Read, Watch, and Take Action to Stop Plastic Pollution
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AUGUST 2021

[2]

Dear John,

August was a busy month, and there’s a lot of great work happening that
we’re excited to share with you. We celebrated the 105th birthday of the
U.S. National Park Service on August 25 with A GREAT DISCUSSION [3] FOCUSED
ON HONORING NATURE BY KEEPING PLASTIC POLLUTION OUT OF IT, and on the same
day with our Coalition members and allies we LAUNCHED A PETITION TO U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR SECRETARY HAALAND [4] TO ELIMINATE THE SALE AND
USE OF SINGLE-USE PLASTICS IN U.S. NATIONAL PARKS.

In September we’ll be focusing on the CONNECTION BETWEEN PLASTICS AND
CLIMATE [5]—critical timing given the latest IPCC report and ahead of the
United Nations Climate Change Conference in early November. Our PPC Youth
Ambassadors are also planning an exciting campaign in the lead up to the
conference, so stay tuned to our social media channels for more to come on
that.

And finally, we’re so excited that the STORY OF PLASTIC DOCUMENTARY FILM
HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR AN EMMY AWARD [6]! The awards ceremony will take
place on September 29, so let’s hope for a win!

In solidarity,

Julia Cohen, MPH
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Plastic Pollution Coalition

TAKE ACTION

[4]

★ US: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PETITION
Sign the petition asking the Honorable Deb Haaland, US Secretary of the
Interior, to ban the sale and distribution of single-use plastic in US
National Parks.

★ US: BREAK FREE FROM PLASTIC POLLUTION ACT PETITION
Tell your representatives it's time to support the Break Free From Plastic
Pollution Act of 2021 for the health and future of humans, animals,
waterways, oceans, and the environment.

★ GLOBAL: REOPEN WITH REUSE
Join Plastic Pollution Coalition members and allies in calling on
restaurants, festivals, and national parks to reopen with reuse.
Foodservice businesses already require strict safety standards to make sure
reusables are sanitized, so let’s make our voices heard.

★ GLOBAL: AMAZON PETITION
Tell Amazon to stop polluting our planet with single-use plastic packaging,
and share THIS RELATED BLOG [7].

JULY/AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS

[8]

★ “Understanding Packaging” (UP) Scorecard Intro [9] (Aug. 19)
Together with an exciting group of collaborators, we introduced the
“Understanding Packaging” Scorecard [8], which could prove to be
transformative for the food service industry and entertainment venues!
Watch the recording of the event here [9], and read more about chemicals in
food packaging here [10].

★ Keeping Plastic Pollution Out of US National Parks [4] (Aug. 25)
Our August webinar [3] focused on keeping plastic pollution out of US
national parks. You can read more here [11] and sign a new petition [4]
asking Department of the Interior Secretary Haaland to eliminate the sale
and distribution of single-use plastics in U.S. national parks.

★ Blue Frontier's Rising Tide Podcast with Dianna & Julia Cohen [2] (Aug.
2)
This podcast is a discussion with sisters Dianna and Julia Cohen, PPC
co-founders. In this podcast, they discuss their lifetimes of art and
activism and talk about the challenges of plastic pollution, including
countering industry propaganda about recycling.

★ EARTH 300 IMPACT TALKS 2021 [12](July 17)
Hear PPC co-founder and CEO Dianna Cohen [13] speak about plastic pollution
as part of the Earth 300 Impact Talks 2021, the aim of which is to discuss
how to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every
continent and in oceans.

★ PLASTIC FREE PERIODS: PROTECTING OUR BODIES & PREVENTING PLASTIC
POLLUTION, BY MEG STERN [14] (July 28)
Check out this blog [14]from PPC’s recent intern, Meg Stern, about our
July webinar.

COALITION NEWS & WINS

[15]

★ BIG WIN TOWARDS JUST TRANSITION! (AUG. 25)
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has finalized the adoption of
Alternative Language Notice in the public input process for air, water, and
waste permits. Communities speaking Spanish, Vietnamese, and other
languages will now have the opportunity to understand and identify
potential hazardous projects entering each community. Although the rule has
many portions that can and must be improved, this effort led by Coalition
member FENCELINE WATCH [15] sets the stage for actual systemic change for
environmental justice communities throughout the state of Texas, home of
the largest petrochemical complex in the US. Families along the Texas
fenceline will now have the information and support to challenge oil, gas,
and petrochemical projects.

★ AB 881 [16] (GONZALEZ - CA RECYCLING EXPORTS) HAS PASSED IN THE
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE [17] and is on the way to the Governor's Desk! AB
881 reclassifies the export of mixed plastic waste from local jurisdictions
in California as disposal, while allowing truly recyclable plastic to
continue to be counted towards our recycling goals. Reach out to the
Governor's office [18] and ask that he sign the bill into law. (Aug. 23)

★ KEVIN WACHS OF EARTHLY BODY: “NOT EVERYONE IS LIKE YOU” [19] (AUG.
18)

★ VICTORY! GALVESTON BANS BALLOON RELEASES TO PROTECT WILDLIFE [20] (AUG.
13)

★ YOUTH FROM THE MOUNT MADONNA MIDDLE SCHOOL AND SHARK STEWARDS ADVISEES
RECEIVED THE PRESIDENT’S ENVIRONMENTAL YOUTH AWARD (PEYA) [21] for their
production of a play and video on ocean plastics and overfishing sharks.
(AUG. 4)

★ FIRST HOLISTIC ASSESSMENT OF PLASTIC POLLUTION IN THE SOUTHERN
CARIBBEAN [22](AUG. 3)

★ CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH [23] ADDED A NEW PLANNING GUIDE [24] TO
THE DITCHING DISPOSABLES TOOLKIT [25]. The toolkit helps schools transition
from wasteful single-use food service ware to alternatives that are
healthier for us and the planet.

★ GLOBAL PLASTIC TREATY A NON-NEGOTIABLE IN TACKLING AFRICA’S PLASTIC
CRISIS [26] (AUG. 4)

COMING UP IN SEPTEMBER

[27]

★ Plastics & Climate: How Single-Use Packaging is Fueling the Crisis [27]
(Sept. 29 Webinar)
This webinar will feature Judith Enck, President of Beyond Plastics and
former Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
under President Obama, who will discuss the nexus between plastic
production and climate change, including the immense environmental justice
impacts, and Graham Forbes, Global Plastics Project Leader at Greenpeace
[28], who will discuss how consumer goods companies’ reliance on
single-use plastic packaging is providing a lifeline for Big Oil. This
important conversation is especially relevant ahead of the UN Climate
Change Conference 2021 [29] in November, where world leaders are scheduled
to gather in Glasgow, Scotland, with the goal to accelerate action on
climate change. SIGN UP HERE. [27]

★ BEYOND PLASTIC POLLUTION VIRTUAL CLASS | FALL 2021 [30] (Starting Sept.
1)
Join Beyond Plastics Judith Enck’s seven-week online class, Beyond
Plastic Pollution, offered by Bennington College’s Center for the
Advancement of Public Action. This in-depth masterclass on all things
plastic pollution-related will be held via Zoom on Wednesday evenings from
7:00-9:00 PM ET September 1–October 13.

★ INLAND OCEAN AMBASSADORS ONLINE CERTIFICATION TRAINING [31] (Apply by
Sept. 17)
This virtual 5-week training covers the most pertinent ocean protection
topics and features top minds in ocean conservation. The sessions, held
each Thursday via Zoom from 5-7 pm MT from September 30–October 28th, are
designed as intensive learning opportunities to engage with IOC’s staff
and network. The application can be found here [32].

★ BREAK FREE FROM PLASTIC CORPORATE BRAND AUDITS [33] (through Sept. 18)
Leading up to World Cleanup Day on September 18, Break Free From Plastic
members and allies will be conducting corporate brand audits across the
globe. Break Free From Plastic has been taking “cleanups” to the next
level by documenting the identifiable brands found on the plastic pollution
collected. Find out more here [33], and check out one event from Surfers
Against Sewage here [34].

★ FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE GLOBAL CLIMATE STRIKE [35] (Sept. 24)
Find all the details here [35] and Join the Global Climate Strike on
September 24.

★ 42ND ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY NOMINATIONS [36] (SEPT. 29)
The Story of Plastic has been nominated for an Emmy in the "Outstanding
Writing: Documentary" category. Let’s hope for a win!

★ WE’RE HIRING!
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT [37]

★ CONNECT WITH US
Send us an email! [38] We would love to hear from you.

* Are you a coalition member? Please send us your updates. [39]

* Not a member yet? Click here to join. [40]
* Search the member directory [41] to find organization and business
members in your area.

YOUR DONATION MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

DONATE [42]

#PLASTICPOLLUTES

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PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION is a growing global alliance of individuals,
organizations, businesses, and policymakers working toward a world free of
plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on humans, animals, waterways,
oceans, and the environment. Plastic Pollution Coalition is a project of
Earth Island Institute, a 501(c)3, non-profit organization, organized and
existing under the laws of California (Federal Tax ID #94-2889684).

PLASTIC POLLUTION COALITION
4401A Connecticut Avenue NW #143
Washington, DC 20008
[email protected]
(323) 936-3010

SUBSCRIBE [47] | UNSUBSCRIBE [48]

Copyright © 2021 Plastic Pollution Coalition



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