Community-Led Initiatives: Making Strides in Plastic Waste Reduction

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It’s no secret that plastic waste in our environment, especially in our seas and oceans, is a deepening problem worldwide. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (ICUN), 80% of plastic waste debris ends up in water, and it takes hundreds of years for that plastic to decompose. Cheap and disposable single-use plastics, such as drink bottles, plastic bags, and packaging, are often dumped at sea or carried to the ocean from other cities and bodies of water.

Although significant advances have made the public aware of the harms of plastic usage, turning awareness into behavioral change and action is still challenging. Through proper delivery of information, motivation, and opportunity, you can make a difference in your community’s environmental health by leading the way with exciting initiatives that make going green easy and rewarding for everyone.

The Power of Community Engagement

Community-led initiatives for the environment are actions groups of people take to improve their surrounding conditions. This engagement is essential to making actual differences in plastic waste reduction everywhere. The active involvement of civilian groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and local businesses working together is beneficial because the parties involved keenly understand localized environmental problems.

Community engagement for environmental change should focus on grassroots or bottom-up movements that involve an organized effort by people in a specific area. Because grassroots campaigns are more spontaneous and involve the people the environment directly affects, they are typically a more successful approach to engaging the community.

Zero-Waste Campaigns

One type of engagement your community can focus on is a zero-waste campaign, which goes beyond the “reduce, reuse, recycle” approach. Zero-waste campaigns go beyond just ending excess waste; they also emphasize the need for society to fundamentally change the process of unsustainable production and consumption practices for all materials and products. 

Some recently successful zero-waste campaigns for plastic waste reduction include:

• The Netherlands began the Ocean Cleanup in 2013 and has successfully removed millions of kilograms of plastic from rivers and oceans.
• Strong citizen advocacy in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has led to a highly effective municipal recycling program. With the assistance of Eureka Recycling, local citizens have emphasized recycling with a zero-waste goal as critical to the environment.
• California passed the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act in 2022, which cuts plastic packaging by 25% in the next decade. It places responsibility on the plastic industry to use sustainable packaging to protect beaches and oceans and eliminate the plastic pandemic.

If you are interested in starting a zero-waste plastic campaign in your community, there are a few steps to take to begin the process. First, consider hosting a zero-waste workshop through your local library or town hall. 

Contact local businesses that may use plastics or are invested in sustainability to partner with you. Some businesses use Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to create sustainable practices within their company. Connect with those companies in your town and encourage them to adopt policies that reduce or eliminate plastic waste.

Host or join a neighborhood plastic cleanup and invite friends, family, and community members to pitch in. Every little bit counts, and the more people you can involve from your community, the better the chances to make strides against plastic waste in your town.

Community Recycling Efforts

Although climate change is a global problem, the role of plastic waste is something you can achieve on a local level. Empowering community members to lead and participate in making their environment healthier and safer through recycling efforts allows each citizen to take an essential role. Here are some ways to promote community recycling efforts:

• Educate people about plastics, specifically which plastics, especially plastic bags, can and cannot be recycled. Use social media or email campaigns, start a blog, or contact local television stations to let residents know the do’s and don’ts behind plastic and recycling.
• Join grassroots social media groups to discover what plastic waste recycling and reduction efforts are happening near you. In turn, you can ask those groups to spread the word about your community efforts to get more people involved.
• Create a targeted residential campaign for your area. All communities are different and face unique challenges with plastic waste. Determine what recycling challenges your community faces. Work with local groups and businesses to create a targeted campaign to identify and resolve these issues.

Use these suggestions to educate, encourage, and inspire your community members to become part of a worldwide effort to recycle plastics, moving toward efficiently creating a zero-waste area. 

Education Outreach: Inspiring and Informing

The value of sustainability education on plastic pollution cannot be overstated. Nature-based ecological education in elementary and primary school curricula is a promising start to educating young people about the dangers of plastic waste. Programs like Plastic Free Schools work with schools and universities to reduce plastic pollution by replacing plastic straws, shopping bags, and bottles. 

Environmental education also originates with eco-friendly tips and consumption behavior guidance for the public. Many don’t understand their recycling programs or how to recycle better at home. Educating them about reducing and replacing disposable products is one fast, effective way to address plastic pollution at the usage stage. 

The same can be said for companies who are considering a switch in product packaging. Many organizations and corporations can learn how sustainable packaging strategies benefit their brand and bottom line. Sustainable educational outreach within community businesses allows these companies to stand out as environmental and delivery packaging leaders, building brand loyalty with consumers and helping their immediate area through recycling and recyclable packaging methods.  

However, environmental education focusing on the individual’s role in the disposal, collection, and recycling of plastics is often more effective in reducing microplastic pollution. Combining plastic pre-consumption and post-consumption strategies leads to more than a 50% reduction in plastic pollution by individuals.

How You Can Get Involved

Community-based plastic waste management starts at home. You can positively impact your environment by doing your part to reduce and eliminate plastics. 

Don’t purchase plastic bottles, invest in cloth-produced bags, and avoid produce wrapped in plastic and single-use plastics such as cutlery, plates, and straws. Replace plastic wrap with bees wrap and choose bar soaps over plastic shampoo and soap bottles. 

With just these few changes to your daily life, you can start a community-wide movement to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastics in your environment and make a real difference.