Rama's LLP: Anti-Plastic Campaign at Delia School of Canada, Hong Kong

This summer, global educator Maggie Chumbley (dot com) talked to a group of bright eyed teenagers about plastic pollution. I was one of them, and my bright eyes held a little bit of cynicism. Maggie told us how she was cutting disposable plastic entirely out of her life, and choosing to use substitutes in every situation possible. She spoke about standing up and even telling disinterested peers about the issue, and ways to combat it. As I sat there listening to her, I admired her strength and courage in going against the norm of having plastic be a part of everyday life, but at the same time, I thought, "come on, just because a small group of people do something, the problem won't go away. And she hasn't met my peers, they'd never care. This is simply.. unrealistic." In an effort to express that to her, but in a polite manner, I said "Maggie, that sounds really difficult." Maybe it didn't capture exactly what I was trying to convey- but it spoke to what I was really thinking, deep down inside. All Maggie dignified my response with was, "I know, it doesn't." BAM!

Here's what I realised: I'd been living my life choosing what was easy and convenient over what was right. What I learned that day was, I didn't have to keep doing so. When I came back home to my peers who I was sure would be disinterested, I was full of optimism and determination. I realised that two weeks of life without plastic had made me passionate about the issue, and eager to start spreading the message on. I started talking to my group of friends about plastic every day- some were interested to hear, but most just found it annoying. But the one or two successes fueled my ambition, and I came up with an idea; Maggie had told us about an anti-plastic campaign run by students at a school where she used to teach; why couldn't I start one at mine? After weeks of negotiating with school administration, counselling with Maggie and a teacher at school (more on her later!), getting my friends to pledge support, and writing and rewriting proposals, I had a working plan!

Today is about a month or so into that initial plan. What the revised version looks like is almost irreconcilable with the original. We wanted to hold a presentation for the entire high school; we've been allowed to hold one for the grade 11's and 12's. We wanted there to be dialogue and discussion during the presentation; we're going to have to have it entirely scripted. We started out with about 28 people; now we're down to 18. But that's all okay. A smaller audience allows us to make our presentation intimate, personal, and moving; giving high school kids the license to interrupt a presentation has the potential to end in chaos (as many of my teachers know very well); the people left in the campaign group are all dedicated and prepared to invest themselves into this endeavour. We've learned to take everything positive we can get out of our environment, and make it work.

So, here's what our plan looks like. We've decided to focus on plastic bottles- it's a common trend at my school to buy one from 7-11 in the morning, throw it out when school ends, and buy another the next day! So we're going to talk about the alternatives- bringing reusable water bottles from home, or taking plastic bottles home to reuse.We're to hold a 30 minute presentation for three different groups on December 14th- just over a month away! But we're ready! We have speakers willing to share their personal connection to the issue, and why they think it is important to take action, to encourage the rest of the student body. We're collecting plastic bottles from around the school every single day (people have actually been generating a lot of buzz just through this!) to create a visual display of just how many bottles we go through in only a month; it's been but a week, and we already have four large garbage bags full of them! (augh!) Finally, we're working on a video of ambassadors for the cause, showing that it isn't 'uncool' to care; it's human! We've decided that if we can get just one person to start bringing reusable water bottles or reuse their plastic bottles, our campaign will have been a success! Our biggest asset is our teacher adviser, a Ms. Tabitha Mark who is just a gold mine of energy (SHE DOES NOT RUN OUT), creative ideas, and support. She's given us her room for meetings, storing the bottles we collect, and discussions. She's always around to give us pointers, help us find structure, and relay "teacher-tips". As for me, personally, I've been happily proven wrong about the peers who I thought would "never care about something like this".

This is the story of how a doubt grew into an idea which grew into a movement. I'm excited to see if I can get a happy ending out of it.