Overview
- Lydia McMullen‑Laird—co‑founder and Deputy Director of ZeroWaste.org—has played a pivotal role in spearheading Plastic Free July activities in Ypsilanti. Under her guidance, ZeroWaste.org launched the “Ypsi Plastic Free July Challenge,” a week‑long initiative (July 27–August 3) that encouraged residents to minimize single‑use plastics. With over 675 households registered in Washtenaw County, the challenge included daily email tips, community support forums, and a tracking system to incentivize measurable reductions.
- Lydia led interactive workshops—ranging from introductory plastic audits to reusable‑kit tutorials—that drew 20–30 participants each, helping individuals identify and replace common plastic items like water bottles, bags, and cling wrap. Sign‑ups allowed participants to log actions and earn entries toward prizes provided by local businesses, further boosting engagement.
- ZeroWaste.org partnered with Ypsilanti-area organizations—including the city library and small businesses—to distribute toolkits containing checklists, DIY alternatives, and guidance on avoiding the “top four” plastics. Though detailed data is still being compiled, preliminary reports indicate hundreds of disposable items were diverted from landfill during the challenge week.
- Lydia also authored targeted blog posts—such as “10 Surprising Everyday Products That Contain Plastic”—during July to educate participants and the broader community about hidden plastic in household goods.
- With a background rooted in living a zero‑waste lifestyle (fitting an annual year’s trash in a single-gallon Ziploc bag) and co‑founding ZeroWaste.org after climate research in China, Lydia brings both credibility and practical expertise. Thanks to her leadership, Ypsilanti’s Plastic Free July has seen robust participation, hands‑on learning, and concrete reductions in single‑use plastics—all demonstrating how local zero‑waste leadership can yield tangible environmental impact.
Transcription
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and on today's Issues of the Environment, we're going to talk plastics--more specifically, how to use as little plastic as possible. I'm David Fair, and as we speak, the Ypsilanti Plastic Free July Challenge is underway. While this year's challenge is winding down, we thought it a good idea to discuss how it works, why it's so important, and how we can all perhaps carry over some the lessons into and through the rest of the year. The challenge is put on by ZeroWaste.org, and today, we have the good fortune of talking with one of its co-founders. Lydia McMullen-Laird also serves as deputy director of Zerowaste.org. And, Lydia, thanks for the time today!
Lydia McMullen-Laird: Thank you so much, David!
David Fair: In order to understand why a plastic-free challenge is necessary, I think we have to have a basic understanding of just how pervasive plastics are in our life. It's not only everywhere we look, but it's just about everywhere we don't look. How significant are plastics in our local waste stream?
Lydia McMullen-Laird: Well, actually, the U.S. Geological Survey did a study of rivers in six states that lead into the Great Lakes. And I was shocked to find out that the Huron River is actually number one in terms of contributing microplastics to the Great lakes. So, this is an issue that's super-important locally. And then, if we zoom out and just look at the plastics industry overall, this is kind of a plan B for fossil fuels. Plastics, of course, are made from fossil fuels. And as that industry is looking at these changes in terms of energy moving to more renewables, cars, that kind of thing, they're investing heavily in plastics to secure that income stream. And so, plastics are set to double, and that's kind of the most conservative estimate we see by 2050.
David Fair: Everything is connected as you've just pointed out, and one feeds the other. There are all sorts of plastics. Some of which we in our homes and businesses can recycle. But if I'm not mistaken, there's also a good deal of plastics that just do not get recycled.
Lydia McMullen-Laird: Absolutely! I think a lot of listeners might be familiar with the chasing arrows symbol, and that actually doesn't mean it's recyclable because it really just depends on where you live and what the facility can process. And so, number one and two, a lot of times recyclables, all the other numbers--usually not. And when we crunch the numbers and look at the data, in the U.S., 6%, sometimes even five, so five to 6% gets recycled. That's basically nothing. So really, what we're focused on with the Ypsi Plastics Challenge is how can we reduce the stream of what we are asking to be produced.
David Fair: You authored a blog post called "10 Surprising Everyday Products That Contain Plastic." If we're going to properly dispose of and if we're going to avoid purchasing plastics in the first place, what are some of those hidden plastics we should be aware of?
Lydia McMullen-Laird: Well, when I first started researching plastic and trying to reduce it in my own life, I was shocked at the places that have plastics that you don't really think about. For example, a lot of paper products that you think are just paper are actually paper coated with plastic. Because if you think about it, if you're trying to drink coffee out of a paper cup, if there isn't a plastic lining, it's just going to go right through. So, tons of food service products have plastic lining and a lot of times PFAS. So, reducing your plastic use is not just about the environment, although that's a huge part of it--
David Fair: It's health!
Lydia McMullen-Laird: It's health! Actually, a lot of studies have found we have a tablespoon of microplastics in our brain, David. I mean, that just blew my mind in so many ways!
David Fair: That would certainly explain a lot to my listeners.
Lydia McMullen-Laird: Yeah, it's in a baby's first poop, so I think it's just in a lot of places. A lot of household dust is actually plastic. When you're sweeping, a lot that is microplastics. It's just absolutely everywhere! And the sponge that you're using to wash your dishes, little, tiny filaments of plastic are going onto your dishes when you wash them. Of course, many people will know that clothing has a ton of plastic, and that's right up against your body. So, we're trying to give people alternatives. And a lot of this is actually in our control. It sounds really daunting and it sounds really overwhelming, but a lot these things are choices you can make to avoid them.
David Fair: This is Issues of the Environment on 89.1 WEMU, and today, we're talking with Lydia McMullen-Laird from Zerowaste.org about reducing the use of plastics and the Ypsilanti Plastic Free July Challenge, but this all had an earlier start. At some point, as you were founding this organization, you decided you could live as close to zero waste as possible. So, what does that entail through a given year?
Lydia McMullen-Laird: I have been living zero waste for 10 years now. I save my trash and recycling, and it ends up being in about a gallon Ziploc every year. So, that's what I've gotten it down to. So, there's always still mistakes, and it's always a process and learning. But really, what it means for me personally is grocery shopping in bulk. And Ypsi for example, the Ypsi food Co-op, has a lot of great options: borrowing things, buying things used. So, I'm not kind of contributing to that cycle of just producing more and more and more. You know, it's really a different story for everyone. Everyone has a different lifestyle, right? Some people got families and kids. Some people are living on their own. Some people are students. And so, what we really encourage people to do is some kind of a trash audit, whether that's like focused on plastic or food waste or whatever issue you're passionate about, just saving it for a week and just seeing what you end up with. And maybe you find that you use a ton of paper towels. Maybe, that's a swap you could make or maybe your trash at the end of the week is filled with like a lot of different food waste or a lot coffee cups. So, that's part of the Ypsi Plastic Challenge is doing that audit, and we kind of walk you through that. But it's just a great thing to do for yourself to see where the lowest hanging fruit is for you because your life is going to look so different than mine.
David Fair: And, of course, zero waste is something that's gone from households and trying to make personal change out into the community and make larger business and communal efforts at Zerowaste. And that is really important, but all change, as they say, starts at home. How many people or households are signed up for this year's Ypsi Plastic Free July Challenge.
Lydia McMullen-Laird: So, we've already got about 100 people signed up. It's growing every day. We also have teams, so people are signing up with their favorite business or with just a community of friends. We talked to some EMU students yesterday who are going to sign up together. So, it's really a fun thing to do together! And I think it's important to emphasize also that you can come at any level. So, there's people like me who've been doing zero waste for 10 years. I live and breathe this every day. And then, there's people who are just kind of curious, like maybe there's one thing I can learn this week and make a swap, maybe even save some money, be a little bit healthier. So, there's absolutely no expectation that, after this challenge, you're just going to have no plastic in your life at all. It's definitely a learning process, but it's fun to do it as a group and kind of get to know other people who are also excited about it and maybe learn some useful things along the way.
David Fair: But we do, as a population, have a tendency to choose convenience and expediency over responsible stewardship. How much of this is about behavior modification?
Lydia McMullen-Laird: I think almost all of it. I mean, the interesting thing for me is that my brother and I, we started saying we're going to do zero waste for one year. And when that year was up, I couldn't go back because once you change a habit, it's harder to go back. So, it's really just getting over that initial hump of I'm going to be the type of person who like always has a bag with me when I'm grocery shopping, or I'm just always going to have a water bottle with me because that also saves me money. Once you get used to it, it's really hard to go back. We saw this in the pandemic when a lot of curbside composting programs were halted. People were still freezing their compost and looking for a place to bring it to, because habits, once they kind of cement, are just so ingrained. And I think a lot of listeners who have certain habits already will kind of know that. So, the idea with this challenge is to give you kind of a menu of things you can choose from. Like, you're going to start going to clothing shops instead of buying things new. Maybe you're gonna start bringing your Tupperware with you and getting all your leftovers. Whatever it is, the idea is just to kind of work through those habits, and that's something we're really passionate about. So, we're always happy to help people too with little tricks and things you can do to make it easier to learn kind of how to cement those habits.
David Fair: Where is the best resource for finding the information on not only how to participate, but how to really make a difference in the way we approach our lives within our households?
Lydia McMullen-Laird: In terms of joining the challenge, that's at zerowaste.org/ypsi/plastic, but you can also just go to the homepage. We have a link there. But another thing I really encourage Ypsi residents to do is to get involved with some of the really amazing organizations on the ground that are already doing a lot of this work. So, Growing Hope, Bridge Community Cafe, BYOC is starting to be at the Ypsi Farmers' Market. These are just some great resources where you can actually meet other people who are trying to make that systemic change. And as much as you reducing your own plastic in your own life might not budge the numbers in terms of what we see nationally or even globally, there's a really powerful effect that happens that we've actually seen in our programs because the University College-London, they did a study that showed that 90% of people who participated kept the habit after the program. And then, 100% had somebody in their life who also picked up the habit. So, this is kind of snowball effect that happens when you make a change and never underestimate how powerful you are, in terms of your social circles and the impact you can have. When you start to do this out in public and your friends see that, we're social creatures, so that kind of builds that momentum. So, that's kind of what we're hoping to see in Ypsi is just building on that momentum and building that community around it.
David Fair: Well, I love when we get to end on an optimistic note! So, thank you so much for the time and the information and the insights, Lydia! I appreciate it!
Lydia McMullen-Laird: Absolutely! Thank you so much!
David Fair: That is Lydia McMullen-Laird, co-founder and deputy director of Zerowaste.org. She is spearheading the Ypsi Plastic Free July Challenge and has been our guest on Issues of the Environment. For more information on the challenge and Zerowaste.org, stop by our website at WEMU.org. We'll get you linked everywhere you want to go. Issues of the Environment is produced in partnership with the office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, and we bring it to you every Wednesday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting from the campus of Eastern Michigan University!
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