Clarkston becomes third municipality to phase out single use plastics in government buildings

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Groups applaud Clarkston for Reducing the Amount of Plastics Flooding our Planet

Environment Georgia

 City of Clarkston. — On Tuesday May 4th, Clarkston Council passed a resolution to end purchasing of single use plastics and polystyrene in City of Clarkston buildings. The resolution provides the City with one calendar year to phase out purchasing and use of single use plastics and polystyrene and transition to sustainable alternatives.Clarkston follows the lead of Fulton County and the City of Atlanta which have passed similar resolutions aimed at phasing out single use plastics. Under the new resolution, purchasing of single use plastics and polystyrene will be prohibited on all City of Clarkston property. 

The resolution is a follow up measure developed after City of Clarkston council unanimously passes a resolution acknowledging the need to reduce the impacts of plastic pollution in December 2019. Initially the City planned to pass a city-wide measure but found a City property policy would be the best next step during the pressures on local businesses during the pandemic. 

“I am happy that Clarkston voted to eliminate our usage of single-use plastics. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint of plastic and making our city a cleaner, greener place for Clarkston residents.” City of Clarkston Mayor, Beverly Burks

“Oceana commends the Mayor Burks and The City of Clarkston Council for taking action to reduce single use plastic pollution. By eliminating disposable plastics on municipal property, the City of Clarkston sets a bar for local choices. This change also helps to eliminate plastics making their way into our waterways, nature, and community streets and eventually oceans.” – Paulita Bennett-Martin, Field Representative for Oceana

“Whether it’s litter along their streets or dwindling landfill space, cities know first hand that a bag or cup we use for minutes should not last for decades,” said Jennette Gayer, director of Environment Georgia. “It is great to see Mayor Burks and the City of Clarkston leading by example and phasing out long lasting single use plastics on city property.”

“Better Earth could not be prouder of our home town,” said Savannah Seydel, Vice President of Sustainability with Better Earth, a Clarkston-based sustainable packaging solutions provider. “Our world is facing a global plastic pollution crisis. Our mission is to make sustainability accessible through innovative plant-based alternatives to single-use plastics and we are here to help Clarkston continue to stand out as a global environmental leader and hub for circular economy solutions.”

An estimated 33 billion pounds of plastic enter the marine environment from land-based sources every year — roughly the equivalent of dumping two garbage trucks full of plastic into the ocean every minute. On top of plastic’s harmful impacts to marine life, plastic has now been found in our water, our food, our soil, our air and our bodies, and scientists are still learning how this may be affecting human health. From cradle to resin, plastics also drive greenhouse gas emissions and so they have direct contributions to the global climate crisis. With plastic production growing at a rapid rate, increasing amounts of plastic can be expected to flood our blue planet with devastating consequences. 

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