Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO)

The Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO) and the Dept. of Environmental Science and Disaster Management (ESDM), Daffodil International University have jointly organized an awareness Campaign on “Single Use Plastic Pollution in Bangladesh” on January 2019. The event was to raise awareness among youth and students against detrimental impact of single use plastics (SUPs) to public health and environment.

There is a threat on the Philippines’ nationwide ban against incinerators or burning of wastes as some Filipino legislators moves to repeal key provisions of the country’s Clean Air Act. #breakreefrommovement member orgs in the Philippines led by Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific, Ecowaste Coalition Philippines, Mother Earth Foundation Philippines and Healthcare Without Harm Asia launched an alliance together with other groups to show a united front against incinerators and waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities. 

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Healthcare Without Harm Asia

Healthcare Without Harm Asia recently tackled the results of the first-ever Waste and Brand Audit conducted in various hospitals in the Philippines and Indonesia. Its “Plastics in Healthcare Report” discusses how the health care sector can lead the change towards sustainable management of medical waste to protect public and planetary health.

Indonesia Diet Kantong Plastik first campaigned for the #payforplastic campaign in 2013 to encourage retailers not to provide free plastic bags. In 2015, the petition then developed gained support fromt he President and the Head of Regions to create a plastic bag diet rule in retail shops. This petition to date has reached 70,000 more support, both online and offline. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry eventually imposed a paid plastic bag policy.

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Ecological Observation and Wetlands Conservation (ECOTON)

ECOTON has been waging a battle against soiled diaper pollution in the Brantas River Basin in Surabaya, Indonesia. ECOTON’s research indicates that UNICHARM Indonesia is responsible for managing product waste and educating consumers on proper diaper disposal. The factory produces more than 9 million pieces of plastic diapers a day while the total number of used diapers dumped into the Brantas River is 3 million pieces per day.

Greeners Action of Hong Kong led the campaign on “Umbrella Bags Reduction Certification Program”. It is an initiative that encourages shopping malls to reduce the use of one off umbrella plastic bags during rainy season. So far, shopping malls have implemented measures like installing umbrella dryers, setting up umbrella racks and umbrella plastic bag recycle and reusable bin!

Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group

In partnership with the High Commission of Canada, Chintan has launched #PlasticUpvaas: Give-up Single Use Plastics campaign. The campaign aims to encourage people to become actors in global fight against plastic pollution by practicing long standing Indian tradition of fasting known as Upvaas. #PlasticUpvaas was held on December 12, 2018 when participants were asked to live a day without single use plastics.

Citizen consumer and Civic Action Group

The Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG) collaborated with The Chennai Times for a statewide campaign against single-use plastics. The campaign, #PlasticGottaGo, help the public in identifying alternatives in order for them to adopt a lifestyle where single-use plastic is considered redundant and extinct.

Green Army International  

Green Congress, an annual environmental congress of children from the schools in and around Thiruvananthapuram City, is being spearheaded by Green Army International and Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation to showcase the initiatives, innovation and creativity of school children on environment and climate. In 2018, it featured a #breakfreefromplastic poster making contest as one of its highlights.

Consumers Association of Penang

The Consumers Association of Penang launched a book titled “Moving Towards Zero Waste: Community Actions in Penang” which showcases community-led solutions to the waste problem. Many of the Zero Waste actions and champions highlighted in this book are initiatives taken in Seberang Perai since many years ago. Currently, it is part of the Zero Waste Cities Project coordinated by GAIA Asia Pacific.

Until recently, countries in the Global North dealt with their plastic waste problem by shipping significant portions of it to China. But in January of this year China began a new ban on plastic scrap import, shaking local recycling systems worldwide. For far too long China has had to deal with other country’s plastic pollution, and its recent ban has sent the world a message: enough is enough. What’s the solution? We simply need to #breakfreefromplastic. The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives(GAIA) along our partners in Asia- Pacific and Europe came together in this uncertain time to release the short report, Recycling is Not Enough. We cannot continue with “business as usual,” where companies continue to make staggering amounts of plastic and wealthy nations export their pollution to other countries. Instead, GAIA members have a bold vision for the future where production is greatly reduced, and corporations are held accountable for the plastic pollution they create.

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The Failing Incinerators Project is aimed at supporting grassroots communities organizing to shutdown polluting, aging incinerators and develop viable alternatives that benefit public health and the environment. Across the United states, all but one of the 77 waste incinerators are reaching the end of their lifespans, and have plagued communities for decades with harmful air emissions, accidents, other health and safety-related concerns. Through targeted financial, research, communications, technical and coordinative support GAIA is aiding local community groups, in cities such as Baltimore, Detroit, and Long Beach, in fighting their polluting incinerator infrastructure, and strengthening a national case to end incineration and invest in zero waste systems. The project is exposing the dangers of pollution from waste burning and highlighting zero waste as an alternative at a regional and national level. Trash-burning is a thing of the past– the future is #breakfreefromplastic!

Coming Soon …

It is time to break our addiction to disposables. The key to success in bringing reusables back to dining is to make it convenient for consumers. That is why UPSTREAM is working to design a community-wide reusable cup and container program. UPSTREAM is working to demonstrate these programs in conjuction with needed policy changes in communites around the San Francisco Bay.

Trash-Free Dining

The Ecology Center convened a group of waste experts to craft model legislation – the Disposable-Free Dining Ordinance – that the Berkeley City Council is now considering. We are also piloting a reuse take-out program in the Telegraph Business District in early 2019, and piloting a GPS tracker project that is tracking the movement of Bay Area plastics baled for recycling. 

Greenpeace is demanding that corporations and retailers take responsibility for the plastic pollution crisis they helped create and phase out destructive single-use plastics and packaging. Almost 2 million people worldwide have signed Greenpeace petitions to retailers and CEOs of seven of the largest producers of single-use plastics (Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, McDonald’s) telling them to reduce their single-use plastic production.

In addition, Greenpeace supporters are taking action to create a “Million Acts of Blue” — actions to push retailers, corporations and businesses to reduce single-use plastic. The Million Acts of Blue toolkit has been translated into five languages so far and includes the Break Free From Plastic brand audit as one of seven actions people can take to send a message to the industry that it’s time to change—we can no longer allow products that are used for a few seconds to pollute our planet for a lifetime.

Greenpeace is also asking supporters to call out companies on social media by tagging the brands responsible for plastic pollution by posting photos of (1) branded plastic waste found in nature (tag the brand and using the hashtag #IsThisYours) and (2) excess plastic packaging at retailers (tag the brand and use the hashtags #PointlessPlastic, #RidiculousPackaging, and/or #BreakFreeFromPlastic).

The purpose of the campaign is to provide opportunities for communities to learn about the impacts that plastic straws are having on the environment and to take action to reduce and ultimately eliminate their use. The difference between this straw campaign and others is that it is tailored to each participating city, county, or state. Each location receives customized campaign materials, and the original Boulder Committee provides leadership for all other committees and campaign activities regionally and nationally. Committees approach local establishments and encourage them to sign the Suck the Straws Out Pledge.

In 2019 The Story of Stuff Project will release its first feature-length documentary, “The Story of Plastic.” The film will tell the story of the industry plot to trash the planet for profit, and the global movement rising up to stop it. We’re busting Big Plastic’s myths and drawing back the curtain on the true cost of plastic pollution at every stage, from production to disposal. Featuring interviews with frontline heroes from Texas to Tagaytay, we’re setting out to reveal a system that is poisoning communities around the globe – and the vibrant movement working to build a world free from plastic pollution.

Here’s where you can find out more. https://www.storyofplastic.org/

Plastic bottles are one of the most common types of plastic pollution on earth, choking our oceans and ecosystems, fueling climate change, and contributing to a human health crisis.

There’s a simple solution – a small, returnable, deposit on bottles, that has empowered states like Michigan and Portland to virtually eliminate littered bottles and lower emissions, and pressure on landfill sites along the way.

So why isn’t this no-brainer everywhere? Container deposits have been ferociously attacked by the beverage industry. The major companies talk up recycling but kill the best way to achieve it. It’s time to call them out: Tell Coke, Pepsi, and Nestle to back container deposits!

A dozen Texas cities passed local ordinances on single-use bag pollution. Laredo’s ordinance was challenged in state courts by the Laredo Merchant’s Association. The case has gone all the way up to the Texas Supreme Court. It’s the first state supreme court in the U.S. to take up the legality of these ordinances. After the oral arguments on January 11, the Court can rule at all time

Surfrider’s Ocean Friendly Restaurants program works with the restaurant community to recognize and promote ocean-friendly practices for the protection of our ocean, coasts and planet. One restaurant, one customer at a time, increases awareness, drives change in behavior and ultimately creates scalable impact to reduce our plastic and water footprint. Support Surfrider Foundation!

Surfrider’s Rise Above Plastics program is designed to eliminate the impacts of plastics in the marine environment by raising awareness about the dangers of plastic pollution and by advocating for a reduction of single-use plastics and the recycling of all plastics. Support Surfrider Foundation!

In 2011, Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund launched ReThink Disposable— an award winning and results driven program that works in partnership with municipal stormwater and zero waste agencies to engage food businesses, institutions (academic and corporate campuses), and consumers to minimize disposable take-out food and beverage packaging at the source. The program creates win-win opportunities for businesses and the environment by identifying money saving practices to reduce single-use food and beverage packaging. Auditors work with participating businesses and institutions to implement ReThink Disposable’s Best Management Practices (BMPs) for source reduction. All disposable packaging targeted for reduction is tracked and measured through an audit process and program impacts, such as the number and percent of disposable packaging eliminated, waste prevention, greenhouse gas reductions, payback period and cost savings are calculated. To date, the program has engaged 125 small, locally owned and operated food businesses around the San Francisco Bay Area and five institutions in reducing disposable products usage by over 15 million items and preventing over 125 tons of waste each year.  ReThink Disposable won the 2015 Governor’s Economic and Environmental Leadership Award (CA) and the 2016 California Resource Recovery Association’s Outstanding Waste Prevention Award.  Several businesses participants have received awards and recognition from local government agencies, mayors, and city councils. ReThink Disposable will see a burst of program growth in the San Francisco Bay Area in the coming 2018-2020 years with funding in place for 200 new certified food businesses and institutions. We are expanding into Southern California and Clean Water Action offices in New Jersey and Rhode Island. To learn more about the program, please visit www.rethinkdisposable.org. Support Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund!

 TrashBlitz evaluates plastic pollution throughout the watershed and near-shore environments focusing on data collected by citizen scientists. The first TrashBlitz will launch in Los Angeles in 2019. Results from the project will help create a toolkit for other cities to follow. The toolkit will help cities and its public citizens make more informed and targeted policy decisions to stop the flow of plastic pollution from source to sea. Modeled after the successful “BioBlitz” program that measures biodiversity, TrashBlitz measures the amount and type of plastic pollution in several environmental compartments in a particular region in order to provide a snapshot of the city’s plastic footprint to help inform a mitigation strategy.

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Lonely Whale’s For A Strawless Ocean serves as a roadmap for any individual, community or organization to spearhead a plastic straw-free movement. In the US alone an estimated 500 million single-use plastic straws are used daily and are one of the top 10 plastic items found in global beach cleanups year after year. In addition to guidelines and best practices, For A Strawless Ocean provides an open-source brand identity, campaigning guidebook, an Artificial Intelligence-powered chatbot, free customizable marketing and venue materials, staff training materials, and resources for discounts on Lonely Whale-vetted alternative straws. #BreakFreeFromPlastic and join the movement For A #StrawlessOcean!

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Plastic Free New England — While in the past the Zero Waste Project focused on opposing landfills and incinerators and promoting the adoption of Zero Waste Programs (for instance, City of Boston development of a Zero Waste Plan, keeping sewage sludge out of the processing of food scraps, spreading PAYT), this year we will also be targeting plastic pollution. We are working with legislative, non-profit, and muncipal partners in all six states to pass legislation that bans products that can’t or won’t be recycled (bags, styrofoam, straws upon request only, plastic utensils, etc.), improves plastic recycling (minimun recycled content, tethered caps, etc.), and shifts the burden off of cities, towns, and states through deposit return and extended producer responsibility systems.

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The Inland Ocean Coalition has partnered with scientists and educators from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and other NGOs in Boulder, CO, to form a working group that advances science and knowledge of microplastic issues in Colorado.

In 2017, the IOC collaborated with the Shaw Institute to produce a pilot study assessing microplastics in Colorado waters, which found evidence of microplastics in several high alpine mountain tributaries and urban reaches of Boulder Creek and the South Platte River. The working group is now looking to develop Phase II which will consist of a robust study with statistical power that uses a watershed-scale approach and incorporates citizen science.

Once Phase II is complete, Phase III will involve community engagement and education. Phase IV will include policy recommendations and action at local and national levels. Ultimately we want to know what happens to the water as it goes through our watershed, which will enable us to use the data to encourage best practices.

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