Working to end plastic pollution everywhere. Find and follow us on other platforms at: https://xitter.cf/t.co/6qe0dj1WA1
Bennington College
Joined January 2019
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Wherever you live, you have a role to play in stopping plastic pollution at the source.
Civics is at the heart of effective grassroots advocacy. Understanding how government works, how decisions are made, and how to engage in the public process helps us identify opportunities to make change happen.
Our free, two-hour Beyond Plastics Grassroots Advocacy Training will help you explore opportunities in your own community, build your advocacy skills, and connect with a growing national network of people working to stop plastic pollution.
Join us November 7, or 10, or 12.
Learn how to turn concern into action.
Register: beyondplastics.org/trainings
#BeyondPlastics #PlasticPollution #GrassrootsAdvocacy
We tried recycling one of @starbucks’ “recyclable” plastic cups in a Queens store. Did it actually get recycled? No. It went straight to this incinerator in Westchester, NY.
Tell Starbucks to ditch the plastic: actionnetwork.org/petitions/…
#StarbucksDitchThePlastic #Starbucks #BrianNiccol #plastic
@WASS_Peekskill
Tell @LA28: Don’t Waste the Games
The 2028 @Olympics and Paralympic Games will bring millions of visitors to Los Angeles and, without a commitment to protecting the environment, could also generate millions of disposable cups, bottles, and other throw away items.
We’re calling on LA28 and its sponsors, partners, and venues to make waste reduction and reuse a foundation of the Games by using reusable cups and foodware, expanding water refill stations, and encouraging athletes and spectators to bring their own reusable bottles.
Add your name to the petition at dontwastethegames.org
@MayorOfLA @SanDistricts
#la28 #olympics #dontwastethegames
Thank you to the hundreds of people across the country who showed up and called on @starbucks to ditch the plastic.
We worked on 22 demonstrations at Starbucks stores in 11 states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.
We called on Starbucks to do 3 things:
Stop lying about recycling their millions of plastic cups
Switch from plastic to fiber-based cups for to-go orders
Serve customers in reusable ceramic mugs and glasses for in store orders.
We are grateful to everyone who showed up and grateful to be in community with you.
#StarbucksDitchThePlastic #Starbucks #BrianNiccol #plastic
@storyofstuff @CALPIRG
Join @enckj, Beyond Plastics president and author of The Problem with Plastic, for a free book talk on Friday, November 20 at 7 pm at The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY.
Judith and Shaunty M of Golden Leaf Books will discuss The Problem with Plastic and how a bill becomes a law.
Books will be available for sale, and Judith will sign books following the conversation.
The event is free, but please register in advance at mediasanctuary.org/event/jud…
Thanks to our friends at the Sanctuary for Independent Media for hosting this book event.
#freeevent #Troy #ny
Want to attend the virtual National Zero Waste Conference on October 21–22, 2026, hosted by Zero Waste USA?
Beyond Plastics supporters get a discounted rate of $50! Use this link to register at the discounted rate: events.humanitix.com/nzwc202…
We're especially excited for the session, "Plastic: Policies, Pitfalls, and Particles" where you'll glean insights and solutions for your community on how to tackle the challenges of extender producer responsibility, bioplastics, and microplastic pollution at construction sites. We are excited that Brian Thompson will present at this online conference on behalf of Beyond Plastics.
#zerowaste #plastic #nzwconference2026
A new study looked at the toxicity of the chemicals used in everyday plastic items, focusing on food-contact plastics, textiles, toys, household items, and hygiene and medical items.
It found that the “majority of chemicals (79%) in the five use categories analysed lacked relevant data to assess human health toxicity, risk of exposure, or both.”
Of the chemicals that had relevant data, over 90% were considered hazardous, potentially linked to cancer, genetic changes, and endocrine, reproductive and organ toxicity.
Our elected officials have failed to regulate Big Plastic, putting our bodies and health at risk.
@SenatorHarckham @NYSA_Majority @AndreaSCousins
#plastic #microplastics #health
In food-contact plastics:
92% of plastic chemicals present a high risk to human health
91% of high-risk chemicals are unregulated internationally
76% of chemicals do not have available data on toxicity and/or exposure
In plastic toys:
89% of plastic chemicals present a high risk to human health
85% of high-risk chemicals are unregulated internationally
53% of chemicals do not have available data on toxicity and/or exposure
On Sunday, environmentalists gathered in Albany to urge @Starbucks to stop lying about plastics recycling.
Beyond Plastics founder @enckj spoke with @SpecNews1Albany about our Starbucks plastic cup recycling investigation, which exposed that none of Starbucks’ plastic cups were confirmed to have been recycled.
“One of the cups went from New York City to the Westchester County garbage incinerator on the Hudson River in Peekskill.
Another cup went all the way to Alabama to a landfill.
Some went to landfills in the Midwest from New York City.
So we're really concerned that Starbucks is lying to its customers. So we are involved in 22 demonstrations at Starbucks in 11 states around the country this weekend and next.”
spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/ro…
#StarbucksDitchThePlastic #Starbucks #BrianNiccol #plastic #PRRIA
@NYPIRG @feinforauditor @SenatorHarckham @NYSA_Majority @AndreaSCousins
🥤 The case of Judith Enck vs. @Starbucks over the recycling of their plastic cups, from Albany Times Union, Capital Confidential
“Enck is the leading advocate for the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, a bill that would force companies to reduce and change the kind of packaging they use to be more recyclable. They would also have to pay fees to help fund municipal recycling infrastructure.
The bill is opposed by business trade groups, who have warned that companies will increase costs for consumers if they’re forced into the bill’s requirements.
Some companies have directly hired lobbyists to defeat it. One of those companies is — you guessed it — Starbucks.
Starbucks reported in filings with the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government that it had paid lobbyists with the Roffe Group $19,000 and Greenberg Traurig $20,000 to represent their interests before the state Legislature in May and June.
Those filings show the coffee company had few legislative measures of interest.
But one of them was the packaging bill, which failed to pass for a third year in June.”
capitolconfidential.com/p/co…
@enckj @TUCapCon @timesunion @DanClarkReports @SenatorHarckham @NYSA_Majority @AndreaSCousins
#StarbucksDitchThePlastic #Starbucks #BrianNiccol ,
We sense a trend with this company #Starbucks apnews.com/article/starbucks…
Beyond Plastics retweeted
Twenty-four states have passed legislation loosening air pollution standards for plastics pyrolysis plants.
Learn more: news.oilandgaswatch.org/post…
@PlasticsBeyond @O_R_V_I @WVCAG @CleanAirMoms
Beyond Plastics retweeted
.@Starbucks needs to come clean on plastics recycling. Grest rally in Albany NY today @timesunion @WAMCNews @WNYT
Tempe, Arizona, residents gathered outside @Starbucks to urge the world’s largest coffee chain to ditch the plastic.
At the demonstration, Julie Morrison, founder of Plastic Free Phoenix, and Arizona State Representative @TraversforAZ spoke about the need to ditch the plastic for the sake of our personal, communal, and planetary health.
#StarbucksDitchThePlastic #Starbucks #BrianNiccol #plastic #Arizona
Environmental and labor activists unite to tell @Starbucks to change its harmful ways.
Alongside members of @storyofstuff, @CALPIRG, @CALPIRGatUCI, and @SBWorkersUnited, we held a demonstration outside CEO Brian Niccol’s Newport Beach office, calling on Starbucks to stop deceiving the public about the recyclability of its plastic cups and to ditch the plastic.
A barricade prevented us from hand-delivering our petition, which now has more than 14,000 signatures, but we still made our message clear: Starbucks must be held accountable for its deceptive claims and environmental harms. And we stand with Starbucks Workers United in their quest for a fair contract.
#StarbucksDitchThePlastic #Starbucks #BrianNiccol #plastic #california
Beyond Plastics retweeted
The Microplastics Epidemic in Indonesia nytimes.com/interactive/2026… via @NYTimes
Citizens (and one pug!) across the Boston region are demanding that @Starbucks ditch the single-use plastic cups.
We are calling on Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee chain, to:
-Stop portraying its single-use plastic cold cups as “widely recyclable” when the company cannot demonstrate that the cups are actually being recycled at scale.
-Remove images and messaging that may lead customers to believe Starbucks plastic cups placed in store recycling bins will be recycled.
-Honor existing Starbucks policy of providing reusable cups for beverages consumed inside the store.
-Replace plastic cups for their cold drinks with fiber-based cups.
@brkfreeplastic @CALPIRG @SBWorkersUnited @storyofstuff
#StarbucksDitchThePlastic #Starbucks #BrianNiccol #plastic #boston
BREAKING: DEMONSTRATIONS AT 22 @STARBUCKS STORES ACROSS 11 STATES CALL ON COFFEE GIANT TO STOP LYING ABOUT PLASTICS RECYCLING
The demonstrations in Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont, California, Illinois, Colorado, Washington and Texas are part of a Starbucks Week of Action urging the company to stop telling customers that its single-use plastic cold cups are “widely recyclable,” after a nationwide tracking investigation by Beyond Plastics could not confirm a single cup being recycled.
Beyond Plastics, its partners, and demonstrators nationwide are calling on Starbucks to:
-Stop portraying its single-use plastic cold cups as “widely recyclable” when the company cannot demonstrate that the cups are actually being recycled at scale.
-Remove images and messaging that may lead customers to believe Starbucks plastic cups placed in store recycling bins will be recycled.
-Honor existing Starbucks policy of providing reusable cups for beverages consumed inside the store.
-Replace plastic cups for their cold drinks with fiber-based cups.
“Customers who carefully put their Starbucks cup into a recycling bin with an image of a plastic cold cup on it reasonably expect it to be recycled,” said @enckj, president of Beyond Plastics and a former EPA regional administrator, who plans to join the demonstration at an Albany, NY, store Saturday.
“Our investigation found something very different. Not one of the cups we successfully tracked was confirmed recycled. Starbucks needs to stop misleading customers about plastic recycling and focus instead on reducing single-use plastic and expanding reusable and plastic-free alternatives.”
“Starbucks’ refusal to implement meaningful plastic reduction dooms communities, like those in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, where we struggle with the harmful health and environmental impacts of the production of plastic,” said Jo Banner, cofounder and codirector of @project_descend, an organization of Black descendants of slavery that documents and fights environmental racism in Louisiana’s petrochemical corridor, where plastic for products like Starbucks cups is produced. “Communities need more than a coffee break — they need a break from toxic plastic production driven by companies like Starbucks.”
“Starbucks should take a fresh look at how it contributes to our single-use plastic problem,” said Jenn Engstrom, state director of @CALPIRG Education Fund. “For the sake of our environment and our health, it's time for Starbucks to ditch its plastic lids and cups."
@SBWorkersUnited, the employees’ union, issued the following statement: “We are proud to stand in solidarity with Beyond Plastics and CALPIRG in their efforts to hold Starbucks accountable for millions of plastic items in our communities every single day. As we have repeatedly shown, Starbucks continues to stray away from its values, including by repeatedly breaking labor law and refusing to settle a fair contract with over 12,000 union baristas who power the company every day. Starbucks says that one of their missions is to ‘do the right thing, even when it’s hard,’ so we are ready for Starbucks to honor that commitment and fully implement its reusable policy to serve all customers in our cafes in ceramic mugs and glasses, including the staffing needed to support it.”
#Starbucks #plastics
