Rise Above Plastics

Did you know that an estimated 100 million tons of plastic debris have accumulated in two areas of the Pacific Ocean that together are larger than the continental United States? (These areas are aptly called the Eastern and Western Garbage Patches.) There is so much plastic, that it outnumbers the zooplankton six to one.

Plastic, like diamonds, are forever.

It doesn’t biodegrade and no naturally occurring organisms can break it down. Plastic photo-degrades, which means that sunlight breaks it down into smaller and smaller pieces. Those small pieces drift in the ocean and are mistaken for food by fish and birds.

Seabirds are often found dead with innards full of plastic. Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for food and are often found dead with their intestines clogged by plastic bags. Sadly, 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die each year due to ingestion of or entanglement in plastics.

The scope of the problem is astounding, but the Surfrider Foundation is working, through our Rise Above Plastics Campaign, to discourage the use of single-use plastics and encourage everyone to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Make a pledge to Rise Above Plastics. It’s a simple pledge to:

Use reusable bottles for water and other drinks. Use cloth bags for groceries and other purchases. Recycle the plastic bags and bottles you already have.

If you think that your pledge won’t make much of a difference, think again. For each reusable bag you use, another 400 plastic bags will be kept from being used. Every reusable water bottle will keep another 167 plastic bottles from entering the environment.

Simply click here and pledge to Rise Above Plastics.

Thank you for making a difference for our world’s oceans, waves and beaches.

Surfrider Foundation & Marine Protected Areas:
The Surfrider Foundation supports the concept of marine protected areas (MPAs). Marine reserves and other MPAs are important tools to preserve ocean biodiversity, which is a key tenant of the Surfrider Foundation’s mission. As such, the Surfrider Foundation is also supportive of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative, which will establish a network of MPAs along the entire coast of California. Link here for more information.

Aveda & Shape’s Initiative Towards A Better World

Did you know that when bottles are recycled, their caps (which can’t be processed by recycling machinery) are often cut off and thrown away, ending up in landfills, oceans, rivers, and too often, in the mouths of baby sea animals? This causes the animals to either choke or end up with bellies full of plastic, which eventually leads to death due to malnutrition, explains Michael Braungart, a toxicology expert and engineering professor at Germany ’s University of Lüneberg .So three years ago, Braungart approached the natural-beauty company Aveda for help with this problem. “Our solution was to prevent the plastic caps from getting into the ocean altogether,” says John DeFausse, vice president of global packaging for Estée Lauder, Aveda’s parent company. “So we created a second life for the discarded plastic by collecting caps from our employees and their families and using them to make new tops for Aveda’s limited-edition retro Clove Shampoo bottles, which hits stores in September for Aveda’s 30th anniversary.”

What can you do to help?
The Aveda Caps Recycling Program is underway-thank you to all those who are participating. In order to help reduce shipping expenses and CO2 emissions, we have set up 3 Cap Collection Centers. Please send your caps to the nearest location listed below. Want to find marketing materials, program information or have a question? email capcollection@aveda.com if you have any questions. Thank you!

EAST COAST
ACA Waste Services
40 Eads Street
West Babylon, NY 11704

WEST COAST
Aveda Cap Program
Attn. Cesar Soto
475 West Apra Street
Rancho Dominguez , CA 90220

MIDWEST

Aveda Cap Program
3860 Pheasant Ridge Drive
Blaine, MN 55449