| Founded | 1977 |
|---|---|
| Location | Sacramento, CA |
| Method | Environmentalism Recycling |
| Motto | Conserving Resources. Preventing Pollution. Protecting the Environment. |
| Website | www.cawrecycles.org |
Californians Against Waste is an American environmental advocacy organization that takes action on local, state and national levels to conserve natural resources and prevent pollution through the expansion of a recycling economy. The organization is headquartered in Sacramento, CA.
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Californians Against Waste was founded in the 1970s to advocate for the establishment of a Bottle Bill in California.[1] After California's Bottle Bill passed in 1986, Californians Against Waste has continued to lobby for recycling and other legislation in the California Legislature and elsewhere. In 2006, Californians Against Waste sponsored legislation by California State Assembly member Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) that created the nation's first, mandatory, in-store recycling program for plastic bags and required California supermarkets to offer reusable bags for sale. In 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1109 by California State Assembly member Jared Huffman (D-Santa Rosa). This CAW sponsored legislation establishes mandatory reduction in electricity usage for lighting, effectively establishing a phased ban of incandescent bulbs in California, along with reducing hazardous materials in today's lighting. [2] In 2008 CAW sponsored, but failed to pass, legislation that would have expanded California's Bottle Bill to include all plastic bottles[3] and an attempt to require stores to charge a green fee on all single-use carryout bags[4].
Californians Against Waste has lobbied mostly on solid waste and recycling issues. It focuses on updating California's Bottle Bill, E-waste recycling and toxicity issues, landfills and waste issues and their role in implementation of California's Greenhouse Gas Law, general environmental issues and banning foamed polystyrene takeout food packaging.[5] Californians Against Waste also campaign to reduce the source of marine debris.[6]