Stormwater Pollution Prevention – Page 3

In 1999, surfers in San Mateo County saw their beloved beaches threatened by environmental pollution and degradation. They took action and came together to form a local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, Surfrider San Mateo County (Surfrider SMC), which engages the community in protecting our oceans and advocates for solutions.

Now, 22 years later, the organization includes “local surfers, paddle boarders, kayakers, marine biologists tide-poolers, and basically people who love the ocean,” says Britt Bensen, Vice Chair of Surfrider SMC. The organization is one of more than 80 Surfrider Foundation chapters across the country, which form a network of over 1 million supporters and volunteers.

“Surfrider SMC is an all-volunteer group committed to protecting the more than 50 miles of San Mateo County coastline in between San Francisco and Santa Cruz counties.”
— Britt Bensen

Surfrider SMC protects our oceans in many ways: through youth education, monitoring water pollution, partnering with local businesses to reduce single-use plastics, and engaging the public in beach cleanups. Through their organized beach cleanups, they have kept thousands of pounds of trash out of the ocean.

Protecting the ocean isn’t just about the environment—it’s also about people. Surfrider SMC sees access to safe and clean beaches as an equity issue. “We have learned the incredible value of open, outdoor space with COVID and the unfortunate wildfires and the corresponding smoke over recent years,” says Bensen. “We hope our efforts have made our coastline accessible to all.”

Blue Water Task Force

Just one of Surfrider SMC’s many programs is the Blue Water Task Force. They measure bacteria levels at beaches and in coastal creeks, then compare them to federal water quality standards. This allows them to alert the public of any health risks and to raise awareness about water pollution issues.

“We currently test 6 sites along the Pacific Ocean every week and publish results on our social media accounts,” says Bensen.

If you are interested in getting involved the Blue Task Force, attend the next Surfrider SMC chapter meeting or social.

Coastal Cleanup Day and How to Help

One way that you can get involved and help Surfrider SMC keep pollution out of our waterways and ocean is to get involved in Coastal Cleanup Day. On Saturday, September 18 from 9:00 a.m. to noon this year, you can join a global community of people helping to keep trash out of the ocean.

Here in San Mateo County, there are over 50 cleanup events to join. Surfrider SMC is holding a beach cleanup for Coastal Cleanup Day at Poplar Beach from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. on September 18.

For more information and any updates, please visit Surfrider San Mateo’s website.

Other Ways to Get Involved

“As we’re all volunteers, we’re 100% dependent on neighbors all over San Mateo County dedicating whatever time they have to our programs and campaigns.”
— Britt Bensen

Apart from Coastal Cleanup Day, there are many ways to get involved with Surfrider SMC throughout the year.

Beach Cleanups: Visit Surfrider SMC’s event calendar to find additional beach cleanups to join throughout the year.
Take On a Volunteer Role: If you want to get more involved, you can take on a leadership or support position in event planning, communications, volunteer recruitment, and more. Contact chair@smc.surfrider.org if you’re interested!
Follow: You can stay up to date with Surfrider SMC by following them on Facebook or Instagram @surfridersanmateo. You can also email communications@smc.surfrider.org to be added to their newsletter mailing list.
Listen: Listen to Surfrider California’s podcast “Protect & Enjoy” on your preferred podcast platform.

Summer is here, meaning that families, friends, and individuals across San Mateo County will be heading to the beach! The anticipated ramping up of summer fun at the beach also coincides with the release of the non-profit Heal the Bay’s annual Beach Report Card for 2021.

Every summer, the Beach Report Card gives beaches across California a grade from A to F based on beach water quality data collected by health agencies and sanitation departments. A poor grade means that water quality monitoring at that beach over the course of the year has shown high levels of fecal indicator bacteria which can be a sign that water is unsafe to swim, fish, and play in. Exposure to bacterial pollution can cause ear infections, skin rashes, stomach flu, and other illnesses.

How did San Mateo County beaches do?

This year three beaches in San Mateo County got an F grade and were put on the Beach Bummers List of the top 10 most polluted beaches in the state, though it’s worth noting not all beaches that have been reported on in previous years were monitored and reported on this year.

All three low-scoring beaches in San Mateo County are enclosed beaches, meaning that there’s a land mass or jetty blocking the beach from the open water. They typically have calm waters, making them attractive to families and children. Unfortunately, this also means that they are more susceptible to water pollution due to a lack of water circulation.

*It’s important to keep streets clean because pollution transported by stormwater runoff into storm drains eventually reaches beaches and the Bay.*

Where does the pollution come from?

At enclosed beaches, like the ones that made the Beach Bummers List, pollution likely comes from litter and animal waste left directly on the beach as well as polluted runoff that reaches the beach from surrounding developed areas. Understanding the exact source of bacteria can be difficult, however. Leaking sewer lines, and feces from wildlife, including birds and small mammals, are a few additional potential sources of bacteria in stormwater runoff draining to recreational waterways.

What are we doing to try to keep our beaches off the Beach Bummers List for next year?

Water Quality Monitoring: The San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program (that’s us) closely monitors urban creeks in the county to ensure that water pollution remains below permitted levels and to address pollution if it gets too high. This is important for protecting our beaches because creeks eventually feed into the Bay and ocean. We report our findings in annual Urban Creek Monitoring Reports.
Green Infrastructure: We support countywide stormwater planning efforts, most recently including the Countywide Sustainable Streets Master Plan, and have funded green stormwater infrastructure projects around the county to manage stormwater more sustainably, reduce pollution and provide additional community benefits, such as bike and pedestrian safety, reducing urban heat island impacts and more. Check out our Green Infrastructure Story Map to learn about green infrastructure projects near you.
Public Education: We also do outreach to people like you and your neighbors to help you adopt water-friendly practices! For instance, we educate people about the importance of picking up litter and throwing away pet waste so that our beaches remain clean and safe.

*The Donnelly Avenue Green Street and Parking Lot in Burlingame is an example of one of San Mateo County’s green infrastructure projects.*

How you can help!

There is also a lot you can do as a San Mateo County resident to help protect our beaches! Even if you’re not going to the beach often, there are things you can do every day to help protect our beaches, since pollution in your neighborhood may end up in the ocean eventually.

Here are some steps you can take:

Pick up after your pet.
Throw away all your trash in the proper disposal container.
Reduce pesticide and fertilizer use in your yard.
Take your car to the car wash instead of washing it at home.
Maintain your vehicle so it doesn’t leak auto fluids onto the streets.
Volunteer with local organizations such as the Pacific Beach Coalition or Surfrider to do beach cleanups.

Remember that clean water and a healthy community is a team effort! Contact us below with any thoughts or questions.

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Whether it’s the seafood we eat, the oxygen we breathe, or the joy we find in spending a day at the beach, everyone depends on the ocean in one way or another. However, the ocean needs our help. Our reefs are struggling, fish populations are declining, and most pertinently: plastic pollution is pervasive.

Shell Cleave, founder of Sea Hugger, saw these issues firsthand and noted, “someone had to do something.”

Driven by deep rooted care and concern for the health of our waters, Shell got to work and created Sea Hugger in 2018 with the mission “to reduce our dependence on single-use plastic and to prevent marine plastic pollution,” says Shell. Since its beginnings, Sea Hugger has developed into an innovative nonprofit that places its efforts far beyond band aid-like solutions. Sea Hugger is reducing the amount of plastic in our ocean, empowering communities to engage in marine-conscious practices, inspiring future generations, and ultimately ensuring the health of our waters for years to come through action and education.

Sea Hugger actively reduces plastic in our ocean by sponsoring local community beach clean ups and encouraging people to clean up wherever they are. The nonprofit also has a “Roomba for the ocean” known as the Seabin, which is an aquatic robot in Half Moon Bay that utilizes self-sufficient mechanics to capture plastic, microplastic, and marine oil. In a mere three months (January – March 2021), the Seabin collected 17 plastic pellets, 492 pieces of plastic, 699 polystyrene pieces, and 74 cigarette butts!

Shown in photo:  The Seabin draws water into the bin, capturing microplastic, macroplastic, and marine oil in its fine mesh bag. It captures up to eight pounds of material at a time, and is emptied regularly.

Through their work, Sea Hugger has effectively achieved:

(2019-2020 Data)

However, Sea Hugger goes above and beyond plastic pollution cleanup. They acknowledge the need to address the root of our plastic pollution problem and drive systemic change. The organization thus works to prevent ocean pollution before it even gets into our waters by helping people “break their reliance on plastic by creating awareness and promoting alternatives, upcycling ideas, and reuse tips.” One can find wonderful plastic-free products right on their website, making it easy and appealing to make the switch to zero waste alternatives. Sea Hugger also works to mitigate our plastic usage on a larger scale by promoting bills such as the Plastic Free Bill and mobilizing the effort to bring back reusables to grocery stores.

Furthermore, Sea Hugger not only advocates for the wellbeing of ocean life, but also helps our communities on land.

“In response to COVID, we started an outdoor education camp to help families who were struggling with school closures and distance learning. It has been so successful that we are continuing it for Summer and after-school next year.”
-Shell Cleave

These outdoor education programs help instill longstanding care for our ocean, while providing the youth with a fun and engaging experience away from screens. Through these programs, Sea Hugger is helping students cultivate ocean-conscious habits to carry with them and pass along to friends, family, and future generations. As Shell noted: “We often have parents who tell us their kids have helped them swap out their throw-away items for reusable items, reminded them to skip things they don’t need like lids and straws, and have become anti-litter bugs! This is music to our ears!”

How Can I Get On Board with Sea Hugger?

Try out a DIY Beach Clean Up
Shop the online store for products that minimize your footprint
Volunteer (Locations: Oahu, Half Moon Bay, and Imperial Beach)
Follow on Instagram or Facebook for updates on conservation events, simple tips, and friendly reminders to get outside!
Sign up for the newsletter for ideas on how to decrease your footprint and for more information on how to get involved

If you’ve ever taken part in a large-scale cleanup, then you know the impact that a group of people can make when they come together with a common goal. Even if you haven’t taken part in an organized cleanup before, you still may have a desire to keep our natural spaces clean and beautiful. Whether you’re a seasoned cleanup veteran or a newcomer, we’re here to help you make a difference even in these interesting times.

Changing Times

While many things have changed over the course of the last year with a global pandemic creating a more isolated society than ever before and many events being cancelled or held virtually, several organizations are trying to find ways to empower individuals to get outside and make a difference. Through solo-cleanups, individuals are able to contribute towards larger community goals and band together (socially distanced) to clean up our streets, creeks and shorelines. But how do we go about this in a way that actually makes an impact? And what if we still crave community-organized events?

Hosting Your Own Solo-Cleanup Event

If you’ve made it through most of the Netflix library and want to get outside and do something productive, then you should consider hosting your own litter pickup event. Whether by yourself, with your housemates, or socially distanced with friends, you can quickly get organized and mobilized to clean your streets or nearby waterfronts, and in doing so keep trash out of our waterways. It’s easier than you might think!

Step One: Gear Up

To make the most of your solo-cleanup day, grab a bucket or a bag to collect your trash. Find or purchase some cheap gloves to keep yourself safe from touching undesirable objects. Garden gloves work great, but single-use disposables are OK, too – though be mindful of the fact that disposable gloves will add to your waste collection A pick up stick or a pair of “trash grabbers” can come in handy to avoid having to directly touch trash and to save your back from all the bending over. These pick up sticks (or grabbers) are available at most hardware stores and you might even find a cheap alternative at your local dollar store. Take your phone so that you can log your trash and share your journey online. And finally—don’t forget your mask.

Step Two: Get Cleaning

Now that you’re all geared up, all that’s left to do is get outside and start cleaning. If you’re trying to make the most of your day out, then organize your cleanup route before you leave. If you’re planning to clean up around your neighborhood, think about any areas near you that see a lot of traffic and might have a lot of litter. If you choose a beach or shoreline instead of a neighborhood, consider the weather and conditions and think about where to dispose of your litter when you’re done. Most beaches have facilities onsite where you can dump or leave your collection, which helps ensure it’s managed properly. If you’re doing this with friends, then think about splitting up and covering a larger area. Always try to keep it local when you can and consider doing your clean up in the areas close to home. If everyone keeps their own community/neighborhood clean, it will bring us closer to the shared goal of living in a litter free world.

Step Three: Log Your Cleanup

There are a ton of useful tools for logging your cleanup efforts. By keeping track of your trash intake, you help researchers with better data collection and tracking, which ultimately ensures we’re getting the best understanding of the issue of litter control, and where the problem might need more attention. One great tool that you can use at your next cleanup is the Clean Swell App. This App allows you to tally your items, weight, and distance and share your results with a large community of eco-warriors. You can also connect with organizations listed below to help set up and track your solo-cleanup events or to join group cleanups where they are offered.

Step Four: Share Your Efforts

Obviously, the main reason for taking part in a community cleanup is to improve life in your area and to keep trash from making its way to our waterways. But, another important takeaway from hosting your own solo-cleanup is that you can inspire others to do the same in their communities. By sharing your journey with us on social media, you can plant the idea of solo-cleanups in others minds and lead to widespread interest in solo-cleanup events.

Your Impact

It can sometimes be hard to see the big picture impact when all we see is what is immediately around us. But, when you take the initiative to clean up your surroundings, your efforts affect potentially millions of others.

Take a candy wrapper for example. If there is a candy wrapper laying on the street in your neighborhood and nobody takes the time to pick it up, well that small piece of trash can end up making its way into a storm drain. Storm drains carry stormwater from large rain or irrigation events into local waterways to avoid flooding in the city. So, when that little wrapper ends up in a storm drain, it can flow all the way into a local stream, where it can be mistaken for food by local wildlife. This can potentially harm our local biodiversity. Even if the stream’s resident Great Blue Heron decides not to feast on our little candy wrapper, it can still flow downstream into new communities or even into the vast Pacific ocean. Once there, that tiny little piece of trash can potentially make its way around the world, impacting people and habitats thousands miles away.

This is one small example with one small piece of trash, but imagine millions of tiny pieces of trash doing the same thing. Not pretty is it? That is why it’s so important to take ownership of our own communities and try to make a positive change. When you organize your own cleanup event, you help implement that positive change within your community.

Safety Checklist

It’s important to remember that we’re still living in a global pandemic and we’re also sometimes dealing with some nasty trash. Remember to always consider safety first and follow these guidelines for a safe day out:

Wear gloves and a facemask (reusable if possible).
Maintain a physical distance of at least 6 feet from others.
Avoid touching your face.
Wash your hands and use hand sanitizer frequently.
Wash your gloves after use.
Be cautious with broken glass and never pick up needles unless you have a sharps container.
Wear close-toed shoes.
Keep a safe distance from any wildlife you may encounter.
If doing your cleanup along the beach always observe ocean safety practices.

Community Resources

PACIFIC BEACH COALITION

SEA HUGGER

SURFRIDER

FLOWS TO BAY EVENT CALENDAR

Good riddance 2020—hello 2021!

After the rollercoaster of emotion that was 2020, we can begin looking forward and finding new ways to make a positive impact. Helping others has never been more important, so we wanted to provide you with four great ways to reach out a helping hand to your community. Join millions of others in fulfilling a New Year’s Resolution that ensures 2021 will get off to the right start.

#1: Keep it Local and Keep it Attainable

It’s easy to make a resolution to better yourself, such as a promise to go to the gym three days a week or eat vegetarian four times a week. What about the same idea, but for your community? Bettering your community can better yourself. So, why not make a resolution this year to make your community a better place by pledging to pick up at least 5 pieces of litter every day for 5 weeks.

Resolutions don’t need to be life-changing. Their purpose is to make your life better, not turn it upside down. For that reason, try to make whatever you do something that fits into your routine. Keeping a baseline of 5 pieces of litter is a good way to keep up a good practice while making your goal attainable.. Setting a specific timeframe for your litter walks keeps you accountable. Who knows…after picking up 5 pieces of litter every day for 5 weeks you may get inspired to up it to 10 pieces of litter for 10 weeks. Make sure to sign up for the Flows To Bay Litter pledge and receive a litter prevention tool while supplies last.

#2: Clean It Up

Along the same lines of keeping your community clean, you can volunteer your time to help in a more organized fashion. There are a ton of opportunities to participate in a clean up event near your home. Organizations, such as Sea Huggers, Surfrider San Mateo, and Pacific Beach Coalition, hold these events frequently to make a large-scale impact with clean up efforts.

While it is extremely important to pick up litter on your own, you can clean up large areas with the help of these organized events. To hold yourself accountable, start by making a resolution to participate in one clean up each month. Or if that sounds like too much of a commitment then you can start with one event each quarter and work your way up to being a regular face at these events.

Check out upcoming opportunities on our calendar.

#3: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Our individual choices can make positive or negative impacts on our community and environment even when we can’t see the lasting effects. For example, when we buy products with excessive plastic packaging we contribute towards the problem of microplastics, which can get into our waterways and affect wildlife and people. When left behind or otherwise mismanaged, plastics tend to break down into smaller and smaller particles, growing into larger and larger pollution problems.. So, one thing you can aim for this year is to reduce the amount of non-recyclable materials that you purchase or use.

Resolving to carry around your own reusable utensil and straw set can eliminate the need for plastic utensils and straws when dining out. Another option is to resolve to refuse these cutlery items when ordering food for carry out or home delivery. Little actions like this can make a big difference.

#4: Quench Your Lawn’s Thirst

While Big ol’ trucks can be gas guzzlers, green, grassy lawns can be water guzzlers. As you may have seen in years past, water is an extremely important, and often scarce, resource. Droughts and increased water usage have left many areas of California in serious situations of running out of water. This year you can do your part and make a resolution to lower your water usage on your lawn/garden.

By incorporating sustainable techniques such as installing rain barrels or replacing your lawn with drought-tolerant landscaping, you can drastically reduce the amount of water that you use on your lawn. Check out this water usage calculator to see how much water your home and your yard uses on average. Then, see if any of these techniques could make their way into your yard.

If you have any questions or ideas on how to make 2021 your year to make a positive environmental impact contact us here!

Shaleen of Redwood City was the raffle winner of a new 50 gallon rain barrel from our Rain Barrel Workshop in May.

“It was an amazing experience getting it all together!” Shaleen told us.

She decided to first update her downspout— which after getting materials, took only 20-25 minutes to install—and did most of the installation on her own.

When asked about her interest in owning a rain barrel, Shaleen shared that conserving water was a top priority to her for multiple reasons. “We had planting material that needed plenty of water…which resulted in a higher water bill,” said Shaleen. “We’ve made changes to the planting materials we added during quarantine and succulents/cacti has been the way to go, still keeping our lavender, inpatients, marigolds and such.” Shaleen continued to explain that the versatility of rain barrels provides an available supply for “a water fountain, which attracts birds, but results in needing it to refill.”

*Shaleen documented her installation for us.*

Another usage of the rain barrel included improving the stability of her home and the small body of water nearby. “The landscape around our home seemed to have an erosion problem and all the water coming off the roof was not helping. Plus there were times the creek next to us would overflow,” said Shaleen.

“There were so many uses for the rain barrel at our home that I was so glad I could install one.”

After asking about whether she would recommend a rain barrel to others, Shaleen’s excitement flowed through her words.

“I would definitely recommend a rain barrel to my friends and family, Shaleen exclaimed. “You can conserve water and help the environment—not to mention save on water use and costs. It’s a win-win situation.”

Thank you Shaleen for telling us about the reasons why you wanted a rain barrel and your installation experience!

If you’re feeling inspired, make sure to register for and attend our Oct. 24th rain barrel webinar.

Don’t Miss Out on the Countywide Rain Barrel Rebate!

All residents of San Mateo County are eligible to receive a rebate on a rain barrel through the countywide Rain Barrel Rebate Program, which now offers a tiered program of rebates from $50-$200 depending on the size of your barrel and the area you live in!

As Shaleen told us, rain barrels benefit the environment, your plants, and your budget. How?

With the recent water crisis in California, rain barrels are one of the best ways to save money and water by cutting back potable water used for irrigation.
Rain barrels protect local creeks, the San Francisco Bay, and the Ocean by reducing urban runoff that transports litter, motor oil, copper, and other pollutants into storm drains.
Rain barrels can moderate flooding during the rainy winter season, decrease land erosion, and also reduce the amount of moisture that reaches your home’s foundation.

Click here to read about more benefits of installing a rain barrel. Questions? Drop us a line at info@flowstobay.org.

Coastal Cleanup Day is typically an annual waterway and land cleanup held on the third Saturday of every September. Due to the pandemic this year, rather than meeting up at public events throughout the state on a single date, cleanups will happen every Saturday throughout the month. (If Saturdays don’t work for you, don’t let that stop you! Clean up during any day and time that works for you.)

Cleanups will be self-guided and close to home. Local parks, shores, creeks, streets, sidewalks, drainage areas, natural areas, and trails are good choices. Participants must wear face coverings, practice physical distancing, and must strictly follow both local ordinances. Safety first!

Although the cleanup model will be different in 2020, it will still be an effective, educational, community-building event. Trash within our neighborhoods will become the trash polluting our waterways once the rains come. We need your help to record your participation, and your diligence to collect data on all litter you remove, upstream or down.

San Mateo County Environmental Health Services coordinates the event in partnership with the California Coastal Commission, the Ocean Conservancy, and many Statewide and local partners.

Volunteers should visit smchealth.org/ccd and register with a team and learn all the details.

2019 Coastal Cleanup Day Results

5,245 volunteers participated in the event.
35,111 lbs of trash and recyclables were picked up.
106 miles of San Mateo County was canvassed by volunteers looking for litter.
For more information on Statewide results, click here.

Sunset shining a pastel hue on the ocean; coastline with grass and a white lighthouse; pink clouds — *Pescadero*

Thank you to everyone who came out and participated in Coastal Cleanup Day 2019 to help protect our bay and ocean from litter pollution. The State is a much cleaner and healthier place because of all your work.

Summer is upon us and there are many outdoor activities that we plan on doing while following social distancing guidelines and wearing a mask to protect others. Banana slugs are out and about at the Purisima Creek Redwoods, and tidepools are teeming with life at Bean Hollow State Beach.

But despite the many beautiful spots around the county, there are a few locations that aren’t so hot, from a water quality perspective.
Heal the Bay has released its 2020 Beach Report Card. Unfortunately, six beaches on their top 10 Beach Bummers list happen to be in our beautiful County. Our number of “beach bummers” has tripled from last year’s report where we had just 2 beaches listed as beach bummers

The Results

Based on water quality data collected each year at outfalls, creek mouths and in the nearshore area along the ocean and bays, beaches along the coast of California are given a grade from A through F. These grades are based on water quality information provided by County health agencies. Every year Heal the Bay takes this data and presents California’s ten poorest scoring beaches, which is where San Mateo County comes in.

Ranking at the number one spot is Fitzgerald Marine Reserve at San Vicente Creek, followed by Pillar Point Harbor at Capistrano Avenue (#3), Foster City Eickenbrack Park (#4), Pillar Point Harbor Beach (#6), Linda Mar Beach at San Pedro Creek (#7), and lastly Pillar Point Harbor at Westpoint Avenue (10).

*Photo credit: Heal The Bay 2019-2020 Beach Report Card, page 16*

What it Means

This report categorizes beaches into one of three types: “Open beaches.” “Stormdrain impacted.” or “Enclosed,” with different pollution implications depending on the potential pathways for pollutants to get into the receiving water. Beaches that are storm drain impacted can be polluted from bacteria flowing in from storm drains, streams, or rivers. This is important because it means that these beaches aren’t polluted solely by the trash that beach-goers leave behind. It indicates that beach pollution can come from far inland, transported to the beach by streams and storm drains.

Common pollutants carried by storm drains:

Litter
Animal/pet/human waste and bacteria
Pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers
Automotive fluids

Three of the county’s six beaches to show up on the Beach Bummers list are located within Pillar Point Harbor, in Half Moon Bay. This enclosed area has poor water circulation which has led to an accumulation of enterococcus—bacteria that typically indicates fecal contamination. This can come from leaking or overflowing sanitary sewers, wildlife, and pet waste.

How we can Improve

There are many ways we can contribute to pollution and not even realize it so it’s important to identify which actions you take in your life that might have a negative effect on our waters.

Flows to Bay offers many resources for residents to learn the best ways they can help keep our waterways clean. Here are some of our favorite tips:

You can also become involved with local community organizations that focus on improving the quality of our local waterways such as the Pacific Beach Coalition or Surfrider.

What changes will you make to ensure our beaches are cleaner in time for next year’s report? Write us with your comments and thoughts via our contact form found here.

The following paragraph is an update added on January 6th, 2021:

The Health Officer Order Appendix A of the Social Distancing Protocol was revised to remove language about not permitting individuals to bring reusable items from home into stores. The removal of the language means that County residents may bring their reusable bags and coffee cups into retail stores. Retail stores may adopt their own stricter policies prohibiting such items if they wish. For more information, the revised Appendix A Order can be found here.

By now you may have noticed grocery shopping isn’t the same as it used to be. Among the various changes, one effects how you carry your purchased items back home.

The Health Officer’s Order prohibits all bags brought in by customers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that reusable bags brought in by customers are not allowed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In response, San Mateo County has adopted an Emergency Regulation that suspends the requirement for retailers to charge for reusable bags or recycled content paper bags at point of sale.

With the increase of plastic bag usage, please help keep our waterways clean by reusing or recycling the bags responsibly. Visit recyclestuff.org to learn where you can drop off unwanted plastic bags.

Here are the details you need to know:

Effective Date: The Regulation takes effect immediately and will remain in place until the Health Officer removes the suspension.

Bags Allowed: Reusable 2.25 mil durable plastic or 30% post-consumer recycled content paper bags provided by retailers.

Prohibited Bags: Reusable bags brought in by customers. Single-use plastic or paper bags that aren’t made with recycled content paper.

Bag Charges: Retailers may suspend the 25-cent charge or may continue to charge for compliant bags at their discretion.

Retailers Affected: The Regulation applies to all retailers in unincorporated and incorporated areas of San Mateo County. The towns/cities of Atherton, Woodside, and Hillsborough are exempt from this Regulation.

Resources For Retailers

Signs are available in English, Spanish, and Chinese to display on storefront windows to help educate customers about the new requirements.

Retailer Resources:

Questions? Concerns? Comments?

For questions or more information, please contact Environmental Health Services at (650) 372-6200 or envhealth@smcgov.org or learn more at smchealth.org/bagban.

We’ve been hard at work at revamping this website to provide YOU more content and resources! It’s been a labor of love and we’re excited to share it!

There’s plenty of content to go through on our new website, but here’s a short list to start you on your way:

We’ve upgraded our events calendar to be filterable—this means that you can search for events by event category, city, and event organizer, you can even now search for online events! Is there an event we’ve missed? Let us know!
Do you or someone you know conduct simple actions that make a big difference to prevent stormwater pollution prevention? If so, check out our Community Champion nomination page, fill out a short form, and you’ll be mailed a Flows to Bay goodie bag after the COVID-19 shelter in place directive has been lifted.
Planning home improvements or just looking for an outdoor home project that can help make a positive environmental impact in our community? Check out the water wise home projects webpage for various ideas and information to help you. You’re also welcome to share your project with us by filling out a short form on this page, we’d love to hear about it and share it with the community!
The preventing stormwater pollution webpage segments how you can make a positive impact at home, in the community, or even in your place of business—and has subtopics for each of those locations, so you can find the exact way or ways you can do your part!
Are you a teacher or parent looking for educational resources for students (or yourself)? Our educational resources page lists a plethora of online resources that are fun and educational!

We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts about the new website or ideas about how we can better help educate the community on pollution prevention by contacting us.