Thank you for your interest! We’re delighted that you’re considering becoming a bigger part of the growing grassroots movement dedicated to ending plastic pollution by starting a Beyond Plastics Local Group in your neck of the woods. Here’s how you can get started:

STEP 1. FEEL OUT THE FIT

Read our foundational document closely and make sure you feel that you can work within our framework. Do the values resonate with your own? Do our principles make sense to you? Is our vision clear to you?

STEP 2. READ THE MANUAL

If this feels like a good fit, you should read our step-by-step manual on how to start a local group (haga clic aquí para descargar en Español) to give you more details about what this entails and how it works.

STEP 3. TAKE THE ONLINE TRAININGS

Once you hear back from our team, it will be time to get up to speed on all things plastic pollution and grassroots organizing. Each of the two sessions is roughly two hours long and designed to help give you a solid background on the intricacies of plastic pollution issues and the basics of grassroots organizing. We offer these trainings on a quarterly basis - more details here. Please note that Local Group Leaders are required to complete our two-part online training within three months of submitting their request to start a Local Group.

STEP 4. ASSEMBLE YOUR TEAM

There is nothing fun about acting in a vacuum. Find two or more people you’d like to work with who are equally passionate about ending plastic pollution, and get started. The basic Beyond Plastics Local Group starts with three or more individuals, at least one of whom has completed training with Beyond Plastics. Select a name that is as local as possible to your coverage area (city, town or county preferably). We recommend that Groups form with the following key roles:

• Education/Community Outreach Coordinator

• Communications Lead

• Organizing Lead

STEP 5. MAKE IT OFFICIAL - ADD YOUR GROUP TO THE MAP

Once you’ve got yourself sorted out, fill out this form to add your Local Group to our national directory. Remember to have selected a name that is as local as possible to your coverage area (city, town or county preferably). We’ll use the information you share with us to add your Group to our map and help people in your area find you and get involved in your efforts.

STEP 6. KICK THINGS OFF WITH A LOCAL CAMPAIGN!

Once you’ve completed the two-part online training, you’re ready to dive in! Browse through our priority campaigns below to see what appeals to you and pick one to get started with. Don’t forget to make use of the organizing tools below, too, to help make your work more effective.

EXTRA CREDIT: CHECK OUT OUR STAFF PICKS

Whether you’re waiting to take the training or just want to learn more, we’ve curated some of our staff favorites below. Spend some time cozying up to these sources and use them to spark discussion and build camaraderie within your circle. 

• The Story of Plastic documentary film

• PBS Frontline’s Plastic Wars 

• Plastic Atlas: Facts and Figures About the World of Synthetic Polymers, Heinrich Boll Stiftung

• The New Coal: Plastics and Climate Change, Beyond Plastics, October 2021

• Rebecca Altman’s article in the Atlantic, “How Bad Are Plastics, Really?”, January 2021

• Plastic: A Toxic Love Story by Susan Freinkel

• Plastic Unlimited: How Corporations Are Fueling the Ecological Crisis and What We Can Do About It by Alice Mah

•  Thicker Than Water, The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis by Erica Cirino  

• David Sayer’s plastics wiki, an amazing assemblage of easy-to browse information on all aspects of the plastic pollution crisis

• Judith Enck’s seven-week online course, Beyond Plastic Pollution, at Bennington College - offered in both the fall and spring semesters and open to people of all ages everywhere. If you’re interested in attending but cannot get in right now, please fill out this form to add your name to the waiting list.