Taking Action: Banning Plastic Bags an Easy Way to Fight Pollution

Elizabeth, Grade 7

Elizabeth, Grade 7

During the Grass Roots unit of Individuals and Societies class, my classmates and I participated in Photovoice, a participatory action research project where we choose a topic to study and then present. The topic I chose was pollution caused by plastic.
 
My interest in pollution started from hearing about global warming over the years. A few days before choosing my Photovoice project in the springtime, I had a soccer practice and it was boiling out. It was crazy. Because of its effect in causing global warming I realized I wanted to do my project on pollution.
 
At first I wanted to research pollution caused by cars, but my interest shifted toward plastic because of the harm it causes to animals. While I was practicing my presentation with some of the younger students at school, one of them shared a picture with me of a leatherback turtle with a plastic soda can ring around its waist. This stuck with me throughout my project and through now.
 
During this time two of my siblings were also doing school projects about plastics. Over the course of these projects we learned many things that we didn't know. Here are some facts from BYO Greenwich:
 

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These are only a few of the many astounding things my family and I learnt during this unit. Since then my family and I have tried reducing the amount of plastic in our house and we have also participated in a few beach cleanups at Tod's Point. Of course, pollution is a widespread problem across the world but to make a change, we have to start somewhere. Eliminating plastic bags is an action we can all take that requires minimal effort, but can bring about major change.
 
And now my family and I are taking action by asking you to sign a petition seeking to eliminate the use of single-use plastic bags by retailers in Greenwich. We would appreciate if you and anyone you know could help us accomplish our goal of 1,000 signatures. 
 
Sign the Petition
 
Elizabeth, Grade 7

Elizabeth, Grade 7

Elizabeth is a 7th Grade student at Whitby School.