On-Land Visual Trash Assessments (OVTAs)

Background on OVTAs

In the early 2010s, EOA, Inc. developed OVTA protocols to measure trash generation in cities hydrologically connected to San Francisco Bay.  OVTA results helped inform major municipal decisions and policies to reduce trash loading into local waterways – including local single-use plastic bag ban ordinances and trash capture device installation projects.  Today, OVTAs are utilized beyond the Bay Area, helping municipalities across the State of California to reduce the impact of trash on l ocal creeks and the Pacific Ocean.

Over 20 creeks and rivers flowing to the San Francisco Bay estuary were impaired by trash in the early 2010s.  In response, the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board required municipalities to reduce trash loading into waterways over the coming years.  Trash reduction goals increased over time, with a mandatory 100% reduction in trash loading by 2022.  However, cities, towns, and counties needed a standardized way to measure progress towards the trash reduction goals.

Environmental consulting firm EOA, Inc. developed On-Land Visual Trash Assessment (OVTA) protocols as a standardized, effective way to measure trash levels in cities across the San Francisco Bay Area.  Protocols involve noting the amounts as well as the types of trash observed at sites over time.  Findings can be compared to an established baseline to demonstrate how far a municipality has reduced trash levels.

OVTA Successes Today

Municipalities across the San Francisco Bay Area have demonstrated that OVTAs are an effective method to measure progress toward trash reduction goals.  Tracking the amounts and types of urban trash generation has helped inform major trash source control policies and operations – including local single-use plastic bag bans ordinances and trash capture device installation projects. 
Today, On-Land Visual Trash Assessments have gained recognition beyond the Bay Area as a valuable tool for quantifying trash load reductions for municipalities.  EOA, Inc. conducts OVTAs across California, monitoring on-land trash levels that may pose a threat to other waterbodies. 

Data is continuously added to the OVTA Data Portal.  When cities track and explore their data, they may be able to make better-informed management decisions to protect local waterways, no matter the region.