Plastics Working Group
A campaign to help individuals, organizations, and communities to rethink plastic. Visit 10towns.org for more information and to join us!
Next Meeting Information and Past Meeting Notes
There was discussion about the value of knowing each other better, and inviting Plastics Working Group members (and anyone in the larger network or another working group) to complete a slide in the Network slide deck with name, skill sets, networks, and photo. Here is the link to the slide deck which has a template to fill out if anyone is willing to.
Link to Plastics Working Group Slide Deck
Next meeting: Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 6:00 pm
ZOOM LINK (TIP: Copy this link into your online calendar so you don't have to hunt for it)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6275609302?pwd=cDd0eDlqYytxa0xKek5FRVVYclJVUT09(
Past Meeting Notes - (Remember there are lots of other resources below. So have fun scrolling!)
Meeting Notes #16 - March 27, 2022 and Special Meeting Notes - Hayley Jones, Community Action Works
Meeting Notes #7 - October 31, 2021
And a link to the recording of the meeting with Vanessa Druskat (it includes the PWG meeting discussion following).
And a link to a video resource Vanessa shared with us about creating norms in an educational setting.
Focus Statement
The broad focus of the Plastics Working Group is to address the intersectionality of climate change, human health, environmental justice, waste management, and pollution aspects of plastics and the petrochemical industry.
To this end, the Plastics Working Group supports local, state and federal initiatives to:
Reduce the production and use of unnecessary single-use plastic products and packaging
Increase producer responsibility for the full life-cycle of plastics and truth in advertising
Develop and implement local policy actions and state and federal legislation to reduce plastics and the impacts of the petrochemical industry
Develop partnerships with the business, education, and municipal sectors to implement alternatives to petroleum based plastics
Enhance recycling and safe disposal of plastics
Engage in public education to raise awareness of the environmental and human health risks of plastic, the availability of plastic alternatives, and the need for source reduction strategies, increased recycling, and related waste management strategies
The Plastics Working Group also supports efforts to pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution federal legislation.
Recommended Viewing or Reading
(Note: The following resources are suggestions and not necessarily endorsed by the NH Network.)
Microplastics Madness (1:15) - comprehensive documentary produced by a class of NYC 5th graders working over 2 years with Cafeteria Culture - available free until midnight tonight. Call me soft, but I definitely teared up at the end - the students were instrumental in achieving the polystyrene foam ban in NYC.
The Story of Plastic (1:23) - Emmy nominated film produced by Discovery Channel, available free until September 31. Deep dive into plastic production industry and EPR.
Outdoor Industry 2020 Policy Platform: https://outdoorindustry.org/advocacy/2020-policy-platform/
The Plastic Trap, Rotarian magazine, April 2020: https://www.rotary.org/en/plastic-trap
THE NEW COAL: PLASTICS AND CLIMATE CHANGE from Beyond Plastics.
Resources
Resources - National & Other Countries
Resources - Federal & State Legislation
Federal
Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act One Pager (Dover Dems -Federal);
California Recycling & Plastic Reduction Act (Natural Resources Defense Council)
Plastic Regulation Chart (Conservation Law Foundation)
Difference Between EPR and Product Stewardship (Melissa Gates, Surfrider)
Good descriptions of the variety of approaches in state bills:
How to Talk About EPR/Product Stewardship & Minimum Content Policies
New Hampshire & Other States
And a related article as suggested reading for “How to talk about EPR, product stewardship and minimum content policies”:
Resources - Advocacy Groups
Ten Towns • Ten Actions Toolkit to Rethink Plastic Pollution
Plastic Pollution Coalition (National); Beyond Plastics website
What is a Sustainable Community? (Institute for Sustainable Communities)
Dover Dems White Paper: The Problem with Plastics in Our Environment
NH Plastics Coalition
Eating, Drinking, and Breathing Plastic article (Kristine Baber, Dover Dems)
Plastic Free Martha’s Vineyard (youth group)
Resources - New England States
Resources - Climate Justice and Health Issues
A Decolonial, Feminist Approach to the Global New Green Deal
Climate Change Impacts - 2014 Report to IPCC (packed with citations, 46 pgs)
Boiling Points: Inextricable Links Between Inequality & Climate Change (Roosevelt Institute)