Environmental organizations on campus have spent the COVID-19 pandemic spearheading several sustainability initiatives, including a focus on single-use plastics.
CalPIRG’s Plastic-Free Seas campaign began in the fall of 2019 to push UC Berkeley to take action on the global ecological, health and environmental damage caused by single-use plastic, according to a CalPIRG press release. Spearheaded by Nicole Haynes, then CalPIRG chapter chair for UC Berkeley and Plastic-Free Seas coordinator, the campaign garnered campuswide support from organizations including campus dining halls, independent cafes and campus retailers.
The Plastic-Free Seas campaign also gained support from various campus environmental organizations, according to Kira Stoll, the chief sustainability and carbon solutions officer in UC Berkeley’s Office of Sustainability.