Around the globe, over one million individuals have signed petitions, taken to stores and restaurants, and posted photos of ridiculous packaging on social media to call out corporations for their massive single-use plastic footprints. Ahead of Earth Day, Greenpeace is urging individuals worldwide to contribute to a “Million Acts of Blue” — escalating actions that push businesses to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics — as part of the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement.
“This Earth Day, it is time to confront the reality that we cannot simply recycle our way out of this mess. We must address the corporate addiction to single-use plastics and move in a better direction.”
Greenpeace has created a seven-part Million Acts of Blue Toolkit detailing ways people can learn more about the issue of plastic pollution, raise awareness such as by organizing a film screening, write an effective letter to the editor of their local newspaper, influence their local grocer or a major supermarket chain, influence restaurants, cafes or fast food chains, lobby elected officials for a ban on single-use plastics, start a Plastic-Free Future community group, and organize community clean-ups and brand audits. #BreakFreeFromPlastic has developed a complementary Brand Audit Toolkit.
Throughout the month of April, Greenpeace and other activists around the world have taken action to take the lead in rejecting single-use plastics. Activities included:
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It is clear that Greenpeace and the other organizations behind #BreakFreeFromPlastic not only want to change consumer behavior, but also increase the pressure on companies to take more responsibility for plastics. As Global Coordinator for #BreakFreeFromPlastic Von Hernandez put it, “Increasing public revulsion over single-use plastics should be seen by policy makers and regulators as a sign that citizens want better protection from their leaders against the continuing onslaughts of an industry committed to pursuing bigger profit margins at the expense of a planet already drowning in plastic.”
Published Apr 19, 2018 2am EDT / 11pm PDT / 7am BST / 8am CEST