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Zero- and low-waste businesses band together against plastic pollution

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Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Jessica Georges loves the beaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where she lives. But a few years ago, she realized even the most pristine parts of town weren’t immune to plastic pollution. “You can’t walk three yards on most beach days and not run into some sort of plastic,” she told EHN. Increasingly bothered by what she saw, she created a low-waste business — Green Road Refill — to sell low-cost and low-waste goods to her community. Now, she and other low-waste businesses are strengthening their efforts to reduce plastic pollution via the National Business Coalition for the Oceans, a nationwide organization of businesses supported by nonprofit Oceana. The coalition focuses on advancing federal, state and local policies to improve ocean health, in part by curbing single-use plastics. Businesses involved in the coalition work for plastics policy change by sending letters, signing petitions, testifying at hearings and educating customers. “We’re really happy to be part of a coalition where others are bringing their perspectives and their solutions, and we can all join forces and create the systems change that’s necessary,” Lauren Sweeney, a coalition member and co-founder of reusable packaging company Deliver Zero, told EHN. Plastic policy progressOceana’s business coalition emerged in 2021, after a partnership between Oceana, government officials and regional businesses helped ban oil and gas drilling along the Atlantic and eastern Gulf coasts. It became clear businesses voicing their concerns had the power to convince lawmakers, said Claudia Davis, the coordinator of the coalition.The coalition provides tools to business owners to help them learn about policy issues related to the oceans and gives them accessible ways to participate in policy efforts. Davis organizes members to sign petitions, author opinion pieces to publish in news outlets, testify at hearings and meet with lawmakers about relevant legislation. Any business interested in ocean health can join. Now, 250 business owners, from diving shops to restaurants to refilleries (shops where customers can refill reusable packaging with home and personal care products), are involved. “We really want to encourage collective action from the business community, because that's what's going to deliver policy victories that make a change for the most people,” Davis told EHN. At the federal level, the coalition is working to pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which would set nationwide plastics reduction targets, ban certain single-use plastic products and create a nationwide beverage container refund program. The coalition is working to expand the number of states and local governments with similar plastic legislation. In 2022, the coalition worked with multiple businesses in New York City to pass the “skip the stuff” law, which prohibits New York City restaurants from providing single-use plastics in takeout orders unless the customer asks. While the law will help reduce plastic pollution, it will also help restaurants save money, Davis said.Sweeney and Larasati Vitoux, another coalition member who runs a New York City refillery called the Maison Jar, testified for the bill at a hearing in front of New York City’s Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection.“I think it really made a difference to have members of the community who were saying “This is important to me not just as an individual, not just because I want to see less trash in my community, but [because] it's gonna save me and all of us money in the long run,”’ Davis said.A business perspectiveLow-waste businesses can provide a crucial perspective to lawmakers concerned about how policy changes will impact the economy. “Other businesses will come forward and say these bills are terrible for business,” Sweeney said. “Actually, you can run a business without polluting the planet and the oceans. The goal of these organizations is to counter the narrative that plastic reduction solutions are inherently anti-business.”Bringing business voices to environmental advocacy work is critical, said Jennifer Congdon, deputy director for Beyond Plastics, an environmental nonprofit not involved in Oceana’s coalition. Policymakers can get a lot of reassurance from hearing that environmental policies pushed by advocates “are going to shift the economy, but they’re not going to harm the economy,” she told EHN. “There’s a path forward for economic growth.” "You can run a business without polluting the planet and the oceans. The goal of these organizations is to counter the narrative that plastic reduction solutions are inherently anti-business.” - Lauren Sweeney, Deliver ZeroAt Green Road Refill, Georges sells more than 40 plant-based products such as dish soaps, shampoos and detergents. Running a refill shop is difficult work with slim margins, said Georges and Katie Rodgers-Hubbard, who runs a similar refillery in Savannah, Georgia, called Lite Foot Company.Bills that restrict single-use plastics give businesses like theirs a leg up by shifting the external costs of plastic like its environmental and public health harms — back to the businesses. “That makes plastic less competitive against other materials and other methods of delivering goods to people,” said Congdon. Preventing plastic pollutionWhile they work toward policy action, the businesses themselves are helping to fight pollution, too. In 2023, Rodgers-Hubbard decided that running a low-waste business and joining other nonprofit efforts wasn’t enough. She started a new, nonprofit branch of her business: Lite Foot Environmental Foundation. The foundation is creating a grade-school curriculum to educate students about plastic pollution and reuse. They also host clothing and book swaps and clothing repair days to encourage the Savannah community to extend the life of belongings. “We’re hoping to push the narrative,” Rodgers-Hubbard said. “Let’s fix things, let’s buy things of quality.” And at Green Road Refill, Georges doesn’t only sell closed-loop products —her suppliers are closed-loop, too. She buys many of her products in 30- to 55-gallon containers from a company called Rustic Strength, which she then sends back to the company once the containers are empty. When considering what to put on her shelves, she prioritizes products with biodegradable and non-toxic ingredients. Georges also focuses on educating customers and gives talks to libraries and elementary schools about plastic pollution. She asks everyone who gets a refill at her shop to contribute to an art installation made of non-recyclable bottle caps—a great way to start conversations about reducing one’s plastic footprint, she said. She passes information and petitions from Oceana on to customers in her monthly newsletters. “When I first started, I had to really do a lot of work explaining what plastic was and why it's important to reduce your own plastic footprint,” she said. But now, the people who visit her shop are more familiar with refilleries and living a low-waste lifestyle. “Businesses that exist almost for the sole purpose of reducing single use plastic are growing,” said Sweeney. “This is an exciting sector and the U.S. could develop more leadership in this sector by actually passing policy more quickly.”

Jessica Georges loves the beaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where she lives.

But a few years ago, she realized even the most pristine parts of town weren’t immune to plastic pollution. “You can’t walk three yards on most beach days and not run into some sort of plastic,” she told EHN. Increasingly bothered by what she saw, she created a low-waste business — Green Road Refill — to sell low-cost and low-waste goods to her community.

Now, she and other low-waste businesses are strengthening their efforts to reduce plastic pollution via the National Business Coalition for the Oceans, a nationwide organization of businesses supported by nonprofit Oceana. The coalition focuses on advancing federal, state and local policies to improve ocean health, in part by curbing single-use plastics. Businesses involved in the coalition work for plastics policy change by sending letters, signing petitions, testifying at hearings and educating customers.

“We’re really happy to be part of a coalition where others are bringing their perspectives and their solutions, and we can all join forces and create the systems change that’s necessary,” Lauren Sweeney, a coalition member and co-founder of reusable packaging company Deliver Zero, told EHN.

Plastic policy progress

Oceana’s business coalition emerged in 2021, after a partnership between Oceana, government officials and regional businesses helped ban oil and gas drilling along the Atlantic and eastern Gulf coasts. It became clear businesses voicing their concerns had the power to convince lawmakers, said Claudia Davis, the coordinator of the coalition.

The coalition provides tools to business owners to help them learn about policy issues related to the oceans and gives them accessible ways to participate in policy efforts. Davis organizes members to sign petitions, author opinion pieces to publish in news outlets, testify at hearings and meet with lawmakers about relevant legislation. Any business interested in ocean health can join. Now, 250 business owners, from diving shops to restaurants to refilleries (shops where customers can refill reusable packaging with home and personal care products), are involved.

“We really want to encourage collective action from the business community, because that's what's going to deliver policy victories that make a change for the most people,” Davis told EHN.

At the federal level, the coalition is working to pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which would set nationwide plastics reduction targets, ban certain single-use plastic products and create a nationwide beverage container refund program.

The coalition is working to expand the number of states and local governments with similar plastic legislation.

In 2022, the coalition worked with multiple businesses in New York City to pass the “skip the stuff” law, which prohibits New York City restaurants from providing single-use plastics in takeout orders unless the customer asks. While the law will help reduce plastic pollution, it will also help restaurants save money, Davis said.

Sweeney and Larasati Vitoux, another coalition member who runs a New York City refillery called the Maison Jar, testified for the bill at a hearing in front of New York City’s Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection.

“I think it really made a difference to have members of the community who were saying “This is important to me not just as an individual, not just because I want to see less trash in my community, but [because] it's gonna save me and all of us money in the long run,”’ Davis said.

A business perspective

Low-waste businesses can provide a crucial perspective to lawmakers concerned about how policy changes will impact the economy. “Other businesses will come forward and say these bills are terrible for business,” Sweeney said. “Actually, you can run a business without polluting the planet and the oceans. The goal of these organizations is to counter the narrative that plastic reduction solutions are inherently anti-business.”

Bringing business voices to environmental advocacy work is critical, said Jennifer Congdon, deputy director for Beyond Plastics, an environmental nonprofit not involved in Oceana’s coalition. Policymakers can get a lot of reassurance from hearing that environmental policies pushed by advocates “are going to shift the economy, but they’re not going to harm the economy,” she told EHN. “There’s a path forward for economic growth.”

"You can run a business without polluting the planet and the oceans. The goal of these organizations is to counter the narrative that plastic reduction solutions are inherently anti-business.” - Lauren Sweeney, Deliver Zero

At Green Road Refill, Georges sells more than 40 plant-based products such as dish soaps, shampoos and detergents. Running a refill shop is difficult work with slim margins, said Georges and Katie Rodgers-Hubbard, who runs a similar refillery in Savannah, Georgia, called Lite Foot Company.

Bills that restrict single-use plastics give businesses like theirs a leg up by shifting the external costs of plastic like its environmental and public health harms — back to the businesses. “That makes plastic less competitive against other materials and other methods of delivering goods to people,” said Congdon.

Preventing plastic pollution

While they work toward policy action, the businesses themselves are helping to fight pollution, too. In 2023, Rodgers-Hubbard decided that running a low-waste business and joining other nonprofit efforts wasn’t enough. She started a new, nonprofit branch of her business: Lite Foot Environmental Foundation.

The foundation is creating a grade-school curriculum to educate students about plastic pollution and reuse. They also host clothing and book swaps and clothing repair days to encourage the Savannah community to extend the life of belongings. “We’re hoping to push the narrative,” Rodgers-Hubbard said. “Let’s fix things, let’s buy things of quality.”

And at Green Road Refill, Georges doesn’t only sell closed-loop products —her suppliers are closed-loop, too. She buys many of her products in 30- to 55-gallon containers from a company called Rustic Strength, which she then sends back to the company once the containers are empty. When considering what to put on her shelves, she prioritizes products with biodegradable and non-toxic ingredients.

Georges also focuses on educating customers and gives talks to libraries and elementary schools about plastic pollution. She asks everyone who gets a refill at her shop to contribute to an art installation made of non-recyclable bottle caps—a great way to start conversations about reducing one’s plastic footprint, she said. She passes information and petitions from Oceana on to customers in her monthly newsletters.

“When I first started, I had to really do a lot of work explaining what plastic was and why it's important to reduce your own plastic footprint,” she said. But now, the people who visit her shop are more familiar with refilleries and living a low-waste lifestyle.

“Businesses that exist almost for the sole purpose of reducing single use plastic are growing,” said Sweeney. “This is an exciting sector and the U.S. could develop more leadership in this sector by actually passing policy more quickly.”

Read the full story here.

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A current resident of Detroit who has been a Detroit resident for at least 20 yearsThe task force documented “historical atrocities” inflicted on African American residents since before Detroit’s founding. Recommended policies are the culmination of dozens of meetings and hundreds of hours of discussion.“We have been guided as a Task Force by our understanding that the wealth and imperialist power of the United States may be attributed directly to profits generated by the enslavement of our ancestors – through the slave trade, chattel slavery, peonage, and prison labor,” the report states. “In colonial America and the United States, extraction of Black labor and the violence with which this extraction was conducted, ensured the accumulation of wealth by whites, so that their heirs today continue to enjoy economic security and prosperity.” The final product tackles a broad range of issues and suggests a multitude of new investments. Some changes are within the city’s power, like creating grants, while others require changes in state law, like ending qualified immunity for police. It’s unclear how much reparations programs would cost. The task force recommends finding revenue by creating a downtown entertainment tax, an additional fee on casino revenue and a $5 million fund for neighborhood corridor development. It also suggests clawing back tax breaks from developers that fail to meet benchmarks and creating a new fee on city contracts. A reparations administrative office is recommended to ensure accountability and long-term success. It would be overseen by an independent board of appointed residents and charged with administering reparations payments, establishing programs, tracking outcomes and coordinating public feedback. The task force was charged with suggesting policies, not implementing them. The City Council will decide what to do with the recommendations. Project Manager Evan Daugherty said the task force hopes to hold public discussions on the report but can’t take action without the City Council extending the task force. Their business ended Oct. 31, he said, though the council could ask members to stay on longer to roll out the recommendations to residents. Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield introduced legislation that established the reparations effort. Chief of Staff Brian White said Tuesday that her team is still reviewing the report. Detroit’s task force builds on decades of local advocacy from figures like “Reparations Ray” Jenkins and U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr., who pushed for federal reparations. The report acknowledges reparations were historically paid to other groups, including Japanese Americans who were interred during World War II, Holocaust victims and even former slave owners. The city’s 2021 ballot initiative established a task force to suggest housing and economic development programs that address historic discrimination. Unlike past efforts, the task force is focused on seeking municipal reparations to repair harms caused by the City of Detroit. “The devastating consequence of Detroit municipal policies over the last 50 years has been the handing over of City governance to corporate control,” the report states. “There has been intensive development of the downtown core — to the neglect of traditional neighborhoods, and the concession of the people’s valuable assets, such as the Water and Sewerage Department and Belle Isle, to suburban and State interests.” The task force laments that city policies “reflect the same racial and political biases that characterized policies of previous eras” despite most city leaders being African Americans. It argues city leaders stood by as thousands of residents lost their homes through illegal overassessment and have not held corporations accountable for delivering benefits negotiated in tax abatement agreements.“Our City leaders have surrendered their authority to the corporate establishment and entities like the Detroit Downtown Development Authority, leaving the welfare of neighborhood communities unattended and underfunded,” the report states. “Now Detroit consists of two cities, one thriving, the other neglected and plundered.” Here’s a summary of recommendations: A reparations office would distribute housing grants worth up to $40,000 in down payment assistance and up to $30,000 for home repairs. The task force recommended building at least 1,000 new housing units for African Americans that are affordable for someone making 50% of the area median income ($35,350). It called for creating rent control policies and renovating vacant properties into shelters for unhoused residents. The task force wants to end the transfer of city-owned land to the Detroit Land Bank Authority and establish a new redevelopment program that prioritizes residents. The task force also wants to stop delinquent water bills from becoming a lien on property and eliminate sewage fees. The report recommends refunding African American property owners who lost homes to tax foreclosure with money from auction sales. It recommends freezing property taxes for residents who were overassessed by the city. The task force recommends providing up to $100,000 in grants for businesses displaced by urban renewal projects. It suggests creating other grants for co-ops, start-ups, grocery stores and community-based businesses. It recommends building 10 new commercial strip malls that provide five years of rent-free space for African American–owned businesses. Commercial areas should be designated as tax increment financing zones, according to the task force, allowing tax revenues to be reinvested within the zone. City contracts should give more preference to African American-owned businesses, according to the report. Recommendations call for free post-secondary training for skilled trades careers and online financial literacy courses. The report also calls for giving city-owned land to local farmers to support community food networks. Policing and law enforcement The task force proposed recommendations to address ongoing issues with police misconduct. It includes paying restitution to people injured or killed by police, ending qualified immunity, and firing “high risk” officers identified by the Detroit Police Department and officers who shoot unarmed citizens. The task force recommends hiring more Black residents at DPD and in local courts to better reflect the city’s racial demographics. It calls for adding staff to process citizen complaints against police officers and create a permanent archive for police body camera footage. The report calls for dissolving a DPD command center that monitors school campuses across the city. It also seeks to dismantle the “One Detroit” violent crime initiative, a partnership between local law enforcement and federal agencies like the DEA, AFT and FBI. The task force argued the partnership “represses citizens in an overlay of multiple surveillance and policing operations,” while city leaders credit it for decreasing violent crime. Funding should be increased for community violence intervention, DPD’s mental health co-response unit and other restorative justice programs, according to the report. Unaffordable water bills have caused residents to live in unsanitary conditions and lose their homes, according to the report. The task force calls for a moratorium on residential water shutoffs and a new affordability program that doesn’t charge residents more than 3% of their household income. The task force calls for renegotiating a $50 million annual lease with the Great Lakes Water Authority and the terms of its service agreement to create a more equitable cost-sharing scheme. The report highlights how Detroit pays 83% of sewerage system costs, while suburban residents pay 17%.Decades of disinvestment, state-imposed emergency management and racially biased funding formulas left the Detroit Public Schools Community District unable to meet the needs of its predominantly African American student population, according to the task force. Reparations school grants are recommended to fund STEM fellowships, free high-speed internet for students and other academic, athletic and mental health programs. The task force also suggested finding new uses for shuttered school buildings. The report recommends lobbying the state Legislature for funding to reduce class sizes, upgrade school infrastructure, hire more African American teachers and introduce educators to African-centered education. The task force aims to rebuild the foundations of health, environment and food access in neighborhoods.The report sets a goal for creating 100 acres of community-controlled agricultural land by 2035. It recommends creating a food sovereignty fund to support Black-owned grocers, co-ops, kitchens and food markets. The task force suggests dedicating vacant city land as food distribution centers and offering funding to grocers that open in food deserts. The task force recommends creating “environmental reparations zones” in polluted census tracts to coordinate environmental monitoring and clean up. Detroit’s high rate of asthma hospitalization and toxic air quality poses a major threat to the wellbeing of residents, according to the report. The task force hopes to cut emergency room visits due to asthma in half within a decade. Possible solutions include in-home air filters, ongoing air quality monitoring and creating buffer zones between homes and industrial facilities. The task force recommends creating an Office of African American Cultural Programs to support the arts. This includes historic preservation projects, grants for galleries and studios, plus efforts to rename public sites in honor of significant African American leaders. This story was originally published by BridgeDetroit and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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