From September 15-21, Surfrider Foundation lead #BYOBag Week, challenging all New Yorkers to go one week without using disposable bags. Because of #BYOBag Week, hundreds of New Yorkers stopped thousands of plastic bags from entering the waste stream and littering our beaches and waterways. Many City Council members took the challenge in advance of a key hearing on the proposed single-use bag legislation in NYC – an important step in raising awareness within the City Council about the broad support for the bill. The hearing with the Sanitation Committee is scheduled for November – a positive vote there will lead to a vote by the entire Council later this year.
Following the success of #BYOBag Week, Surfrider was invited to speak about our Rise Above Plastics initiative at the New York City launch of Bureo Skateboards. Bureo has created a production method that turns fishing nets collected along the Chilean coast into skateboard decks. Over 100 people attended the party at Patagonia Bowery, many buying raffle tickets for a Bureo skateboard with all proceeds going to our chapter. The partnership was a perfect fit given Bureo’s commitment to removing plastics from our oceans.
Now we’re already a few days in RAPtober. Where does the time go?
Rise Above Plastics Month is a month-long initiative calling you to reduce your plastic footprint and raise awareness about the harmful effects caused by single-use plastics in our marine and coastal environments.
Throughout October, the Surfrider Foundation will ‘Rise Above Plastics’ by providing tips on how you can reduce your plastic footprint and simple ways to implement change in your daily routine. Take the Rise Above Plastics pledge to commit to using less plastics every day.
You can also enter Surfrider’s Plastic Art Contest. Show your creativity and help to raise awareness of the effects of plastic pollution. Enter to have a chance to win an epic prize pack including a Firewire Tibertek surfboard or Bureo skateboard, Spy + Surfrider Helm Sunglasses, ChicoBag and Surfrider gear.