Plastics Working Group
A campaign to help individuals, organizations, and communities to rethink plastic. Visit 10towns.org for more information and to join us!
On Oct 31, 2021
The NH Network Plastics Working Group invited Dr. Vanessa Druskat to one of our early meetings to share her insights into the 'Emotional Intelligence of Teams'.
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, January 7, 2024 at 6:00 PM — Legislative Focus
Sunday, January 14, 2024 at 6:00 PM - Next Regular Meeting
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
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 (Revised May 2023)
The 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 engages in local, state, and federal initiatives to:
• Develop strong and effective local policy actions and state and federal legislation to reduce the production and use of single-use plastic packaging and the toxic chemicals used to make them, evaluate the advancement of false solutions like chemical/advanced recycling, and reduce the negative environmental and health impacts of the petrochemical industry
• Support Zero Waste initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels
• Increase producer responsibility for the full life cycle of plastics and truth in advertising
• Develop partnerships with the business, education, and municipal sectors to implement alternatives to petroleum-based 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
• Educate about behaviors and practices to reduce consumption and limit the need for plastics recycling
• Follow the NH DES solid waste hierarchy
We envision a health-based approach to reducing plastic waste & pollution for the planet and for people.
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.
How Plastic is Made Fuels a Toxic Waste Problem: Plastic contaminates at every stage – from production to disposal. Environmental advocates now call this process the Plastic “Death” Cycle because of how harmful plastic is to our health and planet.
Outdoor Industry 2023 Policy Platform: Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) unifies the voices of small and large companies — and their millions of consumers — across the United States to promote policies and programs that create jobs, invest in recreation infrastructure, expand outdoor access for all, support predictable and balanced trade, and foster a sense of stewardship for our natural resources and our environment.
The Plastic Trap, Rotarian magazine, April 2020 —The New Coal: Plastics an Climate Change from Beyond Plastics.
Resources
Resources - Zero Waste
Resources - National & Other Countries
Data/Research/Articles
Trade Organizations
Reports
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)