a considerable amount of fast food packaging can be composted or recycled but isn&39t. some plastic stuff such as condiment packs and straws have to go in the trash. a bill that will be presented in the california legislature would need fast food chains to use all recyclable or compostable packaging &ndash and to ensure a considerable portion of that packaging is really diverted from storm drains and landfills. the bill is called the fast food packaging and marine pollution reduction act. sen. mark leno of san francisco is the sponsor of bill. leno cites data obtained from the u.s. environmental protection agency. this data shows that, in california, every year, 1 million tons of takeout food packaging is used, and most of it is littered or landfilled. controlled by the environmental group, clean water action has revealed around half of all street litter is associated directly to fast food chains. so, there&39s a quite major chunk of the waste stream that could be minimized by altering the packaging of fast food. leno mentions it also contaminates the ocean through storm water runoff, costs public money to clean up, and clogs storm drains. his bill would need fast food chains with 20 centres or more to make use of packaging materials that can be composted in each store&39s local jurisdiction or recycled. the law would also add a rate of packaging recovery requirement of 25 percent by 2016, 50 percent 2018 and by 2020, 75 percent. if 75 percent of all fast food packaging was composted or recycled, imagine how much fewer trash there would be. if you crunch the epa&39s numbers, it could be around the neighbourhood of 750,000 tons less in california. the rate of recovery requirements may be the solution to actually reducing marine pollution and trash, as a lot of fast food packaging &ndash around 85 percent as per the waste composition audit in austin, calif. &ndash is already compostable or recyclable. however, that doesn&39t assure it will actually be composted or recycled. the nonrecyclable waste from fast food chain included film plastic, condiment packaging, straws, plastic silverware, and other varied plastics. so, that&39s the fast food chain restaurants would likely be concerned about if this bill gets passed. despite the fact that this is just a california phenomenon now, it could spread into other states as large fast food chains are everywhere. however, it could prove extremely costly and complex to apply statewide, as composting and recycling rules differ from place to place. thus, the fast food chains would have to a find packaging solution that meets all the diverse standards, which could be difficult for certain items. the bill has got the support from the county and city of san francisco as well as an extensive list of environmental groups. however, there is a long list of opponents, as well, including american forest and paper association, the american chemistry council, california chamber of commerce, the biodegradable products institute, the western plastics association and food service packaging institute. source of information httpwww.opb.orgnewsblogecotropeaproposaltomakeallfastfoodpackagingrecyclable
