In 2008, 76% of Santa Cruz city voters approved Measure E, the stormwater parcel tax, and its annual revenue was put to work reducing pollution that flows to our rivers, beaches and ultimately, the ocean. To date these funds have successfully reduced pollution to our waterways.

On Nov. 5, city voters can support Measure Z to add a two cents per ounce tax on distributors of sugar-sweetened beverages in the city starting May 1, 2025, adding about $1.3 million to the general fund each year. A community oversight panel would make recommendations for its use, and one is compelling — funding the cleanup of coastal pollution to which the plastic packaging for those drinks contribute.

Think about it. California communities spend about $428 million annually to control and clean plastic pollution, and Coke and Pepsi are the first and second largest plastic bottle polluters in the world, which in turn, is responsible for roughly a quarter of marine pollution. Coca-Cola produces 120 billion throwaway plastic bottles a year, or 200,000 every minute. In 2023, the company was accused of misleading consumers by claiming their plastic water bottles were “100% recycled” when they, in fact, are not.

This year, 1,297 Save Our Shores volunteers in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties collected 5,558 pounds of debris, or 4,860 pounds of trash and 699 pounds of recycling. A lot of it consisted of plastic bottles. Coastal cleanups are one way that pollution is intercepted before it gets to the ocean and threatens wildlife and their habitats.

A lot more intervention, and prevention, is needed. Once it’s used, plastic is rarely recycled. While much of it winds up in landfills, roughly 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year. Once there, sun, wind and currents break it into smaller pieces that are ingested by marine life; its synthetic components remain in their tissue and move along the food web. And there’s more to come. Over the 10 years between 2000 and 2010, more plastic was produced worldwide than all that had been produced up to the year 2000.

Fish in the North Pacific ingest 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic each year, which can cause intestinal injury and death. Sea turtles can mistake floating plastic garbage for food, and it’s estimated that half of sea turtles worldwide have ingested plastic. An estimated 60% of all seabird species have eaten plastic, which is predicted to increase to 99% by 2050. Another problem is the fact that entanglement in plastic debris leads to injury and mortality in the endangered Steller sea lion, with packing bands being the most common entangling material.

Because plastic bottles used for sugar sweetened beverages are part of the problem, Measure Z would provide a logical revenue source to invest in health initiatives, including a way to tackle plastic pollution in the city along with funds from Measure E, private monies, and volunteer labor organized by area nonprofits.

As long as the plastic pollution problem grows, then local governments will have a model to follow if Measure Z passes in the city of Santa Cruz. And we can rest assured that the problem will grow, the fossil fuel industry plans to increase plastic production by 40% over the next decade.

The environmental impacts of sugar sweetened beverages are significant. One of those, local plastic pollution, is something we can directly influence. With that in mind, please vote Yes on Measure Z in the city of Santa Cruz.

Donna Meyers is former Mayor of Santa Cruz and works on marine conservation globally. Dan Haifley is a former director of Save Our Shores and O’Neill Sea Odyssey. Special thanks to Christina Edstrom, MA from Boulder County, Colorado, Public Health and University of California Research Consortium on Beverages and Health.