Scientists estimate that millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, and conquering plastic pollution can sometimes seem like an insurmountable task. But the Beach Sister Peer Leaders are teens from Lynn who don’t back down from a challenge. Since January 2018 they’ve been working to raise awareness about the negative impacts of plastic pollution on human and environmental health in their community. On April 11^th 2019, their hard work paid off when an ordinance restricting the distribution of single-use plastic bags was passed in Lynn.

Beach Sisters is a collaboration between Marine Science Center (MSC), Girls Inc of Lynn, and the Americorps Massachusetts Promise Fellowship. Teen Peer Leaders are mentored by the MSC’s Beach Sisters Americorps Fellow to lead afterschool programs for younger girls, and conduct community service projects in their community. Back in 2018, the teens identified litter as the biggest issue facing their community, they saw it on the streets, on their beaches, just about everywhere. After researching the impacts of this plastic pollution on the marine environment, they wanted to take action. They noted the most common litter being single use plastic bags, and saw neighboring communities passing bag ordinances, which motivated them to push for a plastic bag ban in their community of Lynn.

To spread the word about this important issue, the Beach Sister Peer Leaders appeared at many public events. At the Lynn Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in 2018 and 2019 they collected signatures for a petition to ban plastic bags and educated the community about waste management with a trash, compost, and recycling sorting game. To help community members better recognize the problem of single-use plastic bags, teens took turns wearing a ‘plastic bag monster’ costume made out of 500 bags, the number that an average American uses annually.

At the 2018 Boston Harbor Educators Conference, they spoke on a panel with other youth leaders and discussed with local educators best practices for empowering youth. At the 2019 ECO Youth Summit, and the 2018 and 2019 High School Marine Science Symposia they networked with fellow teens and shared information on the issue through interactive games and discussion.

While they were confident that a bag ban was necessary, the teens were also aware of the challenges that banning plastic bags might present to the urban environmental justice community of Lynn. For instance, some members can’t afford reusable bags and commuting via public transit or walking to get groceries makes it difficult to rely on paper bags, especially in inclement weather. Thus, to help their community embark on the bag-free journey, the Beach Sisters organized a donation drive for reusable bags and made videos educating the community how to make their own reusable bags from old T-shirts. Additionally, they created customized reusable bags thanks to the financial support of MIT SeaGrant and WHOI SeaGrant organizations. The Beach Sisters distributed a combined total of 750 bags to Girls Inc. families and food pantries in Lynn.

Even over the summer, these passionate teens still had litter reduction on their minds. In August 2018, the Beach Sisters partnered with Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs to create sidewalk murals near storm drains in downtown Lynn. The murals brought beauty and color to the city sidewalks, while raising awareness about the importance of keeping litter off the streets, and out of the ocean. A generous paint donation from the Home Depot, and support the Save the Harbor Save the Bay Better Beaches Program made this project possible.

In order to bring this issue to the attention of their local elected officials, the Beach Sisters met with the Lynn City Council Committee on Environmental Affairs, the Board of Health, and Mayor Tom McGee on several occasions. They shared a presentation they created highlighting their work in the community and their motivation for a plastic bag ban. They did their research and presented some startling facts about the extent of the problem. For instance, plastic bags have an average use of only ten minutes before ending up in a landfill, where they take years to decompose.

The Beach Sisters also worked closely with State Representative Lori Ehrlich in support of her bill for a statewide plastic bag ban. They were invited to the Massachusetts State House on multiple occasions to have their voices to be heard by numerous state leaders including Governor Baker’s Deputy Legislative Director, and aides to Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo and Chairman of House and Ways Committee Jeffrey Sanchez. All of the state leaders praised the Beach Sisters for their commitment to the issue, and efforts are still ongoing for a statewide restriction on plastic bags.

Upon the passage of the city-wide ban in Lynn, the Beach Sisters were awarded with citation certificates by Lynn Mayor Tom McGee, recognizing their role in bringing this important issue to the attention of Lynn Legislators.

A big thanks to the many dedicated mentors who continue to guide the Beach Sister peer leaders through this educational and empowering project, including MSC graduate student Amanda Dwyer, Americorps Fellows Mary McQuillan and Rebeca Linhart, the devoted staff in the MSC Outreach Program and at Girls Inc. of Lynn, and our community partners including the Friends of Lynn and Nahant Beach, Orvel, and many others.

Even as the teens celebrate their accomplishments, they know that their work is not done. They are devoted to helping their city transition to being plastic bag-free, and they know that plastic bags are just one of many perpetrators of plastic pollution. As such, they are working on a communication campaign via social media, and in partnership with Lynn Community Access TV, to share the videos they’ve made, and create more media, sharing strategies for adapting to bag-free habits, and reducing plastic use all aspects of daily life. There’s no limit to what these young and dedicated environmental stewards might accomplish – be sure to follow the Marine Science Center (@numarsci) and Girls Inc. of Lynn (@girlsinclynn) to keep up with their great work.