January Legislation in #Litterfreevirginia

January Legislation in #LitterFreeVirginia

Sun 1/6/2019 6:29 PM From: Litter Free Virginia To: Philip

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#LitterFreeVA Newsletter: January 2018

New Year, New Laws

If you're receiving this email, it's because you want to stay in the loop on litter prevention efforts in Virginia. Let's talk about what's new.

Let's Get Started

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In the news.

Litter legislation has officially made the news! 10WAVY, a Norfolk local news station, did a nice little story on potential bag taxes. Expect this to be the first of many.

Legislation.

The 2019 General Assembly is a week away. There are now EIGHT bills introduced that are litter relevant (we track all bills on our Legislation Tracker).

 In no particular order: 

HB 1669 (Delegate Betsy Carr of Richmond) – Proposed local disposable paper and plastic bag tax.

HJ 597 (Delegate Paul Krizek of Mt Vernon) – Proposed study on the economic impacts of litter on fishing, farming, and water quality in urban streams.

SB 193 (Senator Mamie Locke of District 2) – Proposed bill would allow any locality by ordinance to prohibit the distribution, sale, or offer for sale of disposable plastic shopping bags to consumers.

SJ 265 (Senator L. Louise Lucas of District 18) – Proposed study on the reduction of the minimum recycling rate for municipal solid waste generated within a solid waste planning unit.

HJ 620 (Delegate Matthew James of District 80) – Proposed study on the reduction of the minimum recycling rate for municipal solid waste generated within a solid waste planning unit.

SB 1070 (Senator Adam Ebbin of District 30) – Proposed local disposable paper and plastic bag tax.

SB 1116 (Senator Chap Petersen of District 34) – Proposed local plastic bag tax specifically for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

SB 1155 (Senator Richard Black of District 13) – Proposed bill would authorize a locality, by ordinance, to require that trash, garbage, refuse, litter, and other debris at any business or multi-family residential property that has a central collection receptacle be shielded or screened from view of a person standing at ground level from outside of the property on which the central collection receptacle is located.

If any of these bills are of interest to you, we suggest visiting Litter Free Virginia's Take Action webpage to learn how to effectively contact your local representatives to make your voice heard. Contacting your representatives is the best way to show support. We'll keep you informed of additional legislation as it's introduced!

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Document litter issues using #LitterFreeVA.

A reminder that we're focusing on documenting the litter issue. This is important as legislators are constantly asking for evidence. By using the hashtag #LitterFreeVA on Instagram or Twitter (profiles must be public for hashtag to be seen), we can collect photo evidence of litter and map litter hotspots. This kind of engagement encourages people to get outside and also provides legitimate and usable data. Are you participating or hosting a cleanup? This is an especially good time to use the hashtag. Have you been cleaning up the same spot for 10 years straight? Let's document each and every year so people know this is a recurring issue that needs to be solved at its source.

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One last thing.

Please share the word and forward this email, or send a link of Litter Free Virginia to anyone interested in litter prevention in Virginia! We promise never to litter your mailbox. We'll send 2 - 4 more emails before and during the legislative agenda (unless more alerts are needed, which would be a great sign), and then only once a quarter the rest of the year.

Happy to help.

If you have comments or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]

Our mailing address is: Litter Free Virginia 12000 Government Center Pkwy Ste 458 Fairfax, VA 22035

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