END Plastics!
Anti-plastic advocates including Mary Lou, Laura + kid from Be the Solution to Pollution and our chapter
To learn more:
Beyond Plastic
Break Free From Plastic (including BFFP Youth Movement!)
School level actions:
1. Advocate for plastic free cafeterias. The biggest barrier right now is a lack of cafeteria workers. Please post the job openings anywhere you can. Districts are struggling to find people who can work just 3.75 hours in the middle of the school day to serve food and potentially wash the trays/dishes.
2. You can also advocate for schools to allow students to help with tray washing.
3. You can email the principal of your school and anyone in Finance and Operations to express your desire that the district prioritize eliminating plastic (especially the styrofoam trays).
4. Ask your principal for Plastic Free Lunch Day. (lots of resources here)
5. Ask teachers if they're willing to help do a citizen science project like the kids in the film! (send teachers this link)
6. Ask adults in your school if they want to invite Mary Lou Nicholson from Be the Solution to Pollution to come and speak to students about single use plastic and/or do a local cleanup with students (Mary Lou Nicholson <[email protected]>). She does all her work on a volunteer basis and is passionate about eliminating single use plastic! She has spoken to students from elementary level (most recently East Fairhaven School), middle school (DMS), high school (Fairhaven High), and the university level (UMass Dartmouth)
Town level actions:
Advocate for a vote on a town-wide ban on polystyrene, a ban on straws/utensils (unless asked for) to go on a future town meeting warrant. You can also advocate for a town-wide ban on plastic nip alcohol bottles.
State level actions:
Write your state rep/state senator (find my rep) and ask them to support bills that reduce single use plastic like a statewide plastic bag ban and an update to the MA bottle bill. Also send emails to [email protected] and [email protected]
Personal testimony (and especially KID TESTIMONY) about why you want to eliminate single use plastic statewide is especially valuable!:
Single use plastic is Plan B for fossil fuel companies being forced out of dirty energy. Plastics are connected to the climate crisis, environmental justice, pollution, and much more.
On June 12, 2021 at Fort Phoenix we did a beach cleanup and brand audit with Be the Solution to Pollution and publicly called out companies that produce single use plastic. You can watch a video from that cleanup below. We subsequently co-hosted a webinar about plastics and the climate crisis with guests including Sharon Lavigne who has fought off corporations that want to further pollute her community in Louisiana (recording below). We held our second brand audit on August 8, 2021. The top offending brand from that audit was PepsiCo. We also published a blog post with Break Free from Plastic!
Our third brand audit was held on Sunday, November 7, 2021 from 1 - 3:30 p.m. on Marsh Island in Fairhaven. We collaborated with groups in Colorado and California to mail back Frito Lay chip bags on November 8 with a plea to #breakfreefromplastic !!
In 2022, we hosted a showing of PBS' Plastic Wars and had an excellent discussion about ways we can advocate for plastic free policies in our communities. Our fourth brand audit was held on the weekend of September 17/18, 2022. We collected over 30,000 alcohol nip bottle trash from all over the state. Volunteers from UMass Dartmouth, the community, and our group worked together to spell out #BREAKFREEFROMPLASTIC in ten foot letters. The top offending brands were Fireball and Smirnoff. Check out our work below!
On June 12, 2021 at Fort Phoenix we did a beach cleanup and brand audit with Be the Solution to Pollution and publicly called out companies that produce single use plastic. You can watch a video from that cleanup below. We subsequently co-hosted a webinar about plastics and the climate crisis with guests including Sharon Lavigne who has fought off corporations that want to further pollute her community in Louisiana (recording below). We held our second brand audit on August 8, 2021. The top offending brand from that audit was PepsiCo. We also published a blog post with Break Free from Plastic!
Our third brand audit was held on Sunday, November 7, 2021 from 1 - 3:30 p.m. on Marsh Island in Fairhaven. We collaborated with groups in Colorado and California to mail back Frito Lay chip bags on November 8 with a plea to #breakfreefromplastic !!
In 2022, we hosted a showing of PBS' Plastic Wars and had an excellent discussion about ways we can advocate for plastic free policies in our communities. Our fourth brand audit was held on the weekend of September 17/18, 2022. We collected over 30,000 alcohol nip bottle trash from all over the state. Volunteers from UMass Dartmouth, the community, and our group worked together to spell out #BREAKFREEFROMPLASTIC in ten foot letters. The top offending brands were Fireball and Smirnoff. Check out our work below!
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