This program will also be airing on local TV (BKAT) in May and June: BKAT is televising this recording on Tuesdays, May 11, June 8 and June 29, all at 5:00pm.
Microplastics are all around us. They have been found in human kidneys, livers, lungs, spleens, and mother’s milk. Single use plastics pollute our roadways and our beaches, and they create vast islands of waste in our oceans, choking our marine life. Chemicals used to create and destroy plastic are in the air we breathe and sicken our children, especially in communities of color.
We were convinced that we, the consumers of plastic, were responsible for correcting this environmental disaster—all we had to do was recycle—only to find that no more than 10 percent of our plastic waste is actually recycled. Much of what is sent to recycling is shipped to economically struggling countries, contributing to health and environmental emergencies abroad. Even as this environmental crisis mounts, the oil industry is increasing its production and promotion of plastic to offset the loss of financial profit from falling consumption of fossil fuels.
How do we respond to this assault on our health and our environment? One response is to arm ourselves with knowledge.
As a part of Olympic College’s Earth Week celebration, Dr. Heather Trim, from Zero-Waste Washington, will discuss a big-picture overview of plastic issues in our country and state. Kingston residents Hans and Nicholas Schippers, from Parley for the Oceans, will address our local challenges and their efforts to educate future generations about how to take action. And, finally, Lori Cloutier, founder of Poulsbo Rotary’s “Trash Talk Task Force” will help us effectively recycle when we must. So if you have questions about recycling, be sure to bring them to the program for Lori to answer.
This presentation is brought to you by
About the Speakers
Heather Trim, Executive Director
Zero Waste Washington
Heather has more than 25 years of experience in environmental work ranging from zero waste to toxic chemicals and habitat issues. At Zero Waste Washington, her focus has been on reducing upstream sources of waste and addressing downstream impacts, getting toxic chemicals out of products, eliminating plastic pollution, and building on the organization’s signature producer responsibility policy initiatives. Previously, at Futurewise, she worked to prevent runoff from entering our waterways and improve shoreline management practices and policies. Heather was at People for Puget Sound for over ten years where she focused on protections for the marine environment. Earlier, she was staff scientist for the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council and worked for the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board on water quality standards, regulatory permits, pollution assessments, greening the LA rivers and habitat renewal.
Hans Schippers
Parley for the Oceans
After graduating from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a BA in environmental economics and political science I found myself working a job in the solar industry. Having worked with numerous non profits on environmental issues I could not help but feel compelled to do more to benefit the best place in the world, the oceans. As a lifelong surfer the issue of plastic pollution was at the forefront of my mind. Remote beaches my brothers and I would go to as kids, now covered with society’s blind consumption, it was time to take action. In partnership with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii my older brother Nick and I set out in a refurbished school bus to educate the future generations about the issue of plastic pollution and the effects on marine environments. We were compelled to give the future generations a voice on this issue. To date we have educated over 20,000 students, been to countless communities, and numerous countries. We currently are working with Parley for the Oceans to help develop a youth program that will aim to broaden these educational efforts to the world. I am incredibly grateful and privileged to wake up every day and work for a better tomorrow.
Nicholas Schippers
Parley for the Oceans
Studying for seven years, I graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Environmental Studies and an MPA in Environmental Policy only to realize this was just the beginning. The more you learn the more you realize we need to change. As a lifelong surfer and advocate for the oceans, I have worked with various non-profits to try and shift perceptions of environmental issues and ultimately inspire action. Most recently my brother Hans and I have brought our combined experience to the classroom to teach over 20,000 youth on the issue of marine plastic pollution. I feel strongly that environmental, and ocean issues in particular, need to be better articulated. My hope is that our work will bring better clarity to the fact that environmental and social justice issues are deeply interconnected and that we need to place significant value on actions to care for the environment. I am incredibly grateful to have the privilege to work on these issues and stoked to be a part of the Parley team!
Lori Cloutier
Trash Talk Task Force
Lori served as Executive Director of the Rotary Club of Oakland for 25 years before moving to Poulsbo, WA where she formed the Trash Talk Task Force. The Taskforce takes a light approach to serious topics relating to Zero Waste, Near-0 Waste, and recycling education. Called the “Trashy Task Force” for short, she claims the group is made of “Trashy People with Trashy Ideas, Doing Trashy Events.”
To date, they have diverted more than 10 tons of plastic bags and films from landfill to a domestic manufacturing plant; launched Green Walkers, a litter-pickup and recycle group in Facebook; helped Rotary reduce waste from its fundraising community bike ride from a 4-cubic-meter dumpster to a single bag, promoted the county Styrofoam Roundups, and are now developing the Recycle Hero Awards, a program to educate children of all ages on how to sort and recycle without getting a bad headache.