Friend or Foam Series on Civil Beat

Are you a reader of the local web news organization Civil Beat?


In recent months, their investigative team has worked on an awareness raising and discussion worthy series called Friend or Foam: Why do we use so much plastic foam in Hawaii? Civil Beat examines who makes plastic foam, how it impacts the environment, and how people are trying to do away with it. They also cover the policy issues behind bringing your own container.

We've asked our members to comment on different parts of the series. Today we are proud to share a short editorial as a Community Voice contribution. Please log on to share your reactions and solutions.

Friend or Foam: The Perils of Single-Use Plastics
   
~Plastic is an amazing material, but impossible to dispose of in a sustainable way...

Dec. 3rd Clean Up Results

Saturday was another great turn out for our quarterly clean up at Kailua Beach Park!

The Kailua team of 60+ volunteers collected 180 pounds of marine debris and litter from the Beach Park and surrounding shoreline in under 2 hours! This includes 40 pounds of recyclables and 13 pounds of beach plastic going to method for upcycling into about 1000 bottles. (That's 100% post consumer waste, no new plastic!) 

Meanwhile, on the North Shore our Plastic Free Haleiwa team in Kahuku collected 1208 pounds of marine debris including 200 pounds for method! 

We can't thank our awesome volunteers enough. We offer a special appreciation to all the young folks who make our beach clean ups so special. Saturday we had teams from the Girls Scouts, Lanikai Elementary, Keolu Elementary, St. Anthony's School, and Le Jardin Academy.

We are also proud to have such great partners for support and as contributors to the prize raffle. Please thank Kailua Sailboards and Kayaks, Muumuu Heaven, Global Village, TikiMaster.com, Unlucky HI and Ocean Devotion Hawaii.

More photos on our Facebook page! 

The next clean up will be April 14th with Surfrider. Stay tuned for details.

Dec. 3rd Beach Clean-Up and No Waste Challenge

Join us Saturday, December 3rd

10am-12pm

Kailua Beach Park

Meet near the Canoe House, Main Parking Lot, East of Buzz’s Restaurant. Join us for the clean up at 10am and stay for the trash weigh-in and a low-waste potluck lunch at 12pm. RSVP on Facebook.

We'll have a raffle with prizes from local sponsors such as Kailua Sailboards and Kayaks, Muumuu Heaven, Global Village, TikiMaster.com, and more...We'll be working with a new partner too: Ocean Devotion Hawaii.  Download the flier here. 

What to bring: sunscreen, hat, work gloves, old colanders, water bottles, friends, and a great attitude! Bring any plastic grocery bags you have to give them a second life as trash bags. If your interested, also bring a low-impact lunch box or food to share. That means reusable plates and utensils too. We'll have coolers and other supplies.

We'll also be collecting plastic for Method Soap's new post-consumer recycled bottles made from gyre plastic pollution!


Ocean Plastic 2011 from People Against Dirty on Vimeo.

This effort is part of the 2011 No Waste Challenge.

November 27-December 26 is Kanu Hawaii's No Waste Challenge: a time to learn about the waste stream in Hawaii and renew personal, household, and business commitments to reducing our waste footprint through out the year. We'll be sharing educational items, events, and projects to take part in. The last week is the One Week -One Bag challenge. Learn more at the link, commit to change, and share a journal.

Another Plastic Free Hawaii clean up will be taking place that day in Kahuku! We'll be cleaning Punamano Unit James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge, Marconi Road -Kam Hwy. Meet at Kahuku High School at 9am for instructions.

Nov. - Dec. Calendar of Events 2011

Plastic Free Hawaii is involved in a number of upcoming events for 2011. We hope you and yours can join us!

See the details are below and stay tuned for updates as we get closer to the Kanu Hawaii Waste Challenge and the December 3rd Beach Clean up.

November 17, 6:00PM-8:00PM - "Bag It" film screening at Sunset Beach Elementary School, email plasticfree@kokuahawaiifoundation.org for more information.

November 19, 8:00AM-12:15PM - 7th Annual North Shore Beach Clean Up

Hundreds of folks are expected for this yearly gathering and clean-up with Da Hui and Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii. More info on Facebook. We'll be collecting plastic for Method Soap's new post-consumer recycled bottles made from gyre plastic pollution!

November 27-December 26, Kanu Hawaii Waste Challenge

It's that time again and we are very excited to be helping out with this year's challenge. It's a time to learn about the waste stream in Hawaii and renew personal, household, and business commitments to reducing our waste footprint through out the year. We'll be sharing educational items, events, and projects to take part in. The last week is the One Week -One Bag challenge, so get ready.

November 29, 6-8PM, Waste Forum at Farrington High School.
In conjunction with Plastic Free Hawaii and Kanu Hawaii, there will be a screening of "Bag It" and a discussion forum following the film with special guests. Email plasticfree@kokuahawaiifoundation.org for more information.

December 3,  Plastic Free Hawaii Beach Clean ups

As a part of the Waste Challenge, our parent organization Plastic Free Hawaii (Kokua Hawaii Foundation) will be hosting 2 community clean-ups on this day in Haleiwa and Kailua. We'll be weighing the trash and communing with a low-waste potluck at Kailua Beach Park 10am-12pm as usual! More details to come. We'll also be collecting plastic for Method Soap's new post-consumer recycled bottles made from gyre plastic pollution!

TBA December-Finally another HI-5 bins making workshop with Eating in Public! This time at Malama Learning Center at Kapolei High School.

Looking forward...The 2012 legislative session is right around the corner. We'll be working with partners such as Surfrider and the Sierra Club to promote a Bag Bill. We'll have all the updates here on the blog.

Other Notable Events in our Plastic Free Community:

• October 27, 3:35PM-8:00PM - "Can You Be Plastic Free?" Teacher Institute at Punahou School
• October 27, "Plastic Ocean" book release by Charles Moore, an Algalita Marine Research Foundation member recounts his study of the Pacific gyre
• October 31, Plastic Pollution Coalition Plastic Creeps Costume Contest and check out their Plastic Free Halloween Guide
• November 5, Surfrider Foundation Haleiwa Beach Cleanup from 10-12, near the field by Puena Point
• December 3, 6:00PM - 10:00PM Surfrider Foundation's Oahu Chapter John Kelly Awards, Waimea Valley
• December 10, Surfrider Foundation Sunset Beach clean up from 10-12

Let us know about any other #plasticfree events in your community!