The Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) is an

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

and

social movement organization A social movement organization (SMO) is an organized component of a social movement. SMOs are generally seen as the components of a social movement. The movement's goal that can be much more narrow, or much broader, than the SMOs' goals. Descrip ...

which seeks to reduce

plastic pollution Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

. PPC operates under the

fiscal sponsorship Fiscal sponsorship refers to the practice of non-profit organizations offering their legal and tax-exempt status to groups—typically projects—engaged in activities related to the sponsoring organization's mission. It typically involves a fee-b ...

of the

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

Earth Island Institute The Earth Island Institute is a non-profit environmental group founded in 1982 by David Brower. Located in Berkeley, California, it supports activism around environmental issues through fiscal sponsorship that provides the administrative and org ...

Positions

PPC asserts that

plastic recycling Plastic recycling is the reprocessing of plastic waste into new products. When performed correctly, this can reduce dependence on landfill, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. A ...

is unhelpful. Instead, they endorse

taxes A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or ...

on plastic bags, propose the elimination of

single-use plastic A disposable (also called disposable product) is a product designed for a single use after which it is recycled or is disposed as solid waste. The term is also sometimes used for products that may last several months (e.g. disposable air filte ...

s, and emphasize

producer responsibility Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

for the end-life of their products. PPC has advocated for the discontinuation of single-use plastic

drinking straw A drinking straw is a utensil that is intended to carry the contents of a beverage to one's mouth. Straws are commonly made from plastics but environmental concerns and new regulation have led to rise in reusable and biodegradable straws. These ...

s, describing this as a " gateway issue to help people start thinking about the global plastic pollution problem". PPC prioritizes changing legal structures and producer responsibility against a perceived over-emphasis on individual responsibility for recycling.

History

PPC was founded by Manuel Maqueda, Daniella Russo, Lisa Boyle,

Dianna Cohen Dianna Cohen is an American visual artist and activist. She is the CEO and co-founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition The Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) is an advocacy group and social movement organization which seeks to reduce plastic po ...

and Julia Cohen in October 2009. The organization is primarily involved in

internet activism Internet activism is the use of electronic communication technologies such as social media, e-mail, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster and more effective communication by citizen movements, the delivery of particular infor ...

. In 2010, PPC was the host of

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

event "Great Pacific Garbage Patch: The Global Plastic Pollution Crisis" discussing the Pacific trash vortex. From April 2011 until June 2014, PPC operated a news website called ''The Plastic Free Times''. In 2017, an advocacy video for the Plastic Pollution Coalition was made featuring the top 11 finalists from the 10th season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

''. PPC alleges that American Idol producer

19 Entertainment 19 Entertainment is a producer of entertainment properties for television with a focus on music. Founded by Simon Fuller in London in 1985, the company co-produced ''Pop Idol'' in the United Kingdom with Thames Television in 2001. The ''Idol serie ...

contributed to the video and then demanded that it be removed from the internet under pressure from corporate sponsors. A couple of the organization’s markets have become home to ''Sustain L.A. Refill Station'', a business aimed at supplying customers with some of the products that are hardest to obtain without also buying new plastic bottles — shampoo, hair conditioner, liquid soap, laundry detergent and household cleaners.

Legal cases

In 2015, PPC and the environmental law firm Greenfire sued 3,000 plastic manufacturers in California for allegedly violating stormwater permitting requirements of the Clean Water Act. In April 2020, PPC and the Earth Island Institute filed a law suit against

Clorox The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational Final good, consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter (industrialist), William Procter and James Gamble (industr ...

California superior courts Superior courts in California are the state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. As mandated by t ...

alleging that these companies of polluting waterways, coasts, and oceans with millions of tons of plastic packaging. The suit claims they violations of the

California Consumers Legal Remedies Act The California Consumers Legal Remedies Act ("CLRA") is the name for California Civil Code §§ 1750 et seq. The CLRA declare unlawful several "methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices undertaken by any person in a transacti ...

, public nuisance, breach of express warranty, defective product liability, negligence, and failure to warn of the harms caused by their plastic packaging. The

American Beverage Association The American Beverage Association (ABA) is a government lobbying group that represents the beverage industry in the United States. Its members include producers and bottlers of soft drinks, such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, bottled water, and other ...

responded to the suit with a statement by saying some of their members' are actively addressing the problem of plastic pollution. The suit claims that the defendant companies collectively produce about 15% of all single-use plastic packaging.

Endorsements

PPC has used

celebrity endorsement Celebrity branding or celebrity endorsement is a form of advertising campaign or marketing strategy which uses a celebrity's fame or social status to promote a product, brand or service, or to raise awareness about an issue. Marketers use celebr ...

s to attract support. One video produced by PPC featuring actor

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...

was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. Celebrity supporters include

Jeff Franklin Jeffrey Steven Franklin (born January 21, 1955) is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He is best known for being the creator of the ABC sitcom ''Full House'' and its Netflix sequel '' Fuller House''. Early life Franklin was bor ...

Alexandra Paul Alexandra Elizabeth Paul (born July 29, 1963) is an American actress, activist, health coach, and former model. Paul began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film ''Christine'' (1983). ...

Amy Smart Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. A native of Los Angeles, Smart began her career modelling in Italy and subsequently enrolled in acting school. Her first role in film was in director Martin Kunert's anthology horror ...

, and

Ben Harper Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perfo ...

Criticism

PPC has campaigned to pressure companies to discontinue plastic packaging. Albe Zakes, spokesman for

TerraCycle TerraCycle is a private U.S.-based recycling business headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey. It primarily runs a volunteer-based recycling platform to collect non-recyclable pre-consumer and post-consumer waste on behalf of corporate donors or ...

, while expressing support for PPC's goals, has questioned whether switching to glass bottles instead of plastic is better for the environment. In 2021, a

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

documentary ''

Seaspiracy ''Seaspiracy'' () is a 2021 documentary film about the environmental impact of fishing directed by and starring Ali Tabrizi, a British filmmaker. The film examines human impacts on marine life and advocates for ending fish consumption. The fi ...

'' criticised PPC for not speaking up about the plastic pollution from the commercial fishing industry. It implied that PPC was dependent on revenues from fishing, being the subsidiary of

Similar organizations

Other similar organizations working to reduce plastic pollution include

5 Gyres The 5 Gyres Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that focuses on reducing plastics pollution by focusing on primary research. Programs concentrate on science, education and adventure (research expeditions for citizen-scientists). Since ...

, Break Free From Plastic, Changing Tides Foundation, Friends of Ocean Action,

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

, Lonely Whale, Marine Litter Solutions, OceanCare,

Ocean Conservancy Ocean Conservancy (founded as The Delta Corporation) is a nonprofit environmental advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States. The organization formulates ocean policy at the federal and state government levels based on peer review ...

, Oceana,

Parley for the Oceans Parley for the Oceans is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit environmental organization that focuses on protection of the oceans. It was founded in 2012 by Cyrill Gutsch. Background Before founding Parley for the Oceans, Cyrill Gutsch worked ...

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...

Surfrider Foundation The Surfrider Foundation USA is a U.S. 501(c)(3) grassroots non-profit environmental organization that works to protect and preserve the world's oceans, waves and beaches. It focuses on water quality, beach access, beach and surf spot preservati ...

, The Last Straw, the

Plastic Soup Foundation Plastic Soup Foundation is a non-profit marine conservation organisation that aims to reduce plastic pollution. Established in 2011, Plastic Soup Foundation advocates towards imposing bans and/or voluntary phase-outs of microbeads in cosmetics at ...

and ''Plastic soup surfer'' Merijn Tinga.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Environmental organizations based in the United States Environmental organizations established in 2009 Plastics and the environment Nature conservation organizations based in the United States Environmental organizations based in Washington, D.C. 2009 establishments in Washington, D.C.