Youth across the country are RAPIDLY signing on to become PATHWATER Student Ambassadors (PSA) to solve our plastic crisis
California middle and high schoolers use an estimated 9 million plastic water bottles every year. The reason? Because there are no affordable, reusable alternatives provided, and often water fountains go unfixed.
What does this mean? It means that if K-12 students want to stay hydrated, they likely have to reach for a plastic water bottle, even if they don’t particularly agree with the wasteful practice. If we don’t fix this plastic bottled water problem within 10 years, there will be roughly 10 billion single-use plastic water bottles in our landfills and oceans used by middle and high schoolers in California alone. We must do something to stop this now!
That’s why we are partnering with youth across the country on a mission to clean up our plastic crisis. It won’t fix itself, and we cannot wait for governments and businesses to take responsibility. We have to rise and take charge of plastic waste starting here, in our backyards. The most effective way to do this is in schools because we can affect more change there than if we individually begin in our homes. More and more kids are jumping into action and offering voices of change, determination, and resolution. Here are just some of the reasons why kids are joining the PSA program:
Step 1: Understanding The Plastic Crisis. Every Student Should Know This!
By now, it’s well known that plastic pollution is causing major environmental and health problems, leaving our oceans and bodies, well, poisoned. Here’s why:
Plastics are made from petroleum, the black stuff they frack, drill, and pump out of the ground to refine and make a long list of synthetic items including fuel for vehicles. Any product that uses petroleum comes with environmental damages caused by carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.
Single-use plastic is not meant to be reused, hence the name, yet it is nearly indestructible, taking 450 -1,000 years to decompose.
The recyclability of plastics is very low. Only 30% of PET #1, the stuff single-use plastic water bottles are made from, is broken down and made into new, inferior products like carpet, clothing, and other polyester fibers that end up in landfills. Which means that a guaranteed 70% of plastic water bottles get incinerated, go to landfills, or become trash in oceans. So this means that single-use plastic water bottles are incapable of being 100% truly recycled and made into another bottle! The only way to be sure that there will be better solutions in our future is to ban single-use plastic water bottles, like yesterday.
Plastics are currently not being recycled. Currently, our plastic recycling system is broken, and most plastics are not being recycled. China’s ban on U.S. plastics has left many cities with plastic waste they cannot process and must either burn or send to landfills. Those plastics then hang around for hundreds of years releasing toxins into the environment; making people and wildlife sick.
Students have the right to reject plastics. We believe students have the right to know exactly what’s going on with our plastic crisis and the impact that plastic bottled water has on our health and our planet. Students all over the world need to know about the damaging practices that have become so normalized in our society.
BECOME A PATHWATER Student Ambassador - Be the Solution to our Plastic Crisis
Here at PATHWATER, we want to get rid of single-use plastic bottles once and for all! If you’re ready to save the planet from plastic pollution, join the revolution by becoming a PATHWATER Student Ambassador!
Step 1: SIGN THE PETITION!
Step 2: Apply - Check “YES” on the petition form & apply to become a PSA Member
Step 3: Check your email to see if you’re in!
Once your application is reviewed, and you’re approved, you will receive an extra special package in the mail and will be committed to helping us get more petition signatures to ban single-use plastic water bottle sales at your school.
Get ready for a chance to earn a $100 gift card every month - we will be giving away 3 EVERY week for PSA members who perform our challenges best! Get your social media accounts ready - this is going to be a digital revolution. We can do this!
Why do we care if students use plastics vs. reusables? Our mission is to bring the plastic crisis to the forefront and engage students to take action for cleaning up our planet. This mission starts with the actions that we can take in our local communities, especially our schools. PATHWATER is just one way you can do that; there are many more. We want to make a positive impact on the planet and know we can do this together!
We believe there’s a better way than plastic & we believe in YOU! Join the Revolution and let’s end this plastic crisis together, for this little guy.
Schools that have joined the revolution!
Students demanded change at PUC Community Charter in Sylmar, CA, and they were heard. PUC students came together to sign a PATHWATER led petition that urged the campus to ban single-use plastic. PUC administration listened to what the students wanted, and they are paving the way to adopt the ban for all PUC charter locations. Saving our oceans, animals, and protecting our air from harmful pollutants that originate from single-use plastic is what has motivated students to make sure their schools are not creating more toxic trash.
Taking the ban on plastic one step further, PUC added a brand new refill water station on campus, along with affordable PATHWATER reusable bottled water.
Kids are fed up with the wasteful single-use plastic being manufactured that is polluting our earth, and they are standing up and demanding change. PUC is just one example of the many K-12 public schools establishing a ban on single-use plastic bottles.
If you are someone who wants to make a difference APPLY to be a PSA. Not a student? Share the PSA program with students in your family or network. Let’s do this!