What specific event or experience triggered your passion and interest to get involved with the plastic pollution problem?
Traveling the world on an 18 month surf trip of a lifetime and having the best time of my life, yet feeling guilty to the amounts of trash littering our coastlines and oceans. Then upon returning home and recognizing the effects the worlds consumer behaviors are having on the coastlines of Hawaii. At that point I made it my goal to raise awareness to the issue of plastic pollution in Hawaii while having a good time inspiring others to reduce plastic consumption and cleanup along the way.
What is your current involvement? (community level and/or global level)
Community level we collect the most amount of debris and congregate the largest amount of cleanup participants. We do marine debris and plastic pollution educational outreach in schools, community groups, and gov't across the state.
Globally we participate in conferences around the world from New York, Jamaica, London, and here locally in order to raise awareness how we are all connected and although we are part of the problem, we can also be more of the solution.
Globally we are the worlds leader in marine debris ocean plastics recycling and are used as a model for starting local recycling efforts for marine debris. To date we have recycled over 35,000 lbs of ocean plastic washed up on our coastlines from the North Pacific Gyre.
Executive Director at Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii
Kahi Pacarro
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