Dear John,

Fall has arrived in the northern hemisphere, and as the leaves change and the weather cools in many parts of the world, others are experiencing extreme weather including record heat, deadly hurricanes, droughts, and flooding due to the impacts of climate change. But fall is also a time of reflection, response, hope, and commitment—feelings that permeated New York recently when world leaders, scientists, activists, artists, organizations, businesses, and youth leaders gathered for Climate Week to inspire and take action to solve the climate crisis.

We’ll have more details to share about our time at Climate Week NYC in the near future, but for now we’ll say Plastic Pollution Coalition is honored to include and celebrate many important engaged voices in our friends, scientific advisors, notables, member organizations and businesses, and youth ambassadors, including PPC Youth Ambassador Xiye Bastida and inspirational climate activist Vanessa Nakate pictured above at the Global Citizen Festival 2022. We support and encourage all of the collective new and ongoing efforts to solve the global plastic pollution crisis and its connection to climate change.

Inspiring members of the faith-based environmental justice organization RISE St. James and RISE founder Sharon Lavigne have been working to stop a plastics mega-complex from being constructed in St. James Parish, Louisiana. Earlier this month, Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court reversed the state’s previous decision to issue the company, Formosa, the air pollution permits needed to proceed with construction and ultimately operation. Without the permits, Formosa must leave St. James Parish, or attempt to start the process of building a plastics factory in St. James from square one. Read more here.

We are seeing a major shift as companies find ways to create new products that look and function like plastic, but are made from renewable and regenerative materials like seaweed and mushroom mycelium, rather than toxic petroleum and plasticizing chemicals. Recently we sat down with three of them—Ecovative, LOLIWARE, and Sway—to learn how these revolutionary new products are helping to replace single-use plastics. Watch here.

In the spirit of generosity, the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation is offering to match donations made to Plastic Pollution Coalition by October 15 (up to a total of $2,500). Don’t miss this chance to double your impact and help us create a world free of plastic pollution and its toxic impacts.

Onward together,

Dianna Cohen
Co-Founder & CEO
Plastic Pollution Coalition

★ Plastic “Tox” Episode 3: Flip the Script on Plastics: Zero Waste Production with Fishtown Films
Our third episode of Plastic “Tox” features Austin Elston and Emily Gallagher of Fishtown Films—the first zero waste production company. During the entire production of their feature film “Citywide”, they only generated a total of 16 oz of waste. Plastic Pollution Coalition’s Amelia Hanson sat down with Austin and Emily, who shared their inspirational story of transforming their personal lives and their sets into low-waste environments. Listen here.

★ PPC Youth Ambassadors Named as Climate Leaders & Award Winners
PPC Youth Ambassadors Jerome Foster II and Sophia Kianni, as well as other PPC friends and partners were named in Business Insider’s Climate Action 30, which names 30 of the top global leaders working toward climate solutions.
PPC Youth Ambassadors Jack Dalton and Karina Samuel are both recipients of the 2022 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. The Barron Prize annually honors 25 outstanding young leaders who have made a significant positive impact on people, their communities, and the environment. Fifteen top winners each receive $10,000 to support their service work or higher education. Jack Dalton also received the Zoo New England Young Conservationist Award, which recognizes one youth leader doing outstanding work to protect animals. As part of the award, Jack had the opportunity to speak at the Zootopia fundraiser event in front of over 500 people about his work. Watch his speech here. Congratulations to all of you!

★ 5 Inspiring Leaders to Watch for During Climate Week NYC 2022
Climate Week (September 19–25), known as the “biggest climate event on Earth” saw activists, scientists, and youth leaders from around the world come together in New York City to collaborate, discuss, and drive action towards solutions to the global climate crisis. Given that 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels and that the industry is a key driver of the climate crisis, many of the leaders featured at Climate Week were PPC Youth Ambassadors, Advisors, members, and friends. Find out who they are and about their activism here.

★ "David Has Toppled Goliath”: Court Cancels Air Permits to Formosa Plastics
This month, Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court reversed the state’s previous decision to issue Formosa Plastics the air pollution permits needed to proceed with construction and ultimately operation. With the permits, Formosa’s plastics factory would have tripled cancer-causing air pollution in the region, spewing out more than 800 tons of toxic air pollution annually. Now Formosa must leave St. James Parish, or attempt to start the process of building a plastics factory in St. James from square one, which is unlikely due to the steep price. Read more here.

★ Community Opposes PureCycle Plastic Waste Facility in East Winter Garden, Florida, with Support from 50 NGOs
The community of East Winter Garden, Florida, along with 50 environmental NGOs from across the U.S. sent a letter to the CEO of PureCycle Technologies, Inc., Dustin Olsen requesting that PureCycle abandon its plans for a plastic waste sorting facility there. Like many other communities of color, East Winter Garden is at greater risk of being targeted by industries for the construction of polluting facilities, infrastructure, and activities. As a consequence, people living in communities that face environmental injustice are at higher risk of developing serious, sometimes fatal health problems like asthma and cancer. Read more here.

★ Will Mushrooms and Seaweed Help Replace Single-Use Plastic?
On August 25, we sat down with three companies providing innovative technologies to replace single-use plastics with renewable, compostable, and eco-friendly alternatives—Ecovative, LOLIWARE, and Sway. Unlike so-called “bio-based plastics,” seaweed and mushroom materials do not require harmful plasticizing chemicals to work, and are truly zero waste and regenerative alternatives. Panelists included Julia Marsh, Co-Founder and CEO of Sway, Meghan Olson, Director of Mushroom® Packaging at Ecovative, and Dr. Victoria Piunova, Chief Technology Officer at LOLIWARE. The panel was moderated by Julia Cohen, Managing Director of Plastic Pollution Coalition. Watch here.

★ PPC Webinar: Crafting Hollywood Storylines That Flip the Script on Plastics
On September 14 we hosted a conversation led by Kate Folb, Director of Hollywood, Health & Society, to discuss tips and tools to help scriptwriters seamlessly craft plastic-free and plastic-aware worlds. The webinar featured Fishtown Films’ Emily Gallagher & Austin Elston, as well as Scott Z. Burns, one of the producers of An Inconvenient Truth, and the screenwriter behind Contagion and AppleTV+’s upcoming Extrapolations. The conversation centered around opportunities and challenges of going plastic free from the start—in the script. Watch here.

★ Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis
This month marks the paperback publication of PPC Communications Manager Erica Cirino’s recent award-winning book Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis. Use discount code PPC25 to get 25% off when ordering through publisher Island Press.

★ Citywide Film
Fishtown films is offering a special promotion for their film, “Citywide,” which premieres on Vimeo December 5th, for 50% off with presale promo code plasticpollutes. The code is good until December 6th. Pre-order here.

★ Life Recipe Magazine: New Issue Features PPC & Delicious Fall Recipes
Life Recipe Magazine: New Issue Features PPC & Delicious Fall Recipes
Plastic Pollution Coalition is featured in the Fall issue of Life Recipe Magazine. It’s a new, free international digital magazine for foodies who care about culture and clean living. Check out some of their great fall recipes here.

★ A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies
Check out the new book A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies, which will be released on October 27 (the same day as our webinar featuring the author). Use discount code PPC for 30% off from Island Press.

★ Tell Amazon: Stop polluting our planet with plastic packaging!
A report by Oceana reveals that Amazon generated an estimated 599 million pounds of plastic packaging waste in 2020, with up to 23.5 million pounds of this plastic waste entering the world’s waterways and seas. Find out more and sign our petition to tell Amazon to stop polluting our planet with plastic packaging.

★ Urge Trader Joe's to Drop Single-Use Plastic
Join PPC and Beyond Plastics and tell Trader Joe's to start offering plastic-free produce, bulk products, and alternative packaging. Individuals have little control over the plastic that producers like Trader Joe's put onto the market—and less than 6% of plastic is recycled in the United States. Sign on here.

★ Support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act
The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act builds on successful statewide laws across the U.S. and outlines practical plastic reduction strategies to realize a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable future. Sign on to support meaningful legislation to address the plastic pollution crisis.

➤ Find more Petitions on our website.

 ★ Invest in Zero–Waste Businesses—Pangea Organics & Pooch Paper!
Thanks to regulation changes in the “Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act,” new businesses can now raise up to $5 million from unaccredited investors in their first 12 months. This has opened the doors for private investors to invest in the brands they love—especially new zero waste brands challenging the status quo! We’re highlighting two exciting zero waste companies you can invest in today:

• Pangea Organics is a beauty brand committed to creating a better world by only creating products with powerful, plant-based bioactive ingredients in plastic-free packaging. Invest today!
• Pooch Paper is a non-chlorine bleached paper alternative to single-use plastic dog waste bags. Their sheets are 100% biodegradable, 100% compostable, and are manufactured using renewable energy. Invest today!

★ 2022 Jack Johnson Match Opportunity
Donations will be doubled now through October 15! We are excited to share that the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation is offering to match donations to Plastic Pollution Coalition (up to a total of $2,500). Donate here.

★ October Webinar – A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies
Microplastics are everywhere. They’re in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. They’re small enough to enter our cells, and they can mimic our hormones. Join us on October 27 for a conversation with Matt Simon, author of the new book, A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies, as we discuss the harmful impact microplastics have on our environment and our bodies. Joining Matt will be Dr. Deonie Allen & Dr. Steve Allen of Plastic Pollution News. You can use discount code PPC for 30% off the book when you order from Island Press. Sign up for webinar.

➤ Find more Upcoming Events on our website & submit an event.