Creating a World Free of Plastic Pollution

Most people picture plastic pollution as floating islands of trash in the ocean or sea turtles tangled in six-pack rings. Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) wants people to look much closer to home. Scientists are now finding microplastics in our food, our drinking water, and even our brains, exposing what once seemed like an environmental issue as a growing human health concern.

“The biggest way that people are going to care about this issue is knowing it affects your health,” says Julia Cohen, MPH, Plastic Pollution Coalition’s executive director and co-founder. “Microplastics and chemicals from plastic are in our bodies, and have been linked to cancer, diabetes, obesity, respiratory issues, reproductive and hormone problems, and more. The more we learn about this crisis, the more dire it appears to be.” Rather than dwell on the problem alone, Cohen adds, “Solutions exist, and we’re working to support and amplify them.”

Founded in 2009 as the first organization dedicated solely to ending plastic pollution, Plastic Pollution Coalition has evolved alongside public understanding of the issue. What began as an effort to expose the growing crisis has evolved into a global effort to solve it. The organization brings together nonprofits, businesses, scientists, artists, and advocates around a common goal: eliminating plastic pollution at its source rather than simply cleaning it up after it has already harmed the environment, animals, and human health.

Innovative Upstream Thinking

That upstream approach sets the organization apart from many. “We’re not out cleaning up beaches,” Cohen says. “We are way upstream of that. It’s not that cleanups aren’t important, but in a system that worked properly, cleanups wouldn’t be needed.” To that end, Plastic Pollution Coalition focuses on changing the systems that create the problem in the first place by holding corporations accountable and supporting stronger policies and promising alternatives.

One example is its growing number of business members, made up of innovators supporting reuse systems and developing products from non-toxic regenerative materials. Through Solutions Expos and an expanding network of mentors, investors, legal experts, and business advisors, Plastic Pollution Coalition helps companies overcome the barriers that prevent sustainable systems and alternatives from competing with conventional plastics.

“We need real solutions to be supported,” Cohen explains, “If you have the right investor in the room and a real, tangible solution is scaled up, the downstream effect of that is millions of plastic products not being put out into the world anymore.”

Throughout its work, Plastic Pollution Coalition maintains a deliberately hopeful perspective. The combination of urgency and optimism continues to drive Plastic Pollution Coalition’s mission to create a healthier future where systemic change replaces disposable thinking and practical solutions become the new standard.