4 Challenges To Reduce Plastic Pollution

The TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch forum, designed to elevate plastic pollution to the forefront of global social, environmental and political discourse, concluded Monday with four specific challenges to businesses, policy makers and individuals to refuse disposable plastics.

The forum was attended by leaders in ocean conservation, health and environmental issues, including Sylvia Earle, Van Jones, Jeanne Rizzo and Fabien Cousteau, and notable supporters including Norman Lear and Ed Begley Jr.

“The window of opportunity is now,” said Daniella Russo, executive director of the Plastic Pollution Coalition. “We need to make these changes together. We promise to work with individuals, businesses, and government policymakers to ensure we stop the devastating, toxic plastic pollution of our oceans, our environment and our bodies.”

The challenges were issued to the 150 leaders, artists, activists and scientists that gathered together for the event, and were aimed at individuals and businesses; the manufacturers of virgin resin product, plastic packaging and plastic products; policymakers and political leaders around the globe, and plastic manufacturers from the Ocean Nations, respectively.

Are you up to the challenge?

Challenge #1: REFUSE disposable plastics.

Challenge #2: Take responsibility for your products, develop alternatives, and voluntarily cap non-biodegradable virgin resin product.

Challenge #3: Develop policies that curb the irresponsible use of plastic.

Challenge #4: Come together and form a union against the onslaught of plastic to your environment, economic well-being and public health.

The four challenges will become the core goals of the Plastic Pollution Coalition’s 2011 international campaign to end plastic pollution. Several prominent actors and musicians have begun improvising their own creative REFUSE disposable plastic videos and posted them on Plastic Pollution Coalition’s website and YouTube channel in support of the campaign.

Take Action: Prevent Plastic Pollution

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Geela G.

10:13AM PDT on Sep 5, 2012

Wow, that's an old article (from 2010). Is there a follow-up?

September 5
send a green star

Aleksandra K.

11:02AM PDT on Sep 4, 2012

Thank you for this wonderful article.

September 4
send a green star

Dave C.

6:06PM PDT on Jul 10, 2012

agree! great challenge, will accept it and try to avoid bad things!

July 10
send a green star

Winn A.

6:07PM PDT on Jul 4, 2012

Thank you for the article...

July 4
send a green star

María D.

3:39PM PDT on Jul 4, 2012

Cool, this got a fun memorie, a while ago went to the supermarket in a not planned shooping trip, so didn't have my reusable bags, at the cashier asked the kid there to put the groceries in a card box, so I could recicled it later or use it in some way, he did it and helped me to place the box on the trunk, when I arrived home sudenly realized I lived in a 5th level without elevator and was not able to carry the heavy box with me, so feeling so brave I started to climb and at the first story went totally exhausted, so had to left the box and made around 7 trips up and down to be able to carry all up, even the dog stop following me up and down at the second trip, so I sware never will forget my bags again.

Terry V.

6:19AM PDT on Jul 4, 2012

thanks

Brigit S.

2:00AM PDT on Apr 22, 2012

I'm surprise no one hath considered one thing--when one does receive a disposable plastic bag, reuse it--literally reuse it until you *have* to toss it. I reuse my plastic bags--when I get them (some stores even in Portland, like in the smaller shopses, only have plastic--they are rarer now, but on my near-by boulevard, Hawthorne boulevard, there are one or a few shops that only have plastic. The grocery stores, however, have to give paper (which can *also* be reused a *great* deal and even used for art--instead of plastic, and of course they reward their customers in some places for using a cloth bag for reusing for groceries.

April 22
send a green star

Camila K.

8:27PM PDT on Apr 1, 2011

we are addicted to plastic

April 1
send a green star

Shannon H.

6:18PM PDT on Mar 26, 2011

I work in a supermarket where we encourage the use of reusable bags instead of plastic. This I am all for. However, I discovered through conversation with one of my customers(he had read an article in a national newspaper), that we make a larger carbon footprint trying to make reusable bags than we do recycling plastic ones.
Something to think about......

March 26
send a green star

6:15PM PDT on Mar 26, 2011

I work in a supermarket where we encourage the use of reusable bags instead of plastic. This I am all for. However, I discovered through conversation with one of my customers(he had read an article in a national newspaper), that we make a larger carbon footprint trying to make recyclable bags than we do recycling plastic ones.
Something to think about......