Be a Community Leader
Solving big challenges requires leadership from our elected officials, from businesses-and from each one of us. Given that the issue is complex, the opportunities for action are diverse.
Leadership is about empowering people to achieve a goal, noted National Geographic Explorer Lilly Sedaghat, and the opportunities to express leadership can take various forms. "Our identities as humans intersect so many different spaces and so many different systems," she said.
As parents or mentors, we can teach and encourage positive behaviors in others by participating in cleanups, for example. In our work lives, we can drive change within our own companies. As voters, we can challenge our legislators to adopt policies that require more sustainable systems. It’s our responsibility to take sustainability seriously by getting involved in efforts to reform our recycling systems, just as we would engage with any issue that affects our community’s future.
required recycled content in plastic beverage bottles in California by 2025, increasing to 50% by 2030
of PET (#1) bottles and jars were recycled in 2018
of HDPE (#2) bottles were recycled in 2018
Make Your Impact
Talk to the Decision Makers
"Residents are very, very powerful," said Ginger Spencer, public works director for the City of Phoenix. She recommends calling, emailing, or writing a letter to your local council member or city official to voice support for recycling and other waste-reduction programs. If you can, attend public meetings where decisions about such programs are being considered.
Engage With Young People
Kids represent our future and need to understand the world they are inheriting. If you are a parent, teacher, or mentor, teach children the value of sustainability and how to properly recycle or reuse items. Take the time to have a conversation about how their choices and behaviors affects everyone around them. Explain why you care what happens to plastics. Volunteer with schools or other organizations that are working to educate young people about sustainability concepts. "When you teach [children] what's right and wrong, they will question you when something wrong is being done," said Antoinette Taus, founder of the group Communities Organized for Resource Allocation (CORA).
Share Your Values
Social media makes it easier than ever to communicate what's important to you. As you advocate for ways to reduce waste, share your ideas with friends and on social media or neighborhood listservs. You can also support and share the work of organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund that are leading action on the issue. "Your values matter: what you see, how you see waste, how you see yourself and your position in the world," said National Geographic Explorer Lilly Sedaghat.