As cities around the United States grapple with waterways choked by plastic, leaders in Northern California are taking aggressive action to keep garbage out of San Francisco Bay — by pressuring the state to clean up the roads. The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board last week issued a cease-and-desist order against the California Department of Transportation, setting specific guidelines for the agency to clear trash from city roadways — or face thousands in daily fines.
David Lewis, executive director of Save The Bay, told UPI much of the road garbage gets swept into storm drains and ultimately ends up in the bay in dangerous amounts.