OUR STORY

(2019-2020) 

Last year, our Sovereign Avenue School Green Team recognized the problem of the overuse of single-use plastics both in school and at home. To help solve this problem, we enrolled in the TREX recycling program. In only six months we were able to collect over 700 pounds of single-use plastic that were recycled into TREX building materials. This school-wide initiative was responsible for keeping all of this plastic out of the land fills. 

(2020-2021)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to halt our collection efforts but we still did not lose focus of our mission to reduce the amount of waste in our own “backyard” which is the beautiful Atlantic City beach and ocean. As a result, our S.A.S Green Team felt the need to come up with an alternative solution to help tackle this problem. We brainstormed numerous ideas, but felt that a digital platform would be the best course of action, especially during the midst of a pandemic. This was when Plastic-Free AC was born. 

Towards the beginning of creating a digital platform, we had come to realize that this issue is bigger than just the presence of plastic on our beach and in our ocean. Moreover, it’s the overuse of single-use plastics, all throughout Atlantic City. Keeping this in mind, we took the first step of our movement, which was to first and foremost, educate ourselves. 

Utilizing our digital platform, we made two subtopics called ‘Educating Ourselves’, and ‘Making an Impact.' Both were used to inform ourselves about the dangers of plastic, the impact it has on climate change, and how we can all do our part, by switching over to more sustainable solutions like biodegradable items and other reusable materials.

(2021-present)

In June 2021, we applied to the Sustainable New Jersey Student Climate Challenge held for the first time. We were required to form a team and complete a home, school, or community project that addressed a cause or impact of climate change, document our progress, as well as create a short digital story video to share our accomplishments. We applied with this website and a short digital story video explaining our project. 

    During August, we were all informed that our 'Plastic Free AC' climate contest submission had been selected as a contest finalist. In addition, we were required to create a short video with our team members acknowledging climate crisis and its relation to our project.

Fortunately, during the awards ceremony, our 'Plastic Free AC' submission won first place in the middle school category and we were awarded $2500 grant money that would be used to further our project! With this grant money, we aim to progress our 'Plastic Free AC' campaign even further! 

We also created a Facebook and Instagram page to promote our initiative to people in our community so that they can be a part of the change!