Waste

Clean Water is  taking-on single use products. From shopping bags, to food and beverage packaging, to plastic water bottles, our goal is to minimize the use of single use products.  We engage businesses, local governments, and individual consumers in rethinking the disposable lifestyle.

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Rhode Island

David R. Gerraughty Award - 2019 Nomination Form

Clean Water Action is now accepting nominations for the prestigious David R. Gerraughty Award, named in honor of the long-time Clean Water Action program organizer and canvasser who chose protecting the environment and safeguarding public health as his "second career". 

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Recent Actions

Pennsylvania

Let's Eliminate Single-Use Bags in Philly!

Did you know the Philadelphia Water Department found that plastic bags comprise 17% of the total debris recovered by their skimming operations?

Act now!
California

Take the Pledge to Reduce Single-Use today!

Pledge to reduce your reliance on single-use disposable products and packaging.

Take the Pledge!
Rhode Island

Let's Phase Out Single-Use Plastic Bags in Rhode Island!

Let your State Representative and Senator know that you want them to support statewide legislative efforts to phase out single-use plastic bags once and for all!

Let's Phase Out Single-Use Plastic Bags in Rhode Island!
New Jersey

Take Action: Ban Plastic Bags in NJ

Ask the NJ State Legislature for a ban on single-use plastics.

 

Take Action

Press Releases

March 8, 2019
Bipartisan Coalition Demands End to Ratepayer Subsidies for Trash Incineration

On March 8th, an unlikely alliance of Republican and Democratic legislators, residents from across Maryland, and environmental advocates gathered to demand the end of public subsidies for

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January 24, 2019
Berkeley Unanimously Passes Groundbreaking Disposable Free Dining Ordinance

BERKELEY, Calif. – The Berkeley, CA City Council has taken an important step to drastically reduce the amount of disposable foodware coming out of the doors of the city’s restaurants.

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September 21, 2018
Baltimore Residents Rally to Demand Cleaner Air and a Transition to Zero Waste

On September 21st, a group of Baltimore residents, local elected officials, and environmental advocates rallied in a str

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Related Waste Topics

Waste Publications

Waste Blog Posts

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After the #trashtag
March 15, 2019

Internet challenges come and go, and generally I don’t pay much attention to them. This week, however, I began to see pictures of people posing with bags full of trash they had collected pop up all over social media. It seems the #trashtag challenge has taken off across the globe, bringing a ton of attention to a problem that has plagued us for decades, ever since the advent of our convenient, throwaway lifestyle.

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A dye test is used to track the water coming off a septic system. Important information can be determined by a dye test - like how quickly wastewater is flowing through a system or which system is flowing here.
Septic Legislation in 2019
March 14, 2019

Septic systems are a decentralized way to treat human waste. In most cases, an individual home has its own septic system and drain field.

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Rallying for truly renewable energy - not trash incineration
March 11, 2019

On Friday, people from all across Maryland came together in Annapolis for a day of action about HB961/SB548: bipartisan legislation to remove trash incineration from Maryland's Renewable Portfolio Standard and stop subsidizing it with millions of dollars each year, meant to support wind and solar development.

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