EPA Pacific Southwest - Region 9

Gina McCarthy in California

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  Left to right: Harlan Kelly, Jr., San Francisco Public Utilities Commission General Manager; Naomi Kelly, San Francisco City Administrator; John Updike, San Francisco Real Estate Division Director; Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator; Jared Blumenfeld, EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator; Barbara Hale, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Assistant General Manager. | Click image to enlarge

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy was in California this month, where she visited a landfill that will be transformed into a solar farm; toured San Francisco City Hall, one of the world's oldest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum-certified buildings; honored a Marine base for reducing fuel use; and presented a San Diego art museum with an Energy Star award.

• The San Francisco Chronicle: Closed Hayward Dump Will Be Transformed into Solar Farm Exit
• SFBay: City Hall – Never Too Old to Go Green Exit
• SanDiego6.com: Marine Air Station Recognized for Reducing Fuel Us Exit

Reducing Waste at Disneyland

EPA has recognized Disneyland with a Food Recovery Challenge award for its zero waste efforts, including the highest percentage increase in food recovery of any theme park in the nation. EPA's Food Recovery Challenge partners with grocers, educational institutions, entertainment venues, restaurants, hotels and other organizations to save money, reduce hunger in communities, and protect the environment by preventing food waste.

• Orange County Register: EPA Honors Disneyland for Reducing Waste
• Disneyland’s Achievements in Food Recovery Exit

A Toolkit to Reduce Marine Debris

Download the Marine Debris & Plastic Source Reduction Toolkit(xx pp, yy K, About PDF)

EPA, the Product Stewardship Institute, and the University of California announced the launch of a new Marine Debris Campus Toolkit designed to help college campuses and other institutions cut their plastic waste to reduce marine debris and coastal pollution. The toolkit, funded by an EPA grant, resulted from a pilot project at coastal University of California campuses in Santa Barbara, San Diego, and San Francisco.

• Santa Barbara Independent: Product Stewardship Institute, University of California Launch Toolkit to Reduce Marine Debris Exit
• Download the Marine Debris & Plastic Source Reduction Toolkit (PDF)(90 pp, 5.25MB, About PDF)
• Learn more about Marine Debris

Kids Helping Sea Turtles

The fifth grade class at Mount Madonna School in Watsonville, Calif., won the 2014 President's Environmental Youth Award for their year-long environmental education campaign, "Don't be a Nurdle, Help the Sea Turtle: Poaching, Bycatch & Plastic Pollution - Tell the World About Our Solution."

• The Santa Cruz Sentinel: Mount Madonna Students Win National Environmental Award Exit
• President's Environmental Youth Awards