The plastic pollution crisis has become an international scandal.
Industry has declared recycling as the solution. But if recycling really was the solution, why are we creating more virgin plastic than ever before? Could recycling really be the ultimate greenwash?
We know that only a fraction (less than 9%) of the plastic we have EVER used is actually recycled!
What actually happens to the items you place in your recycle bin?
Register to watch the film (at your leisure or as a group) that follows the money into an industry that is seemingly designed to hide the problem rather than solve it; tracking the black-market brokers who hunt for countries to dump our plastic, waste moguls getting rich by burning trash, and the organized criminals for whom waste smuggling is now as lucrative as human trafficking.
Then join us and our panel of experts (7:30-8:30pm EDT via zoom) to learn which companies' waste is most often found locally. Dive deep into learning what the different types of recycling are, and what items are actually most likely to really get recycled. Learn what some local activists are doing to make their message known to companies producing non recyclable plastics and how you can get involved in a national campaign, “Plastic Takeback"
Come join our discussion, share you questions, thoughts and…. get inspired into action!
6:30-7:30 p.m. EDT: Film screening (or watch on your own anytime before the event; best quality if you stream it directly in either case).
7:30-8:30 discussion with panel
To register, go to bit.ly/PASUPFilm3 to receive:
1) link and password to view the film (you can screen it either prior to or during the event)
2) link for the zoom discussion Wednesday June 29th 7:30pm EDT
Our Panelists:
Ms. Goldsmith, an energetic grassroots organizer who grew up in Indiana, and is the National Organizing Director of Beyond Plastics. After graduating from IU/Bloomington, she managed a farm, then served The Food Pantries for the Capital District. She went on to the Sanctuary for Independent Media, coordinating a permaculture campus and independent news program, the Hudson Mohawk Magazine. She has produced hundreds of interviews, mainly on petrochemicals and environmental activism. She co-founded the Hudson Mohawk Environmental Action Network, a grassroots consortium fighting for environmental justice and Indigenous rights along the Hudson River. She keeps chickens and plays the fiddle.
Dr. Lau, a scientist concerned about the fate of our Spaceship Earth, earned his PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from Ohio State University. He has worked as an Industrial Chemist for 30 years holding several patents and publishing journal articles pertaining to polymer chemistry. Lau teaches Chemistry and Environmental Science at several local universities and has recently been working with Environmental Groups such as Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC), Clean Air Council (CAC) and Climate Reality Project concerning the PetroChemical buildout in Southwestern PA.
Ms. Shea has extensive first hand experience in local recycling as the Deputy Director at the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC), having been with the organization since 2005. During this time, Sarah has been the program coordinator and facilitator of PRC’s Hard to Recycle Collection Events, has overseen more than 60 collections servicing over 31,000 people and recycling 2.8 million pounds of material. Last year she became Collection Event’s Manager for PRC and began also managing the organization’s Household Chemical Collections. In just one year the event was able to service 4000 participants and collected over 540,000 pounds of hazardous waste in 4 counties in southwestern PA. Sarah established and has facilitated PRC’s ReuseFest program, now in its 10th year, an event that educates the public on the importance of reuse through collecting gently used items for Pittsburgh area nonprofits to support and further their missions Sarah has been a member of the Clean Pittsburgh Commission, a commission of the City of Pittsburgh who works on quality-of-life issues in Pittsburgh, since 2008. She also serves on the nonprofit Communitopia’s advisory board.
As the Executive Director at Allegheny CleanWays –- a nonprofit with the mission to engage and empower people to eliminate litter and illegal dumping in Allegheny County -- Ms. Newman can give us first hand insight on what consumer waste we find littered the most locally. She started as a part-time project coordinator in June 2007 and became the Executive Director in 2011. Prior to working for Allegheny CleanWays, Myrna was involved in public education for 14 years. Later she studied Sustainable Systems at Slippery Rock University, was the lead environmental field technician for a multi-million-dollar soil remediation project in Utah, and ran a small CSA on her family farm in Clinton.
