Parley For The Oceans And The NYC Department Of Sanitation Foundation Work To Turn Plastic Waste And Litter Into Special Edition Ocean Bags

• Collaboration Spotlights and Removes Plastic Pollution by City’s Waterways
• #RIPplasticbag campaign to support statewide plastic bag ban

Recently, Parley for the Oceans and the Foundation for New York’s Strongest announced a collaboration that will bring attention to trash that ends up by the city’s waterways and finds an innovative way to use some of the plastic pollution.

Beginning this summer, the groups will work to remove litter from beaches and waterways across the city. After the cleanup events, some of the collected plastic items will be cleaned, processed and turned into Ocean Plastic that Parley will use to make a special edition of their Ocean Bags. An initial, limited edition run of these distinct, reusable and durable bags will feature the iconic I LOVE NY logo to promote visits to beaches, parks, and other amazing attractions across New York State. The bags will be available March 2020, when New York State's ban on single-use plastic bags takes effect.

Globally, it is estimated that roughly five trillion plastic bags are used each year. New Yorkers alone use and discard a staggering 10 billion single-use plastic bags annually. The New York City Department of Sanitation currently estimates that it collects an average of 1,700 tons of plastic bags per week, costing $12.5M per year in collection and disposal expenses.

“Plastic bags are used on average just 12 minutes before being trashed, yet last hundreds or thousands of years in a landfill,” said Julie Raskin, Executive Director of the Foundation for New York’s Strongest.“While it's best to use reusable first, through our work with Parley, we hope to not only help clean up the city's waterways, but turn litter that was clogging up our beaches into a ‘forever item’ that’s reusable, useful, and helps keep additional single-use bags from the waste stream.”

“Every day, New Yorkers generate unimaginable quantities of trash. And every day, the men and women of the world's largest sanitation department work to remove this trash and keep the city safe and clean,” said Cyrill Gutsch, founder and CEO of Parley for the Oceans. “It is an honor to announce our partnership with this special force, this last frontier in the battle against waste. Together, we will clean up New York’s beaches, upcycle collected materials and create a series of Parley Ocean Bags that empower New Yorkers to rethink their choices and be part of the solution. For the Oceans.”

From bags to single-use water bottles, much of the plastic pollution that ends up on city beaches and in our waterways started off as street litter that was swept down storm drains during and after it rains where it ultimately causes harm to the environment and threatens wildlife.

“The NYC Department of Sanitation is committed to keeping the City healthy, safe and clean, and city residents are our partners in the effort,” said Sanitation Acting Commissioner Steven Costas. “We count on residents to put litter where it belongs – in a litter basket – to help keep it off of our streets, beaches and waterways.”

The Foundation for New York’s Strongest will receive 20 percent of the profits from the special edition of the Parley Ocean Bag. The funds will be used for projects and programming that lead New Yorkers to embrace environmentalism; forge creative partnerships that highlight Sanitation Workers' important role in protecting citizens’ quality of life; and to host special events such as the Food Waste Fair, which worked to help business owners improve the sustainability of their operations.

Parley Ocean Bag sales support Parley’s efforts to protect the oceans, including the Parley Global Clean-up Network which is currently active in 28 countries and intercepts plastic on coastlines, islands, beaches, reefs and oceans.

More details about this partnership including how to volunteer at an upcoming waterway clean-up event, preorder a special edition Parley Ocean Bag and the #RIPplasticbag campaign here: https://www.parley.tv/updates/parley-nyc-department-of-sanitation-plastic-bag-ban

About Parley For The Oceans
Parley for the Oceans is the global network where creators, thinkers and leaders from the creative industries, brands, governments and environmental groups come together to raise awareness for the beauty and fragility of the oceans and collaborate on projects that can end their destruction. The organization has formed alliances with major corporations including adidas, Anheuser Busch InBev (Corona), American Express; the United Nations; the Maldives and collaborators spanning the worlds of science, art, fashion, design, entertainment, sports, and space and ocean exploration. For more information, visit: www.parley.tv

About The Foundation For New York’s Strongest
The Foundation for New York’s Strongest, Inc. is the official nonprofit organization of the New York City Department of Sanitation. Supported by private funding and in-kind donations, the Foundation leverages non-traditional strategies including Parley AIR (Avoid – Intercept – Redesign) to promote sustainability and advance the essential services of Sanitation employees. For more information, visit nycstrongest.org.

About New York State
New York State features 11 beautiful vacation regions, featuring landmarks such as Niagara Falls, the largest park in the continental U.S. in the Adirondacks and treasures such as the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and the Corning Museum of Glass. New York State offers diverse activities for all: outdoor fun - snowmobiling, skiing and snowboarding, fishing, hiking and boating, year-round festivals and exploring the rich history and culture of one of the 13 original colonies. Visitors also enjoy the fine cuisine, beverage trails and farm-to-table fresh foods. For more information on New York State’s rich history, visit paththroughhistory.iloveny.com. Information on all tourism attractions is available at iloveny.com.