Written by: Natalia De Prisco, Plastic Free Cities student from Downtown Doral Charter Upper School
Plastic Free Cities is an awesome program funded by the NOAA Marine Debris Program, to promote plastic free usage throughout businesses. The first step is to attend a 5 week workshop where students will be taught everything needed to know on plastic. After attending these workshops, students will become Junior Sustainability consultants, where they will approach businesses and offer plastic free alternatives, and would also offer the Plastic 305 program.
On December 10th, 2023, DDCUS Plastic Free cities hosted Trash Basel. This was an event where students designed their own art pieces from trash particles. There were so many plastic pieces of many colors and shapes, and they were used to create beautiful designs. So many students came and collaborated by creating canvasses with their friends and peers.
Another thing to shout out is that so many speakers came to talk about their task and experience with their time at PFC! Some of these awesome speakers were Dulce Pantaleon, a sustainable manager from City of Doral, Sarah Perez, DDCUS Student, Milly, PFC Mentor, Alejandro Ganaza, PFC Mentor, and more! Following these amazing speakers, the Florida Regional Debris Coordinator ( PFC Founder) and Ana Zangronis, Florida Sea Grant Miami-Dade County Exposition attended our amazing Trash Basel.
To add on, Trash Basel took place in Doral Yard. Doral Yard is an amazing dining place wich offers so many types of foods. An amazing news is how Doral Yard joined Level 2 of Plastic Free 305. Plastic Free 305 is a Miami-Dade County Program where it encourages businesses to reduce and eliminate the use of single-use plastics, therefore, when businesses join the different levels, they adopt reusable and sustainable materials in their businesses. Trash Basel was such an amazing and fun event because everyone was welcome to join us and to learn!
Speaking of my personal experience, Natalia De Prisco, this program was so fun and at the same time demanding due to the opportunity to be able to learn things about plastic to a greater extent. The PFC group went to restaurants to give business owners alternatives of single-plastic products, which benefited their businesses. I also made more friendships and worked on my leadership and public speaking skills. This program has taught me a bunch of lifelong experiences and information. I’m forever grateful to have joined this amazing program because not only did my peers and myself learn about plastic but we applied these skills taught to us into the real world. Shout out to Maddie, Milly, Maggie, and Arianna for making PFC at Downtown Doral Charter Upper School amazing!
