Join WCS for an educational panel discussing the ever increasing use plastics while growing research and data show its harmful effects on the environment and human health.  We will also discuss Plastic Free July, its mission and global reach.  We will invite participants to pledge to make changes in their daily lives and workplaces.

Join WCS for an important discussion on plastic pollution and its effect on the environment and overall human health. We are excited to learn more about different ways to eliminate single use plastics from everyday life and help others do the same. 

We’ll hear from Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, Founder of Plastic Free July and Manuel Maqueda, Co-Founder of SUPER Certification and Harvard professor in the Sustainability Management program teaching Circular Economics and Regenerative Economics. We’ll learn about the inconvenient truths of the convenience of single-us plastics and talk about global efforts to turn off the tap to single-use plastic.

We’re excited to learn more about this important topic and find out what changes we can make in our daily lives to reduce the use of single use plastics at home, work, school, and even our own communities. 

Speakers

Rebecca Prince-Ruiz
Founder of Plastic Free July

Rebecca Prince-Ruiz is the founder of Plastic Free July, a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution. In 2011, Rebecca became concerned by the amount of plastics going into landfill and encouraged her family to go plastic-free for the month of July. Her idea is now a global initiative, with an estimated 140 million people participating worldwide in 2022.

Rebecca has worked with communities, governments and business leaders on reducing single use plastics and is on the board of the WA government Container Deposit Scheme. Rebecca is now the Executive Director of the Plastic Free Foundation, the not for profit with the vision of a world without plastic waste that delivers the annual challenge.

Rebecca is a regular media commentator has appeared on the ABC show ‘War on Waste’ to increase awareness of the plastics issue and the solutions available. She has published a book on the Plastic Free movement, and created a vast social media following – inspiring countless others to do more for the planet. Plastic Free July challenge which since grown to a global movement that has helped participants in 195 countries reduce single-use plastic.

With more than 30 years’ experience in the world of environmental and waste management, community engagement, and sustainability behaviour change she has a unique perspective on the role of individuals in environmental issues. Rebecca has participated in plastic pollution research expeditions in Australia, the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and explored innovative solutions to plastic waste worldwide during a Churchill Fellowship. Rebecca believes it’s critical to stop the problem at the source and believes we all need to take responsibility to change our throw away culture.

Manuel Maqueda
Co-Founder of SUPER Certification and Special Programs Instructor at Harvard in the Sustainability Management program teaching Circular Economics and Regenerative Economics

A pioneer and an expert in plastic pollution remediation, Manuel is the co-founder of SUPER, a nonprofit enabling businesses to eliminate single-use plastics through a tiered certification program. Manuel is Special Programs Instructor on Applied Circular Economics and Regenerative Economics at Harvard University, and teaches and lectures internationally on plastics, environmental science, and circular and regenerative economics.

Moderated by:
Kirpa Grewal
WCS Volunteer Committee Co-Chair

Kirpa is one of the WCS Board of Directors who is the Co-Chair of the Volunteerism Committee and Executive Committee member, supporting all the WCS committees.

She is an environmentalist working to protect important ecosystems and the services they provide. She connects people with the environment to affect global change.

Originally from the Bay Area in California, she completed her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz and has gained an M.Sc. Hydrology & Water Security from the University of Oklahoma. Kirpa is based in Grenada in the Caribbean, where she works on sustainable natural resource management, conservation, and economic development initiatives. She leads fundraising and finance for MOBY (a social enterprise), is a Youth Ocean Leader with Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA), a Volunteer Researcher at Ocean Spirit (leatherback sea turtle research), and is a conservation diver at Aquanauts Explorer.

She goes on weekly coastal cleanups with her dog, Ziggy, to clear trash from local waterways and bring awareness to the marine litter problem. Kirpa enjoys conducting scientific research (water sampling, microplastic pollution), climate stewardship, gardening, hiking, scuba diving, biking, writing, live music, and adventuring in nature.