Hi John,

Today is not only Valentine's Day. Did you know it’s also Oregon’s birthday? Join us in celebrating this beautiful place we call home, and send an important message to your lawmakers: Please show your love for Oregon and our environment by supporting bills that prevent plastic pollution. 

Plastic is everywhere and in everything. It’s used as packaging, it’s in food service products, and it’s in our clothing. All told, Americans generate over 35 million tons of plastic waste every year– that’s enough plastic to fill the Dallas Cowboys stadium every 16 hours, and that amount is increasing. More than 90% of plastic waste is landfilled, incinerated or ends up in our environment. 

It's time for Oregon to rise above plastic pollution. And, today is a great day to send a message to your lawmakers asking them to show their love for Oregon and break up with plastic. Here are the three priority bills we working to pass:

• Foam-Free Oregon (Senate Bill 543) would prohibit the use of polystyrene foam foodware including bowls, plates, cups, lids, clamshells, or other containers and prohibit the sale of polystyrene foam packing peanuts and coolers by January 1, 2025. The bill would also prohibit the use of toxic forever chemicals in foodware containers.
• Reducing Plastic at the Source (Senate Bill 544) would require producers to reduce the amount of single-use plastic packaging and foodware by 25% over the next decade and move to reusable and refillable packaging. 
• Enabling Reuse (Senate Bill 545) would update our health code to enable customers to bring reusable and refillable containers for food.

These three bills are all scheduled for public hearings today so we need lawmakers to hear our support for them. Please take a minute to email your state senator and representative encouraging them to ❤️ Oregon and break up with plastics by supporting SB 543, SB 544 & SB 545. 

Happy Valentine's Day, and Happy Birthday to Oregon!

Sincerely,

Julia DeGraw, OLCV Coalition Director