Advocacy in Action: Addressing Corporate Responsibility for Plastic Pollution

By: Neda Ibrahim

For the past 34 years, KIDS for the BAY students have been addressing the problem of plastic pollution in their communities by focusing on neighborhood, creek, bay and schoolyard cleanups. Since our founding in 1992, our young Environmentalists have removed more than 45,000 gallons of trash from local ecosystems! They have also learned how plastic pollution travels through storm drains, waterways, and watersheds into the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean. By integrating a new Plastic Brand Audit Action Project into our Watershed Education Programs, KIDS for the BAY is taking this one step further by empowering students to investigate the sources of plastic pollution and hold those responsible for producing it accountable.

In our school neighborhoods in Richmond, residents disproportionately experience the adverse effects of plastic and trash pollution. A core part of the Richmond Watershed Rangers Program is supporting students to share their own lived experiences of the burdens of plastic pollution and its impacts on their community and local waterways. Students are encouraged to reflect on their own environmental responsibility, and KftB Educators guide them to think critically about the larger systems behind plastic waste. During neighborhood trash cleanups and walking field trips, our Richmond students conducted Plastic Brand Audits based on data and methods developed by Break Free From Plastic. Our young Environmentalists carefully documented the brands and companies who produce the litter they collected. Students quickly began noticing patterns. “I keep seeing the same snack wrappers over and over,” said Christian, a student from Montalvin Manor K-8 School, holding up multiple Capri-Sun pouches and Cheez-It bags. 

Back in the classroom, students examined charts that trace familiar snack foods and household products back to a surprisingly small number of multinational parent companies. “We found lots of pollution made by Kraft,” shared Mariana. “We also found products from Nestlé and Mars,” added Kyran. “PepsiCo was the most common polluter at our school!” concluded Zion. As they identified brands from their watershed trash cleanups on the chart, students began making important connections between consumer products, packaging and environmental harm. “Companies and factories make and sell plastic to make money from it, and they are responsible for the pollution too,” shared Sophia. “Companies like the Coca-Cola Company choose to sell their sodas in plastic bottles instead of a different material, so they are polluting our environment with plastic!” said Esmerelda.

Students were surprised to discover how many commonly used products are linked to the same few corporations. These conversations led students to ask broader questions about accountability and environmental justice. “What can we do to reduce the amount of plastic pollution in our neighborhood?” pondered Daniel. “We could refuse plastic and stop buying it! If we stop buying plastic, companies will stop making money from it!” said Gennady. Students recognized that while individuals play a role in reducing waste, communities like theirs often experience the impacts of pollution most directly, despite having little control over the production of disposable plastic packaging in the first place.

KIDS for the BAY’s fiscal sponsor, Earth Island Institute, is leading a lawsuit against the biggest plastic polluting corporations, including Crystal Geyser Water Company, The Clorox Company, The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Inc., Nestlé USA, Inc., Mars, Incorporated, Danone North America, Mondelez Global LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Company, and The Procter & Gamble Company. Chief Executive Officer of Earth Island, Sumona Majumdar, worked with KIDS for the BAY’s Development and Communications Coordinator Amy Asmussen to create a short video to explain the importance of this project. Richmond Watershed Rangers students watched the video before performing their plastic brand audits to understand the impact of their efforts to address corporate responsibility for plastic pollution. 

After completing their audits, students selected a company that owns or produces the waste they documented and wrote persuasive letters urging that company to reduce plastic packaging and take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products. “We found your trash in our community, and it affects our environment!” wrote Lia, from Ford Elementary School in Richmond. “I want companies like the Coca-Cola Company to know that kids care about the problem of plastic pollution, and we want change!” shared Elias. “I really like the Coca-Cola Company, but I’m really disappointed that they are the top plastic polluter. I’ll make sure to tell them that in my letter,” said Emilio. “I found lots of plastic at the park in my neighborhood. I am especially concerned about microplastics because they hurt animals and make us sick. Help keep my family and friends safe from plastic pollution!” wrote Fatima. This KIDS for the BAY  project also supports fifth grade literacy goals by helping our students develop persuasive writing, evidence gathering and civic engagement skills.

By integrating plastic brand audits and advocacy into our Watershed Education Programs, KIDS for the BAY is helping students understand plastic pollution as both an environmental and systemic issue. Students are not only learning how to care for their local watershed, but also how to use the power of their voices to call for broader solutions that address pollution at the source.