Home > Plastic Makers Take Action > What We're Doing What We're Doing As producers of products that find their way into the marine environment, plastic makers are working with government officials, scientists, retailers, anti-litter groups and consumers to devise solutions to prevent marine debris. Over the years plastic makers and recyclers have invested billions of dollars to develop and help support a nationwide infrastructure to recycle plastics, and we continue to develop new, innovative programs to collect additional plastic products. The plastic industries of the American Chemistry Council also support a growing number of education and research programs around the country to encourage people to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Plastics. Too Valuable to Waste. Recycle.SM The plastics industries of the American Chemistry Council has partnered with Keep California Beautiful, the California Department of Parks and Recreation (California State Parks) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to put more recycle bins on beaches, campgrounds, and rest areas. Since the program began in 2009, we’ve installed nearly 700 recycling bins and educational signage in 19 communities along the California coast. Operation Clean Sweep Operation Clean Sweep is jointly managed by the Society of the Plastics Industry, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association and the American Chemistry Council to prevent the release of resin pellets into the environment. The campaign's goals are to help every plastic resin handling operation implement good housekeeping and pellet containment practices and to work towards achieving zero pellet loss. LA’s BEST After School Enrichment Partnership As part of the Plastics. Too Valuable To Waste. Recycle campaign, the American Chemistry Council also helps educate children about recycling plastic through a partnership with the After School Enrichment Program, LA’s BEST. Through the partnership, the ACC reaches more than 15000 kids at 91 sites in Los Angeles hosting “Go H20!” Recycling Festivals for students to test their recycling knowledge. Aquarium of the Pacific “Our Watersheds” Exhibit The American Chemistry Council’s Plastic Division provided financial resources and expertise to help the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, create a new exhibit, “Our Watershed: Pathway to the Pacific.” The exhibit includes a permanent marine debris education program aimed at reaching young people with the importance of recycling and proper disposal. The hands-on exhibit brings to life the connection between human activity on land and the consequences for the oceans—in particular the link between land based litter and marine debris. Weekday mornings are reserved for school groups who learn about ways to reduce the human impact on the watershed and the oceans. View presentation on actions by America’s plastics makers to prevent marine debris (June 2009). Ocean Futures Society The American Chemistry Council supports the Ocean Futures Society and their work with Project Kaisei. Through a donation to Ocean Futures, plastic makers supported the work of researchers during Project Kaisei’s August 2009 voyage to the pacific gyre. Sea Education Association (SEA) Plastic Makers partner with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to support the first federally funded research expedition to the North Atlantic gyre. Our support helps provide educational outreach for the research voyage. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation In 2006 the plastic industries of the American Chemistry Council partnered with the NFWF to study microscopic debris in plankton samples. The Plankton & Plastic Surveys of U.S. Ocean Waters sampled zooplankton from the Southeast Bering Sea and California Current waters off the U.S. West Coast to observe how plastic interacts with marine life.