Goal 12: Responsible Consumption & Production
Elena Nessler & Meaghan Thompson
empower Canadian stakeholders to better fulfill their roles in phasing out single-use plastics?
Plastic production and consumption has been rising at an alarming rate, resulting in exponential amounts of waste ending up in landfills and the natural environment.
The current recycling system in Canada is lacking; most plastic recyclables are not being recycled and the rejection of plastic recycling exports, which were previously sent to developing countries, is exacerbating the problem. Consumers, producers, policy-makers and retailers must take responsibility and work together towards a zero-waste system in order to protect the future of our land, ecosystems, oceans and all that inhabit it.
Elena Nessler
Plastic waste and overconsumption weigh on my mind heavily. Although I have, in the past few years, made significant life changes to take action against these problems, I discovered that there need to be massive, system-wide changes across various stakeholders in order to begin solving this issue. I want to educate and empower like-minded individuals on this topic in order to spur much-needed social and systematic change
Meaghan Thompson
I believe in strengthening communities in order to face challenges. We must work together -- as addressing overconsumption involves appealing to psychology, technology, education, community and morality. Through design, we can find the right way to synthesize and convey knowledge in order to empower individuals and the communities they live in.