200 students speak up at City Hall to ban foam & for plastic-free oceans for World Oceans Day - Take Action!

For World Oceans Day, 200 students, many from Cafeteria Culture's Plastic Free Waters program, gathered at City Hall to share their research on toxic and polluting plastic foam (commonly called "styrofoam") and to urge New York City Council to ban foam!

Students were joined by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and four Council Members, who urged all New York City Council Members to take action to reduce plastic marine pollution by voting "yes" on Intro-135, the bill to ban plastic foam.

For World Oceans Day, be inspired by these students to take acton!

​Sharon (pictured above) displayed a jar of polystyrene microplastics, tiny, toxic bits of foam plastic that were collected at Valentino Pier in Red Hook, Brooklyn.  

Sharon and PS 15 K fifth grade students studied plastic marine pollution for 2 years as part of Cafeteria Culture's Plastic Free Waters program. Lessons included: surveying of local street and beach litter; studying degradation of single-use plastics; life cycle analysis of various plastic types; designing creative messaging for community outreach to reduce plastic litter; and using student collected data to inform local policy.

Plastic foam is one of the most common types of plastic pollution (Ocean Conservancy, 2016) and 80% of marine litter originates on land. Plastic foam pollution easily breaks up into tiny, toxic pieces that are entering our local waterways at alarming rates.

Once in our waters, foam microplastics act like sponges, taking up chemical pollutants, such as pesticides, that make these tiny bits even more toxic. Then they can be eaten by marine organisms as small as microscopic plankton, the base of our food chain, or as large as giant filter feeding whales.
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Plastic foam is made from styrene and benzene, both petroleum based chemicals. Styrene is a known animal carcinogen and found "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" by the National Toxicology Program and "probably carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

In 2013, the NYC Council already voted “yes” to ban foam, but two industry-funded lawsuits have blocked this law from taking effect.

These young advocates made their voices heard for plastic-free oceans and a healthy future for marine wildlife and humans of all ages!

TAKE ACTION!
Call your NYC Council Member and urge her/him to vote "yes" for INTRO-135, the bill to ban plastic foam. Please be sure that they will not accept the phony, industry-backed foam recycling bill as a solution.
Learn more ->​

Featured in NewsDeeply,
today, June 8, 2018, for World Oceans Day,
PS 51 M students at the Youth Rally to ban foam, NY City Hall,
co-hosted by Council Member Brad Lander and Cafeteria Culture