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U.S. EPA Approves California’s New Trash Control Policy
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently approved the State Water Resources Control Board’s new water quality standards for trash in California’s waters. The standards are part of the state’s new Trash Control Policy, designed to keep trash out of streams, lakes, bays, estuaries, coastal and ocean waters in California to protect people and the environment.
Trash seriously degrades habitats for many aquatic species, and can lead to fatal ingestion or entanglements. The presence of trash in waters also jeopardizes human health and safety, and impedes recreational, navigational, and commercial activities. As much as 80 percent of the trash that ends up as marine debris is generated on land. With these new requirements, California is not only protecting its own waterways, it will be shrinking the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the massive vortex of marine debris in the Pacific Ocean.
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