We Started With Plastic Straws…

In 2018, when we were in 3rd grade, we met up and started doing activism to reduce single-use plastics in Marin. We started with plastic straws, and when we conducted a campaign in our community to stop using plastic straws we got 164 pledges from our supportive community members. We talked to many local businesses such as Side Street Kitchen, Bovine Bakery, Pump Espresso Bar, and Hog Island Oyster Co. about stopping plastic straw use, and we convinced them to switch to paper! We also wrote articles in the Point Reyes Light, did beach cleanups, and worked with EAC to spread the word! In 2019, in 4th grade, we decided to widen our efforts, and talked with Supervisor Dennis Rodoni about banning plastic single use to-go ware in all of Marin County. But, then COVID-19 happened, and our plans were shut down.

Now, in 2022, we are in 7th grade, and this year, we wrote a letter to the Marin IJ, and most importantly, worked on promoting an ordinance to ban single use plastic to-go ware. On two different occasions we went to the Marin County Civic Center to convince the board of supervisors to consider this ordinance, and on May 10th, 2022, the ordinance passed! 

We have learned a lot about our community during our project and though the crisis has only gotten worse, we feel inspired to keep going with our anti-plastic activism!

UPDATES:

• May 10, 2022, the Marin County Board of Supervisors approved the Reusable Foodware Ordinance that will go into effect in 18 months. Learn More.

• April 19, 2022, the Marin County Board of Supervisors will conduct their first reading of the Draft Reusable Foodware Ordinance and an adoption vote on May 10, 2022. Learn more here.

• September 24, 2019, the Marin County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a contract to begin the process to write an ordinance for food vendors to use biodegradable food packing that includes cups, plates, hinge containers, bowls, trays, and cartons. The ordinance would allow durable/reusable, paper or bio-plastic (BPI certified) compostable food ware items. Thank you Supervisor Rodoni for your leadership on this item.

Letter to Editor of Point Reyes Light, October 2018:

“Here in West Marin, we don’t have fast-food restaurants, but we do have a big problem. A lot of restaurants and other places use corn-based or some other plant-based plastics that look like plastic but are called “compostable,” but we can’t compost them here…the plant-based compostable plastic needs to be heated up super-hot, and there are no facilities that do that in Marin. So they can’t go in the green compost bins that we get from the waste company.”

Blog Post, November 2018: Marin County Supervisor Visits My Class…

…”I talked to my class and told them about the Ban 2.0 List, and read the list of common plastic trash like food wrappers, bottle caps, beverage bottles, and much more. I also told them about how some bioplastics compost and others do not. Like, paper straws decompose but some compostable forks and knives do not, even if they spend two years in the ocean. After, I gave Dennis [Rodoni Marin County Supervisor] the Ban List to take to his office so that he could look at it and remind himself about it. I hope that he will try to make a change to ban single-use plastics in Marin.”

BLOG POST, JUNE 2019: WE STARTED WITH PLASTIC STRAWS…

“We started with plastic straws, but now we're going to the wider range of plastic utensils and other single-use plastics. They also harm our oceans and hurt marine life, and we don't want that to happen. We are asking people to try to use bamboo, paper, or metal straws instead of plastic or compostable. The compostable straws, they can't be composted in Marin because we don't have the facilities to get them hot enough to biodegrade, so they have to go in the trash. That means they can still get into the ocean and harm animals.  We did pretty well with the plastic straws, but we want to go even farther and try to get rid of single-use plastics throughout Marin!  We hope you can join us on our journey to stop using plastic only one time!”

We will continue to write our online journal as we continue our journey to ban single-use plastic in Marin County. You can still take the pledge to no longer use plastic straws to help us reach 200 signatures.

No Straws, Please!

In early 2018, EAC was contacted by third grader, Viola, who was deeply concerned about plastic in the environment and in the ocean. Viola was interested to see if she could make some changes in her local community to reduce single-use of plastic straws. 

It was a perfect match! In the summer of 2017 EAC's college interns designed a project for West Marin to reduce plastic straw use. EAC shared our resources and agreed to sponsor the project and teamed Viola up with another local third grader, Reese.

The girls got to work, to begin a project about the dangers of straws with an action request to visit local restaurants to change to plastic straw alternatives and straws upon request.

BUSINESSES VISITED & using plastic alternatives

Since starting the project the girls (and staff) have met with several local businesses and Marin County District Four Supervisor. Stay tuned after the summer for more updates!

• Hog Island Oyster Company (paper)

• Palace Market (transitioning)

• Cowgirl Creamery (compostable)

• Toby's Coffee (compostable)

• Pump Espresso Bar (paper)

• Bovine Bakery (no straws)

• Side Street Kitchen (no straws)

• Smiley’s Saloon & Hotel (compostable)

* Some of our allies in the disability community need straws.  Those who have had a stroke, or have autism, MS, or another life changing physical issue may need a straw. Please ensure alternatives are available.