If you are reading this, chances are you already believe that plastic is negatively impacting our oceans and environment. You probably are already rethinking how you use plastic – choosing to refuse it when you can, and utilizing reusable bags and water bottles more often than others.
What do we do when someone tells us something we believed to be true is false?
That’s where we find ourselves now with our relationship with plastic. Plastic is great because we thought it made our lives easier, affordable, healthier…. and it just disappeared. Unfortunately, our plastic waste does not disappear. It doesn’t return to the earth in a neutral form – it only continues to pollute our water sources and soil like a disease.
Packaging is the single biggest application of plastic globally and impacts our lives on a daily basis. Over the past half century, we have moved from reusable solutions to disposable, single-use items. Meanwhile, the recycling system hasn’t kept pace: today less than 10% of all plastic produced is recycled leaving the rest to either end up in landfill or our oceans.
What an amazing week we just had for our efforts at the Plastic Oceans Foundation – both north and south of the equator.
While our US Chairman, William Pfeiffer, was representing us in Davos, I was joined in Chile by Chief Evangelist, Craig Leeson, and our Director of Partnerships, Brigette Allen. Hosting and coordinating our journey was Mark Minneboo, Executive Director of Plastic Oceans Chile.
With news of China’s decision to halt recycling global plastic which will boost in the production of new plastic to the tune of $185 billion dollars to plastic lobbyists…. it can seem like a losing battle for plastic pollution conscious individuals/organizations.
However, against these overwhelming odds, a significant strategic approach is developing which abandons individual agendas in favor of a collective approach to Rethink Plastic.
We were honored to have been invited to present a panel discussion and screening of A Plastic Ocean, at Harvard University, Monday evening, November 13.
We are very pleased to announce that our creative agency, Crowd, has taken home a very prestigious award for their branding and marketing work on behalf of the Foundation.
They have been recognized for excellence in the annual American Graphic Design Awards, which are organized by Graphic Design USA, the leading publication in the US for creative designers. The win comes in the category of Branding + Identity Programs, for their work in updating the Foundation’s brand, as well as branding and marketing for our award-winning documentary A Plastic Ocean.
Join other students around the world who are rethinking plastic and creating solutions!
Students around the world are learning about our social problems and creatively developing solutions. Plastic Oceans Foundation wants to foster this global movement to solve plastic pollution.
From the Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountains, Plastic Oceans Foundation (POF) was recognized in the past week for increasing awareness of the dangerous impact of plastic pollution on the world’s bodies of water. At a gala event on California’s Santa Monica Pier and at an issues-oriented film festival in Colorado, we engaged in important conversations needed to change the habits of individuals and to create new policies of corporations and governments.