We are thrilled to announce the launch of Plastic Free Cities, a collaborative project between Ocean Conservancy, Debris Free Oceans, and Big Blue & You, in partnership with Miami-Dade County’s Plastic Free 305, and funded by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
Plastic Free Cities is a youth engagement program where students will be empowered to make lasting changes in their communities!
First, students will attend five training workshops on plastic pollution, sustainable business strategies, and techniques to establish professional relationships with business owners in their neighborhood. Then, they will take what they’ve learned through the curriculum, and resources developed by the program facilitators and partners, to meet with businesses and encourage them to reduce or eliminate single-use plastics from their operations. The program will conclude with a student-led community clean up event, where family, friends and community leaders will be invited to celebrate the students’ achievements through Plastic Free Cities!
As a direct result of student advocacy, and with the help of several resources the students will be trained to provide, businesses that qualify will be able to enroll in Miami-Dade County’s Plastic Free 305 - a program that supports and celebrates businesses that are voluntarily removing single-use plastics, and therefore protecting their communities from the environmental, social, and health-related impacts of plastics!
Big Blue & You’s programs focus on empowering youth, especially those from historically underrepresented communities. One of the core components of Plastic Free Cities is to engage students from 5 municipalities along the Miami River - Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, Medley, Miami Springs, and the City of Miami - in order to increase the accessibility of these resources in inland communities, and amplify the actions of youth advocates from historically underrepresented neighborhoods.
Single-use plastics harm wildlife, humans, and our environment on a local and global scale at every stage of their lifecycle - and their impacts often disproportionately burden communities of color. Rivers, canals, and storm drains are one of the primary methods through which plastics reach our oceans, which further exemplifies the importance of creating accessible opportunities to learn about the issues of single-use plastics and marine debris.
Plastic Free Cities officially launched in Hialeah on Oct 15th 2022, where over 50 volunteers collected 305 pounds of trash and debris from the canal by Goodlet Park. The event was supported by several city officials, including Hialeah Councilman Bryan Calvo and Miami-Dade County’s Chief Bay Officer Irela Bague, and attended by students from Jose Marti Mast Academy and Hialeah Senior High School. Check out Local 10’s coverage of the Plastic Free Cities Launch Celebration and Cleanup HERE!
The Plastic Free Cities team is currently recruiting high schools to participate in our program. If you are a student or teacher from a high school in Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, Medley, Miami Springs, or the City of Miami, please contact milly@bigblueandyou.org for more information!
If you are a business owner in Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, Medley, Miami Springs, or the City of Miami interested in working with high school students to enroll in Plastic Free 305, please contact maddie@debrisfreeoceans.org for more information!
You can also read more about the program on our partners’ websites:
