With less than 10% of the world’s plastic produced being recycled, something more needs to be done. We commend those who take action through cleaning up our shorelines, but the unfortunate part is that much of what is collected ends up in landfills again, which inevitably makes it’s way back into our environment.

The Circular Economy Ambassador Program is an annual program that Canadian teachers carry out in their classrooms to educate children and youth about the harmful effects of plastic pollution and what they can do to have a positive impact. 

There’s a classroom component, as well as a community cleanup activity that encourages students to experience first hand what is polluting their environment. During this activity, they are tracking and sorting with a goal of diverting as much waste as possible from landfill. They are encouraged to theorize leakage points to understand where the waste is coming from to brainstorm potential solutions. They are providing the data to our team which is shared with other groups, and also used to identify localized waste management issues. The data collected helps to influence local policy change.