Critical Intervention Plan Mkounnas
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Critical Intervention Plan ARTcycle Festival Ridgefield, Connecticut
By Megan Kounnas
ARE6641 Contemporary Issues in Art Education Dr. Heidi Powell March, 2019
Images of marine life washed up on the beach decaying with plastic pouring out of their insides is all too common a site in the news recently. Fishing nets abandoned at sea with endangered species deceased in the entanglement are commonly found washed up or floating by as boats pass. More photos and video footage of shorelines covered in trash washed up from open water is not an uncommon sight in the media. All of these problems stem from one thing: our consumption of one-use plastics and packaging and nowhere for it to go once disposed. Starting in the mid 1990’s, China discovered they could make millions on buying the world’s recyclables by processing it and reselling it at higher prices. This meant that for the next few decades, 70% of the world’s trash was being exported to China (Joyce, 2019). At the end of 2017, China announced their new policy, called National Sword, restricting the amount of contamination in imported recyclables including glass jars, many types of plastics and more that will be phased through 2020 (Kirby, 2019). Along with their ban on plastic bags thinner than 0.025mm in 2008, China hopes National Sword will help with its initiative to promote domestic recycling and conservation, a move in the right direction (McCarthy & Sanchez, 2017). Finding solutions to remove or reduce unsustainable packaging from communities is an ongoing battle. In many communities, recycling is a main priority when disposing of used-up cans, glass, cardboard and plastics. If lucky, many communities have a single-stream recycling program that allows citizens to dispose of all recyclables in the same bin for pick up or drop off at a facility. There are a few misleading aspects to this type of recycling. Employees at recycling facilities do not have the time or money to sort through single-stream bins to rinse, peel labels from or
discard non-recyclable materials that come through resulting in only some of the waste actually getting recycled (Kirby, 2019). Inconveniencing citizens to clean, sort and delabel their own recyclables might seem like a deterrent, but the bigger underlying issue is that most citizens have no idea they need to be doing this if they want the things they’re disposing to not end up in landfills. There is not enough public information or instruction on how to dispose of waste properly in communities, or enough transparency on what is happening to the trash in recycling facilities. Recycling facilities do not have a demand for the waste they collect nor the capacity to recycle as much as what’s coming in now that China is restricting what they will take. In many cases, this trash is being exported to countries like Indonesia who do not have the capacity to process the quantities coming in so they dump it exposing their citizens to deadly chemicals and pollution. There are also warehouses in the United States stockpiling plastics because there is nowhere else for it to go (Joyce, 2019). Much of these plastics are ending up in landfills, or worse yet they are being dumped illegally where they pollute both land and ocean ecosystems. Companies like Trader Joe’s have been called out for their excessive use in plastic packaging throughout the past few years after researchers found piles of Trader Joe’s plastics and polystyrene containers in illegally dumped waste areas (Joyce, 2019). Taking responsibility and owning up to their problems, they have made new efforts to find sustainable solutions to as much of their packaging as possible. They already are using compostable bags for produce, but they also plan to eliminate one million pounds of plastic in their stores by the end of 2019 (McCarthy, 2019).
Other companies, like Dell and Ikea, are trying to use sustainable and compostable packaging made by a company called Ecovative. Ecovative has developed a product to replace polystyrene made from ground corn husk and mycelium, a fungi that naturally breaks down organic materials (Levin, 2014). Avani is another company in Indonesia that is working to construct sustainable alternatives to biodegradable bags (McCarthy & Sanchez, 2017). According to Conti (2018), most compostable bags being used in stores, like Trader Joe’s, are not entirely biodegradable because they need a temperature of at least 122 degrees Fahrenheit to break down. These bags often end up in oceans where the temperature does not reach that high causing harm to marine life. Avani has developed bags that can be eaten by animals and will biodegrade because they are made from cassava and vegetable oil (McCarthy & Sanchez, 2017). Educating communities about how they can reduce their plastic use, how to properly recycle and how they can reduce the amount of waste in their businesses and homes might be the only solution to our global crisis at this point. With 50% of plastic in the world being thrown away after its first use, cities like San Francisco are trying to create waste-free communities with things such as plastic water bottle bans (“San Francisco becomes first…”, 2019). Many communities and even entire countries like Ireland are imposing a plastic grocery bag fee that encourage citizens to bring their own bags in order to reduce one-use plastics (McCarthy & Sanchez, 2017). Some states, like Vermont, have made state-wide community volunteer initiatives to clean litter in their communities involving citizens to care for and take pride in their environment (Greenup Vermont, 2019).
Recognizing that for communities to have success in their quest for reduced waste, they need to encourage citizens to take baby steps in changes with their daily lives. Using bar soap instead of bottled soap, drinking canned store bought beverages instead of plastic bottled drinks, making stove-top popcorn instead of microwave popcorn, using reusable straws and flatware, using reusable lunch sacks or getting a cone instead of a cup at the local ice cream shop are all small and easy things people can do in their every-day lives to help conserve (Shaw, 2019). For the future of our earth and generations to come, communities need to make it easier for their citizens to live more environmentally sustainable lifestyles by encouraging life changes like those. There needs to be more conversation about the crisis happening around the world with one-use plastics and packaging and unnecessary consumption. .
Project Summary WHAT: ‘ARTcycle’- Community conservation-awareness art festival open to all in order to raise awareness about the waste in our community and how we can help reduce what we put into our landfills by making small changes in our lifestyle and how we recycle. WHY: We are running out of space for our waste. With China no longer buying much of our recycled goods, we are now relying on countries with little to no capacity for the amounts of waste coming in, resulting in the destruction and pollution of their environments and well-being. A community art event would not only involve artists and citizens in the creation of art using wasted materials within our town, but it would also directly involve and encourage businesses to self-reflect on what they can do to conserve and how that will make them more desirable to citizens and customers. WHERE: Ballard Park in Ridgefield, Connecticut. (This is a large park that serves as a venue for many festivals and events throughout the year in the town center.)
Image of Ballard Park during the pumpkin festival in October Photo taken from https://mommypoppins.com/connecticut-kids/event/free/ridgefields-annual-giant-pumpkin-weigh-off
WHO: Anyone residing in or near Ridgefield, Connecticut is encouraged to show artwork created from waste (recycled, litter, upcycled, unrecyclable) whether it be sculptural, 2D, digital, installation or performance based. Local businesses are also encouraged to participate with booths and descriptions of measures they take to conserve. This becomes a win-win scenario, businesses make a good name for themselves and their conservation, which our community and earth benefit from the lost excess waste! ACTIVITIES AND VENDORS: 1. Local businesses will be encouraged to set up booths showing how they’re attempting to go green or be environmentally conscious. 2. Local restaurants and/or catering companies will have booths selling food and snacks. 3. Local girl scout and boy scout troops will volunteer to fundraise for conservation and/or give information about ways we can conserve in our homes and community using visual examples and demonstrations. 4. Local recycling companies will have booths explaining the right and wrong ways to recycle so things don’t end up unnecessarily in the landfills. 5. School art classes will be encouraged to show work relating to conservation or recycled materials. 6. Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (of Ridgefield, CT) will have a local artist run an open workshop for all ages showing how to make compostable and plantable art out of handmade paper.
7. Local bands, Suzuki school, music classes/schools will do performances throughout the festival. SPONSORS: Local businesses will be encouraged to sponsor by donating funds to set up the festival, advertise and promote. Their names would be displayed throughout the show on banners, flyers or digital ads. At the end of the festival, sponsors will be able to display one of the pieces (if sculptural) at their business for a period of time, and then artist may claim back their work or recycle the work appropriately. MEDIA: Local newspapers, Fairfield Magazine and Ridgefield Magazine would be asked to attend to document festival with photographs, news reports and interviews.
References BBC Four (Levin, R.). (2014). The magic of mushrooms [Documentary]. Available from https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b041m6fh Greenup Vermont: Tradition with a story. (2019). Retrieved from https://greenupvermont.org Kirby, R. (2019). Ridgefield recycling center to carve glass out of single stream. Retrieved from https://patch.com/connecticut/ridgefield/ridgefield-recycling-center-carve-glassout-single-stream Joyce, C. (Producer). (2019, March 13). All Things Considered [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/03/13/702501726/where-willyour-plastic-trash-go-now-that-china-doesnt-want-it McCarthy, J. (March, 2019). Trader Joe’s makes massive commitment to phase out plastic. Retrieved from https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/trader-joes-plastic waste/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=global&utm_ campaign=general-content&linkId=64497853&fbclid=IwAR2M3 XaYZSOduw8z0MCgCJ0OQio6wXvBZHNaRhhJ9GjqUvtV4Gi2AyuyLI McCarthy, J. & Sanchez, E. (January, 2017). This grocery bag won’t hurt animals- It will actually feed them. Retrieved from
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/this-plastic-bag-wont-hurt-animals-it actually-fee/?fbclid=IwAR3Jh1-ecQp111JsZzjDLr6qXcNfg fF4nJVAUYq1UMFTZKbMNZ0BrJuwnQ San Francisco becomes first city to ban the sale of plastic bottles. (March, 2019). Retrieved from http://www.thescinewsreporter.com/2019/03/san-francisco-becomes-first-city-to ban.html Shaw, A. (2019, April). 35 ways you can save the ocean from plastic. National Geographic Kids, 28-31. Conti, N. (March, 2018). Trader Joe’s ditches plastic produce bags and switches to compostable ones. Retrieved from http://www.5thbranch.com/trader-joes-ditches-plastic-produce-bags-switches compostable/
By Megan Kounnas
ARE6641 Contemporary Issues in Art Education Dr. Heidi Powell March, 2019
Images of marine life washed up on the beach decaying with plastic pouring out of their insides is all too common a site in the news recently. Fishing nets abandoned at sea with endangered species deceased in the entanglement are commonly found washed up or floating by as boats pass. More photos and video footage of shorelines covered in trash washed up from open water is not an uncommon sight in the media. All of these problems stem from one thing: our consumption of one-use plastics and packaging and nowhere for it to go once disposed. Starting in the mid 1990’s, China discovered they could make millions on buying the world’s recyclables by processing it and reselling it at higher prices. This meant that for the next few decades, 70% of the world’s trash was being exported to China (Joyce, 2019). At the end of 2017, China announced their new policy, called National Sword, restricting the amount of contamination in imported recyclables including glass jars, many types of plastics and more that will be phased through 2020 (Kirby, 2019). Along with their ban on plastic bags thinner than 0.025mm in 2008, China hopes National Sword will help with its initiative to promote domestic recycling and conservation, a move in the right direction (McCarthy & Sanchez, 2017). Finding solutions to remove or reduce unsustainable packaging from communities is an ongoing battle. In many communities, recycling is a main priority when disposing of used-up cans, glass, cardboard and plastics. If lucky, many communities have a single-stream recycling program that allows citizens to dispose of all recyclables in the same bin for pick up or drop off at a facility. There are a few misleading aspects to this type of recycling. Employees at recycling facilities do not have the time or money to sort through single-stream bins to rinse, peel labels from or
discard non-recyclable materials that come through resulting in only some of the waste actually getting recycled (Kirby, 2019). Inconveniencing citizens to clean, sort and delabel their own recyclables might seem like a deterrent, but the bigger underlying issue is that most citizens have no idea they need to be doing this if they want the things they’re disposing to not end up in landfills. There is not enough public information or instruction on how to dispose of waste properly in communities, or enough transparency on what is happening to the trash in recycling facilities. Recycling facilities do not have a demand for the waste they collect nor the capacity to recycle as much as what’s coming in now that China is restricting what they will take. In many cases, this trash is being exported to countries like Indonesia who do not have the capacity to process the quantities coming in so they dump it exposing their citizens to deadly chemicals and pollution. There are also warehouses in the United States stockpiling plastics because there is nowhere else for it to go (Joyce, 2019). Much of these plastics are ending up in landfills, or worse yet they are being dumped illegally where they pollute both land and ocean ecosystems. Companies like Trader Joe’s have been called out for their excessive use in plastic packaging throughout the past few years after researchers found piles of Trader Joe’s plastics and polystyrene containers in illegally dumped waste areas (Joyce, 2019). Taking responsibility and owning up to their problems, they have made new efforts to find sustainable solutions to as much of their packaging as possible. They already are using compostable bags for produce, but they also plan to eliminate one million pounds of plastic in their stores by the end of 2019 (McCarthy, 2019).
Other companies, like Dell and Ikea, are trying to use sustainable and compostable packaging made by a company called Ecovative. Ecovative has developed a product to replace polystyrene made from ground corn husk and mycelium, a fungi that naturally breaks down organic materials (Levin, 2014). Avani is another company in Indonesia that is working to construct sustainable alternatives to biodegradable bags (McCarthy & Sanchez, 2017). According to Conti (2018), most compostable bags being used in stores, like Trader Joe’s, are not entirely biodegradable because they need a temperature of at least 122 degrees Fahrenheit to break down. These bags often end up in oceans where the temperature does not reach that high causing harm to marine life. Avani has developed bags that can be eaten by animals and will biodegrade because they are made from cassava and vegetable oil (McCarthy & Sanchez, 2017). Educating communities about how they can reduce their plastic use, how to properly recycle and how they can reduce the amount of waste in their businesses and homes might be the only solution to our global crisis at this point. With 50% of plastic in the world being thrown away after its first use, cities like San Francisco are trying to create waste-free communities with things such as plastic water bottle bans (“San Francisco becomes first…”, 2019). Many communities and even entire countries like Ireland are imposing a plastic grocery bag fee that encourage citizens to bring their own bags in order to reduce one-use plastics (McCarthy & Sanchez, 2017). Some states, like Vermont, have made state-wide community volunteer initiatives to clean litter in their communities involving citizens to care for and take pride in their environment (Greenup Vermont, 2019).
Recognizing that for communities to have success in their quest for reduced waste, they need to encourage citizens to take baby steps in changes with their daily lives. Using bar soap instead of bottled soap, drinking canned store bought beverages instead of plastic bottled drinks, making stove-top popcorn instead of microwave popcorn, using reusable straws and flatware, using reusable lunch sacks or getting a cone instead of a cup at the local ice cream shop are all small and easy things people can do in their every-day lives to help conserve (Shaw, 2019). For the future of our earth and generations to come, communities need to make it easier for their citizens to live more environmentally sustainable lifestyles by encouraging life changes like those. There needs to be more conversation about the crisis happening around the world with one-use plastics and packaging and unnecessary consumption. .
Project Summary WHAT: ‘ARTcycle’- Community conservation-awareness art festival open to all in order to raise awareness about the waste in our community and how we can help reduce what we put into our landfills by making small changes in our lifestyle and how we recycle. WHY: We are running out of space for our waste. With China no longer buying much of our recycled goods, we are now relying on countries with little to no capacity for the amounts of waste coming in, resulting in the destruction and pollution of their environments and well-being. A community art event would not only involve artists and citizens in the creation of art using wasted materials within our town, but it would also directly involve and encourage businesses to self-reflect on what they can do to conserve and how that will make them more desirable to citizens and customers. WHERE: Ballard Park in Ridgefield, Connecticut. (This is a large park that serves as a venue for many festivals and events throughout the year in the town center.)
Image of Ballard Park during the pumpkin festival in October Photo taken from https://mommypoppins.com/connecticut-kids/event/free/ridgefields-annual-giant-pumpkin-weigh-off
WHO: Anyone residing in or near Ridgefield, Connecticut is encouraged to show artwork created from waste (recycled, litter, upcycled, unrecyclable) whether it be sculptural, 2D, digital, installation or performance based. Local businesses are also encouraged to participate with booths and descriptions of measures they take to conserve. This becomes a win-win scenario, businesses make a good name for themselves and their conservation, which our community and earth benefit from the lost excess waste! ACTIVITIES AND VENDORS: 1. Local businesses will be encouraged to set up booths showing how they’re attempting to go green or be environmentally conscious. 2. Local restaurants and/or catering companies will have booths selling food and snacks. 3. Local girl scout and boy scout troops will volunteer to fundraise for conservation and/or give information about ways we can conserve in our homes and community using visual examples and demonstrations. 4. Local recycling companies will have booths explaining the right and wrong ways to recycle so things don’t end up unnecessarily in the landfills. 5. School art classes will be encouraged to show work relating to conservation or recycled materials. 6. Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (of Ridgefield, CT) will have a local artist run an open workshop for all ages showing how to make compostable and plantable art out of handmade paper.
7. Local bands, Suzuki school, music classes/schools will do performances throughout the festival. SPONSORS: Local businesses will be encouraged to sponsor by donating funds to set up the festival, advertise and promote. Their names would be displayed throughout the show on banners, flyers or digital ads. At the end of the festival, sponsors will be able to display one of the pieces (if sculptural) at their business for a period of time, and then artist may claim back their work or recycle the work appropriately. MEDIA: Local newspapers, Fairfield Magazine and Ridgefield Magazine would be asked to attend to document festival with photographs, news reports and interviews.
References BBC Four (Levin, R.). (2014). The magic of mushrooms [Documentary]. Available from https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b041m6fh Greenup Vermont: Tradition with a story. (2019). Retrieved from https://greenupvermont.org Kirby, R. (2019). Ridgefield recycling center to carve glass out of single stream. Retrieved from https://patch.com/connecticut/ridgefield/ridgefield-recycling-center-carve-glassout-single-stream Joyce, C. (Producer). (2019, March 13). All Things Considered [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/03/13/702501726/where-willyour-plastic-trash-go-now-that-china-doesnt-want-it McCarthy, J. (March, 2019). Trader Joe’s makes massive commitment to phase out plastic. Retrieved from https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/trader-joes-plastic waste/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=global&utm_ campaign=general-content&linkId=64497853&fbclid=IwAR2M3 XaYZSOduw8z0MCgCJ0OQio6wXvBZHNaRhhJ9GjqUvtV4Gi2AyuyLI McCarthy, J. & Sanchez, E. (January, 2017). This grocery bag won’t hurt animals- It will actually feed them. Retrieved from
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/this-plastic-bag-wont-hurt-animals-it actually-fee/?fbclid=IwAR3Jh1-ecQp111JsZzjDLr6qXcNfg fF4nJVAUYq1UMFTZKbMNZ0BrJuwnQ San Francisco becomes first city to ban the sale of plastic bottles. (March, 2019). Retrieved from http://www.thescinewsreporter.com/2019/03/san-francisco-becomes-first-city-to ban.html Shaw, A. (2019, April). 35 ways you can save the ocean from plastic. National Geographic Kids, 28-31. Conti, N. (March, 2018). Trader Joe’s ditches plastic produce bags and switches to compostable ones. Retrieved from http://www.5thbranch.com/trader-joes-ditches-plastic-produce-bags-switches compostable/
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