; has an age requirement or other restrictions; or has a registration deadline or welcomes drop-ins. Also include the name of the group sponsoring the event, and a website (if available) for more information.
| |
|
Support the
Virginia Plastic Pollution Prevention Network
| |
As our network grows, so do our expenses. Please consider a donation to support the VPPPN if you have found it to be valuable to you. We would appreciate your support of $10, $20 or more. Member organizations that donate $100 or more will have the opportunity to add their logo and website link to our website.
We are in the process of reclassifying and are unable to process credit card donations at this time. Please send an email to virginiapppn@gmail.com if you would like to make a donation.
THANK YOU!
| | | | |
