BYO produce bags made from recycled tshirts. Plastics - like Tenacious D- are forever.

Next time you go to the grocery store or farmers market, remember to bring a bag, backpack, and baguette for a zero waste shopping spree. If you want some of these produce bags made from old ts, and live in the LA area, I’ll bike deliver them to you for a truly low carbon experience! If you want them sooner, you can order them here in the snail mail way….

During our recent JUNKride, we had the chance to chat with a few representatives from the American Chemistry Council, the main trade organization representing plastics. They showed up to our press conference, waited for a break in the action, and pulled the reporters aside to make sure they offered a “fair and balanced” story. Joel Paschal and I grabbed our cameras, and taped a segment of their interview. Watch the segment, and count how many times this “solution” is mentioned….

Last week, riding our bikes over the Tijuana Border, we wrapped up our 2,000 mile JUNKride, from Vancouver to Mexico to spread the word about plastic pollution fouling our seas. It was an amazing journey - we met with 5 mayors, gave 40 talks, met thousands of incredible people doing truly grassroots work to improve their own communities, AND saw some beautiful countryside, at bike pace. No question, you see more on a bike than in a car…..

Here’s a video recap of our 3 month west coast tour:

Now that we’re back, we’ll begin planning our next expedition in January to the North and South Atlantic Gyres, getting my Bring Your Own produce bags up and running again, and finishing my bloodwork. As you’ll see in the above video, I’m having my body burden analyzed, to find out my levels of PCBs, DDT, pesticides, and other synthetics known to stick to plastic. Stay tuned for the results.

Our website has sadly been hacked into somehow, so we’ve been unable to update our blog. Meantime,

we’ve had some amazing adventures - had our JUNKraft displayed on the steps of the Sacramento Capitol, visited a bunch of legislators to discuss marine debris legislation, met the Mayor of San Francisco, built a zero waste plastic bottle boat in Tiburon, gave a bunch of presentations, met with a group of powerful leaders at Google for an epic plastic brainstorming session, and in between, recharged for a few days in Sonoma/Napa, climbing some killer ascents and wine tasting as a reward.

While we’re sorting our our JUNKride site issues, a quick photo recap of the last few weeks here.

After a wonderful, HOT few days in Chico, where we stayed with the GRUB collective and gave a small talk at the University, we slogged our way to Sacramento - a looong, hot, flat ride, to find JUNKraft diplayed on the front steps of the State Capitol, front and center!

Then on to San Francisco via Napa/Sonoma, relishing in the Elysian fields….here we were treated to some incredible hospitality by Richard Martin of Versant Vineyards. After a grueling hill, Richard greeted us with a phenomenal bottle of his own wine, fed us homemade risotto, grilled asparagus, and a mixed green salad with goat cheese, and gave us a tour of the grounds.

In San Francisco, we gave a talk with Green Sangha at the Marin Recycling Center, followed by a talk at The Aquarium of the Bay with Surfrider. Both had great turnouts, with energized crowds that we’ve heard have run with the momentum, and begun organizing follow up events. Exactly what we’d hope for.

Some highlights in the Bay:

Presenting Mayor Gavin Newsome with a gyre sample, and having a chance to share Algalita’s research with our next potential California Governor!

Meeting David De Rothschild from Plastiki, chatting about our respective projects, and presenting him with a plastic bottle from JUNKraft: We hope to return for Plastiki’s launch, and bid the crew fair winds:

Touring the grounds of the Marin Recycling Center, run by local hero Joe Garbarino. Joe has employed some simple, yet time tested recycling methods, like bringing in pigs, chickens, and peacocks (!)  to recycle food waste into compost. The creatures also provide a bit of joy and playfulness to the place, lifting everyone’s spirits.

Joe confirmed what we’ve heard from other recycling centers about where our plastic waste truly goes: either right back to the landfill, like these plastic bags here, or shipped off to China in huge bales. What happens to it next?                            

And finally, building a zero waste plastic bottle barge at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center, with a ton of help from Erin Blackwood, who rounded up a bunch of junk materials for us.

A group of enthused youngters helped finish the boat, launch it in the water, and test its seaworthiness….it worked! Marcus spent the next hour giving boat rides to the kids, who eagerly jumped aboard, while others picked up trash on the beach. All in all, a tremendous success.

We’re now in Santa Cruz, preparing for our next talk in a few hours with Save Our Shores. Tomorrow, we head for Monterey for a series of talks, with the Monterey Institute, MBARI, a local school, and a brown bag for the Monterey Bay Aquarium staff. More updates to come here while we pray for our blog to reappear.

I’ve been remiss in keeping BYO updated, currently in the midst of JUNKride - cycling 2,000 miles from Vancouver to Mexico, to give presentations about plastic marine debris. Holed up today in Gold Beach, OR, watching ferocious winds hammer sleet against the windows of a cafe haven where we’re taking refuge. A good chance to catch up on emails. And keep up to date on efforts around the country to address single use plastics, like this top notch video “The Bay vs. The Bag”- smart, entertaining, and artistic. No wonder its already had almost 30,000 views on youtube! Forward on to your friends and list serves, with the blip below.

A battle is underway in California’s San Francisco Bay area and it’s the latest front in the nationwide effort to ban the plastic bag.

The bag’s got some powerful allies in the plastic industry who have been suing Bay Area residents to stop these bans.

Check out this 2 minute video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSD21zp89zM and learn how you can take action to say no to the plastic bag industry.

Keeping bags out of the Bay is only the beginning of a worldwide movement to limit useless and harmful plastic bags and protect our planet.

Received this wonderful image a few days ago from Stiv Wilson, editor of WEND magazine. This made my month - to know that someone not only read, but was inspired to action by an article I wrote about our 2008 expedition to the “plastic soup” in the North Pacific Gyre.

On a beach in Mexico, Paul Corn read about plastic fouling our seas, and began noticing plastic trash littering the shore. So he and his kids spent their last vacation day picking up plastic garbage, spelled out “TULUM” in the sand, and snapped a photo, which they turned into a postcard.

Paul has a call to action for all of us. If he can do this on his vacation, we can all try this during beach cleanups, morning beach strolls, post surf sessions:

“if everyone took 30 minutes at their favourite beach to pick up the plastic turn it into a postcard (attached) and send it to local tourism officials, local government reps, hotels and others maybe we could motivate others to get out and practice greater stewardship of our oceans and adjoining beaches.”

As seen on Martha, these one of a kind produce “baguettes”, made from recycled tshirts, will help keep your fresh fruits and veggies away from plastic.

We hate seeing mounds of plastic bags leaving the farmers market, or any store for that matter. Try bringing a handful on your next shopping outing, or if you’re crafty, make your own!

The Los Angeles Convention Center - South Hall J
Saturday, January 24th • 10am - 6pm
Sunday, January 25th • 10am - 5pm

This past summer, I met Sherry Beall, producer and host of “Healthy Planet, Healthy Me!” on KPFK 90.7FM. After showing her a Gyre sample, a Bring Your Own bag, and a photo of JUNK, she invited me to be a guest on her show.

She put together a wonderful program - Part 1 featuring Captain Charles Moore discussing Algalita’s research on the plastic marine debris issue:

And part 2 with me discussing Bring Your Own, and a Satellite phone call in interview from Marcus on JUNK, in the middle of the Pacific!

Phew. I was worried, especially after Canada became the first country to ban BPA in bottles, acting on research that links BPA exposure to breast and prostrate cancer, diabetes, and hyperactivity, to name a few.

But according to research funded by the American Chemistry Council, we have nothing to worry about. Unless the following expose from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gives you pause:

“Although the Food and Drug Administration will not reveal who prepared its draft, the agency’s own documents show that the work was done primarily by those with the most to gain by downplaying concerns about the safety of the chemical.”

If you still wonder about BPA’s safety, this overview - from a study by Frederick Vom Saal might help - 12 out of 12 studies funded by Chemical Corporations find it perfectly…..safe.