RESOLUTION -- WHEREAS, any official position of the City of Los Angeles with respect to legislation, rules, regulations, or policies proposed to or pending before a local, state, or federal government body or agency must have first been adopted in the form of a Resolution by the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the world is facing a plastic pollution crisis, with new scientific research estimating that plastic production is on track to double by 2030; and
WHEREAS, microplastics in particular are posing a tremendous danger to the marine environment and they have been found to be broadly present in the food chain and in human bodies around the world; and
WHEREAS, when clothes containing synthetic fibers are washed they shed plastic microfibers, one of the most prevalent types of microplastics, that either end up in freshwater systems or the ocean to be found later in tap and bottled water, and even food products; and
WHEREAS, even when microfibers are captured by wastewater treatment plants, they can be reintroduced to the natural environment through the spread of sewage sludge as fertilizer, ultimately compromising agricultural fields and food production; and
WHEREAS, AB 1628 (McKinnor), currently pending before the State Assembly, would require all new washing machines sold for residential, commercial, and state use in California on and after January 1, 2029, to contain a microfiber filtration system in order to mitigate the effects of microplastics in the environment;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that by the adoption of this Resolution, the City of Los Angeles hereby includes in its 2023-2024 State Legislative Program support of AB 1628 (McKinnor), which would require all new washing machines sold for residential, commercial, and state use in California to contain a microfiber filtration system in order to mitigate the effects of microplastics in the environment.