Grantee Highlights
Alelí Environmental — 2024 — Guánica, PR
Through support from MDF, Alelí Environmental continued their long-term marine debris monitoring on two beaches in southern Puerto Rico. In 2024, they collected nearly 2,000 pieces of debris, 85% of which were plastics. The amount of litter collected was lower than in the previous two years and decreased over the course of the summer, showing that repeated cleanups make a difference. Alelí also successfully worked with four restaurants in Guánica to replace up to 80% of their single-use plastics with compostable foodware. Restaurant owners and waitstaff received training workshops on how to integrate sustainable practices in their restaurants and promote sustainable behaviors to their customers. Valuable connections were made with packaging manufacturers and local recycling operations, and the positive outcomes have attracted even more restaurants in the area to join the program.
Story of Stuff — 2024 — Multiple locations (US)
The Story of Stuff Project, with support from MDF, launched the Reuse Cities Project, which endeavors to support the switch from disposable plastics to reusable foodware for restaurants in cities across the U.S. The project is working with 30 cities, including Los Angeles, New York City, Denver, and smaller cities across Alameda and San Francisco Counties. The goal of the project is to support policy change that requires the use of reusable foodware for dine-in settings. By working directly with mayors, county governments, local coalitions, and grassroots movements, the Reuse Cities Project has directly influenced policy change in two cities in 2024 with significant progress made in many others. The project also initiated the Reuse Cities Challenge, in which cities nationwide can compete annually to be recognized as a Reuse City. The program provides guidelines and training opportunities for city leaders, helping them feel empowered to make changes within their communities.
Clean Water Fund — 2024 — Oakland, CA
The Clean Water Fund succeeded in a targeted effort to reduce plastic waste and prevent potential marine debris. Through replacing disposable plastic items with reusable foodware, five restaurants in Oakland are now diverting over 187,000 pieces of plastic from the waste stream. The switch has also helped these restaurants save over $10,000 every year. The Fruitvale neighborhood, where the restaurants are located, experiences ongoing issues with street litter and is situated next to a creek and San Francisco Bay. By eliminating plastic items, these restaurants are helping to make their neighborhood and their waterways cleaner.
Heal the Bay — 2024 — Greater Los Angeles area, CA
The Santa Monica-based organization Heal the Bay has connected with thousands of community members and businesses in greater LA through the “Hold the Plastic, Please!” campaign launched by the Reusable LA coalition, a group of over 30 local organizations that is co-founded and led by Heal the Bay. The campaign seeks to educate businesses about the implementation of plastic reduction policies and how to comply with local ordinances. The campaign hosted two virtual events with 50-100 attendees each that educated the public about local laws regulating single-use plastics. It also implemented a new user-friendly website tool and distributed tip cards that allow community members and business owners to access information on local regulations. Heal the Bay is also collaborating with the County of Los Angeles on the development of over 24 additional plastic reduction policies and is actively engaged in planning for the 2028 summer Olympic Games.
Post-Landfill Action Network — 2024 — Bar Harbor, ME
Through support from MDF, the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN) helped the College of the Atlantic become the first college in the U.S. to completely eliminate single-use plastics from its campus dining facilities. The student-led initiative removed over 50,000 pieces of plastic from circulation—a key benefit to the marine habitat in the college’s community of Bar Harbor, Maine. PLAN helped the college with a variety of logistical achievements, including training for food service staff and implementing a system that allows students to check-out reusable to-go containers. Through making this change, PLAN brought students and staff together while supporting the college’s commitment to reducing waste.
Surfrider — 2024 — Multiple locations (US)
Funding from MDF supported the Surfrider Foundation’s Beach Cleanup program, which conducted over 700 marine debris cleanups in 2024 that removed over 77,000lbs of trash across Surfrider’s nationwide network of local chapters. Funds also supported the Ocean Friendly program, which helps restaurants and hotels become designated as “Ocean Friendly” by Surfrider through the reduction of single-use plastics and other sustainability measures. In 2024, 47 new restaurants were added to the program. The Ocean Friendly Hotels program was launched with 17 hotels joining within the first three weeks.